Video: Matt’s Long Take #13: Lukos Hey

Just a few days before the Coronavirus pandemic forced Prague into a state of emergency and had us all quarantined, I was able to film a Long Take video with Australian-born painter Lukos Hey. I had interviewed Lukos Hey just a few weeks before coming to Prague for my Art Chat series and we had discussed the possibility of filming in his studio the next time I would visit the Czech capital.

Thankfully, we were able to do that, and I was able to film his studio – which is situated in a huge hostel compound that he is currently decorating. The video kicks off with Hey showing me his latest work – a painting inspired by the jazz piano legend McCoy Tyner, who recently passed. We also talk about art in general as he shows me the paintings hanging on the walls of his studio and we take a tour of the hostel, to see some of the mindblowng stuff that he is painting on its walls.

Matt’s Long Take is a series of videos documenting artists and creative people, as well as art venues from all parts of the world. These videos are filmed on an handheld camera in an unedited long-take.

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

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VIDEO: Matt’s Long Take #10: JENNIFER CUNNINGHAM

After taking a break from filming my Long Takes, focusing instead on other work, I decided to resume shooting my video series while in my hometown of Galway, Ireland. In fact, it seemed strange to me that this Long Take encounter with Irish artist Jennifer Cunningham should be the first one I filmed in the place where I grew up.

I found out about Jennifer’s exhibition while visiting the Facebook page of the Galway Arts Centre, where her new exhibition “Between Worlds,” was hosted. The exhibition was commissioned by the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children and Jennifer agreed to give me a tour of it.

During our Long Take, we got into some of the themes of her exhibition and the different materials, techniques and approaches she utilized in putting it together. Furthermore, Jennifer really opened up about the origins of her art career and some of her concerns about being an artist today.

For more information about Jennifer Cunningham and her work, visit her official website.

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

VIDEO: Matt’s Long Take #9: H33

In my previous video with pianist/composer Eric Pan, I had talked about how strange it is to me when people demolish buildings that have no need to be demolished. This tour of H33, which I filmed while in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, proved to be relevant to this topic.

On this video, I was in fact given a tour of the city’s fascinating Social Innovation Hub in Cluj-Napoca set up by Dan Clinci and Horea Manea of Urbannect Association. Our guide is visual artist Puiac Virgil. Along the way, we also meet Carmiina Tarean, Simion Răzvan and Iulia Mircean and more people who are just some of the colourful folks who occasionally inhabit this place.

As I walked round to see the different creative spaces, markets and exhibitions in the complex, I gradually find out that this space would soon be demolished and that this would encapsulate in part what I aim to do with my Long Take series: to document what will, at some point, no longer be there.

For more information on H33 visit their official Facebook page.

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

VIDEO: Matt’s Long Take #8: ERIC PAN

During my short trip to Berlin, Germany, I was determined to meet and film a musician. A friend of mine hooked me up with Eric Pan, a pianist/composer who also works a lot within the jazz spectrum and lives between Berlin and New York.

I met Eric a day prior to filming and during our chat and walk around the city, I realized that this would be a fascinating entry in my Long Take series. The next day, he was kind enough to invite me to his new flat, which he had just moved into, to film this episode.

In this Long Take, Eric spoke to me candidly about such themes as inspiration and spirituality, also revealing something about his projects past, present and future. In the end, I was even able to convince him to play a few notes on his piano.

For more info on Eric Pan and his projects, visit his official website.

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

VIDEO: Matt’s Long Take #7: CEZAR-SEVERUS TOMOROGA

This year, I was invited once again to the Transilvania International Film Festival in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. I covered the festival for FRED Film Radio and in the end, I decided to prolong my stay in the city to about a month.

In between interview, I met Cezar-Severus Tomoroga in the yard of one of my main internet locations. i fortuitously found out about him being a graphic designer and it didn’t take me long to realize that it might be interesting to meet up and chat with him about some of his unique ideas for one of my Long Takes.

In this video, he shares some of his unique viewpoints on the art of 3D printing. He also talks with me about the origin of his interests in art and some of the hardships that he has had to overcome as part of running his own business.

