"A Vue" by Joshua Mosley

Cory Malone
Feb. 15, 2008

The featured exhibit at the Fort Worth Modern this month is the Joshua Mosley collection, which includes a mixed media animation entitled "A Vue". "A Vue" is a seven and a half minute video presentation shot in high definition digital photography using stop motion animation. The reason I found this piece so interesting is that it encompasses several different art forms into one. The puppets were sculpted and created by Mosley as well as the the bronze statue that is used in the story, and he hand painted the ink-wash painted background environments. When you consider the presentation also includes the story writing, filming and use of stop motion photography as well as a musical score by Abby Schneider it covers a wide range of artistic abilities. The lines are used in the work to define objects and shapes, especially in the backgrounds used, and the lines of motion the characters use. The shapes are very three dimensional and volumetric, the video presentation itself is flat ofcourse but the artist did a very good job of creating a 3 dimensional world. Everything is well lit and bright but the colors in the backgrounds are often washed out and faded, maybe with the intention of creating a sad or dull tone. The emphasis is always on the puppet characters and they really stand out from the washed out background environments, and the short film seems to follow different rythms to create seperate intensities of emotion. The video presentation is 2-dimensional, but the artistic work is almost more about the 3-dimensional puppets that were sculpted by the artist. The medium appears to be some kind of molded silicone or latex, but the faces are very detailed and lifelike. The use of stop motion animation may have been limiting in that it is difficult to create