Me And My Arrows - Marius Tanasescu

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Who is Marius Tanasescu?

I am an artist and art historian, also an art manager and curator, and who knows what else…? I’m discovering myself all the time and I am really curious about what my next step would be. I’m passionate about too many things in the cultural field, so it is difficult to grasp a full account about myself.

Your film is about?

It’s about creating things starting from an idea… an idea nourished by readings, by my thoughts, by the “beerstormings” I had with some friends… At this stage and age, I am mostly interested in using art history’s iconography and visuality. The fact that in my work I imagined a Saint Sebastian is not only a video interpretation of, say, Mantegna’s same theme, but it is also a clin-d’oeuil to the Action painting, an ironical approach, nevertheless, since the “action” is carried out with the aid of paintballs.

How did you start with film? And do you have an educational background in art or film?

It was by chance that I started making video. The idea was there, but somehow I lacked the confidence and the energy. When I was invited to have a solo exhibition, I decided that this is a great opportunity to present also a video piece, so I started working on it by effectively improvising, with the help of some friends, the setting, the scenario, and the shots.

Could you explain how you work, what themes or concepts and what is important to you?

The intuition dictates in all cases… I always work in an intuitive way, and, of course, I am always in a good mood when I am doing art. I am fascinated by the organic, the repetition, the color and the body. And last, but not least, by the beauty of created things; by that essential quality which is today very much neglected in art.

Where do you get your ideas or influences from?

Intuition, instinct, personal, cultural and social background, books, dreams, discussions, films, world’s absurdity. Any banal moment is potentially a detonator for the creative act.

How does the title relate to the work, and how do you find a fitting title?

“Me and My Arrows” is a paraphrase of the title of Harry Nilsson‘s song from 1971 called “Me and My Arrow”, which was also the soundtrack of a beautiful cartoon that marked my childhood: “The Point“. The main character in the cartoon, Oblio, (who had the dog Arrow), was the only one with a round head, in a country where everyone and everything was pointed. So, he was pointless…
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43ey8s8EALU )

How does content relate to the form of your work?

The editing is somehow an adaptation of a video clip “style”, where the image follows and it is cut according to the music.

How important is sound in film, and if you use sounds, do you create your own or use existing?

The tempo and the pulse of the music effectively imposed the rhythm of the images. I’ve met the composer Gilles Dumont – one of the pioneers of electro-acoustic music in France, in the ‘80s – by chance, in Paris, some years ago. I recently listened to some of his compositions and “Vers une autre” was the one that I adored most, so I used it in my video. (http://www.myspace.com/gillesdumont )

How do you finance your projects (by yourself, sponsors or subsidy)?

I paid out of my pockets up to now.

Nowadays everyone with the right equipment can create videoart, good, bad or ugly?

Depends who this everyone is. The democratization of access to the equipments brought an inflation of bad videos; but it also gave the chance to so many others to make good art.

What possibilities of the web are yet to be explored? Which dangers do you see ahead?

This is a question to which there can be a myriad of reasonable answers. So I prefer to leave it open.

Video broadcasting platforms on the internet, why or why not?

Definitely yes, because they create more visibility, easier access.

In what category would you place your work; cinema or art. And is there a difference between those?

Modestly speaking, I would say art… Of course, there is a difference between the two, but for me, drawing a firm line between them is not relevant.

How important is the reaction to your film by the audience?

It could change my life.

What is your next project about?

The same source and resource: art history… It is a video about a still life, nature morte, in French. The tension between the two terms in English and French – “life” and “morte” – is what interests me.

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