Ori Gersht's Pomegranate
Artist Ori Gersht details the beauty and violence behind his works, and the work named 'Still Life Explosions" shows this. In an interview, Gersht talks about how 'Violence can be very grotesque and also intensely attractive.' The video shows a slow motion shot, originally shot at the rate of 1,600 frames per seconder, of exploding items such as this pomegranate. The detail is impeccable and, has high impact on the viewer. Until 3 seconds, if you didn't know the title, you are unsure about what is about to happen. There is no indication about what the video is about, and if something will move.
Gersht talks about why he choice to use the pomegranate, 'I think that it has to do with the visual imagination of the pomegranate, how it will bleed, how these multi-seeds will keep spraying thought the frame. I suppose in retrospect that it's also the relationship that the pomegranate has to a grenade. But the choice is not very rational, you know, sitting and thinking that this means this or that means that. I can say that the image presented itself and I followed it through.'
I really like this and the others in Still Life Explosions collection. I like the high impact, and the high quality detail in the video. This particular one is only 31 seconds long, but has a lot of drama. The way it is lit and the black background makes the scene look historical, and I feel this adds to the drama. This is such an interesting piece of work, using such a simple concept.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/still-life-explosions-51144950/?no-ist