For more information about his work, visit the official Facebook page of his business, Petadroid Production.

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

VIDEO: Matt’s Long Take #6: WINYLOVE

For years, I have been a vinyl aficionado but have sadly have had to cut down on buying records as a result of my current nomad lifestyle. While staying the beautiful city of Wroclaw, Poland, I came across a few vinyl record store, interested in seeing with my own eyes the exclusive releases that came out as part of this year’s Record Store Day.

One of the stores I came across was Winylove, which was located in a bookstore, in a charming location that reminded me of some type of fantastic treehouse. On this Long Take, DJ Creon, a well-known and award-winning music artist in Poland, gave me a tour of the place, which he co-runs with an associate.

While there were some communication barriers – his English was not perfect and my Polish was non-existant – it’s interesting to see us try to communicate through the language of music. And while there, I got to flick through some vinyls and find out something about the Polish music scene old and new.

For more information on Winylove in Wroclaw, Poland, visit their official Facebook page.

Video: Matt’s Long Take #5: Christian Niccoli

Christian Niccoli is an Italian-born, Berlin-based artist who works across many sectors of the visual arts. I met him at his studio in the German capital for a chat and conversation over his works and working methods. Besides that, this interesting chat reminded me of one thing in particular: art-making is not only a dynamic process of evolution but also a lifetime commitment that very often also involves hard work and sacrifice. For more info on Christian Niccoli’s work, go to http://www.christianniccoli.eu/

Matt’s Long Take is a new web series by art reporter Matt Micucci documenting a series of encounters with artists and art institutions around the world. The use of the long take is inspired by André Bazin, who believed it to be an important tool in cinema’s ability to capture “reality.”

Video: Matt’s Long Take #3: Lucien Zell

Whenever I’m in Prague, one of my favorite cities in the world, my friend Lucien Zell is one of the first people I get in touch with. Lucien is a poet, author, photographer, singer and man full committed to what I refer to as the “art life.” The last time I was in Prague, I met him and documented our meeting with my camcorder. I noticed early on that something was off in the speed settings, but in the spirit of my Long Take series, I kept filming. I was happy to note that the error gives the video an unanticipated, dreamlike effect that is appropriate to this late-night conversation about art, culture and spirituality.

Matt’s Long Take is a new web series by art reporter Matt Micucci documenting a series of encounters with artists and art institutions around the world. The use of the long take is inspired by André Bazin, who believed it to be an important tool in cinema’s ability to capture “reality.”

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

VIDEO: Matt’s Long Take #2: Cinema New Horizons, Wroclaw, Poland

I first visited Cinema New Horizons (Kino Nowe Horyzonty) in Wroclaw, Poland, a few years ago. On that occasion, I had been invited to the annual New Horizons Film Festival. I recently spent just under three weeks in Wroclaw and decided I would visit it again. Only this time, I would take a camcorder with me to document it.

On this video, the second of my “Long Takes,” marketing manager Michal Weksler takes me on a tour of the cinema – from the entrance hall and the screening rooms to the back offices and the projection room. As I document the venue, we chat about the cinema, New Horizons and the general state of the arts.

Matt’s Long Take is a new web series by art reporter Matt Micucci documenting a series of encounters with artists and art institutions around the world. The use of the long take is inspired by André Bazin, who believed it to be an important tool in cinema’s ability to capture “reality.”

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!

My Proust Questionnaire Video

Hello. I recorded this video to introduce my new upcoming video series on the arts, Matt’s Long Take. The reason behind shooting this impromptu video was I felt it necessary to show my face before I uploaded those of the artists and representatives of art institutions that I filmed.

The long take approach is a crucial part of the series, as indicated by its title. As a result, I wanted to also upload a long take, unedited video in the spirit of the series. The difference is that this one was shot with awful quality on my camera phone. And because I didn’t want to be just me talking with no purpose, I decided to further expose myself by answering the questions of the famed Proust Questionnaire as honestly as I could.

Thank you for watching and please watch this space for uploads of proper videos of the series coming very soon.

Click here to buy my book of thoughts on film, Eye of the Beholder, on Amazon!