Richard Kerr
The Last Days of Contrition (1988)
“The Last Days of Contrition (35 minutes black and white 1988) is an exploration of the Canadian and American landscapes, and the relationship between the two. The narrative deals with a journey through timeless, vacant American landscapes (baseball stadiums, ... (more)
“The Last Days of Contrition (35 minutes black and white 1988) is an exploration of the Canadian and American landscapes, and the relationship between the two. The narrative deals with a journey through timeless, vacant American landscapes (baseball stadiums, ... (more)
Morning ... Came a Day Early (2015)
Morning...came a day early is a poetic study of mortality, based on found footage from the archives of the Nuefield Foundation for the History of Ideas, 1964. Morning...came a day early is based on the principles of imagist poetry; the language of common speech ... (more)
Morning...came a day early is a poetic study of mortality, based on found footage from the archives of the Nuefield Foundation for the History of Ideas, 1964. Morning...came a day early is based on the principles of imagist poetry; the language of common speech ... (more)
Action: Study (2009)
Shot in 1987 in high contrast 16mm, action : study marks the genesis of Kerr’s forays into a process he now refers to as ‘digital sketching’. Action: Study depicts Kerr’s daughter playing on the shores of Georgian Bay, but could easily be mistaken as a work of ... (more)
Shot in 1987 in high contrast 16mm, action : study marks the genesis of Kerr’s forays into a process he now refers to as ‘digital sketching’. Action: Study depicts Kerr’s daughter playing on the shores of Georgian Bay, but could easily be mistaken as a work of ... (more)
Canal (1982)
The imagery of "Canal" captures the activity of freighters, ship's crews, dock workers and the historical masonry that the original Welland Canal was constructed from... The film is about going into my "own world of youth" and spontaneously documenting the canal ... (more)
The imagery of "Canal" captures the activity of freighters, ship's crews, dock workers and the historical masonry that the original Welland Canal was constructed from... The film is about going into my "own world of youth" and spontaneously documenting the canal ... (more)
On Land Over Water (Six Stories) (1984)
"In cinema one extracts the thought from the image; in literature the image from the thought" (Levinson). This reflection was the catalyst for the photographic and narrative strategies of "On Land Over Water." "On Land Over Water..." was born out of an ... (more)
"In cinema one extracts the thought from the image; in literature the image from the thought" (Levinson). This reflection was the catalyst for the photographic and narrative strategies of "On Land Over Water." "On Land Over Water..." was born out of an ... (more)
Plein Air (1991)
This abstract travelogue flies just over the surface of the Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario. "Plein Air" is an engrossing sonic and visual trip and a continuation of Kerr's fascination with landscape cinema. (more)
This abstract travelogue flies just over the surface of the Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario. "Plein Air" is an engrossing sonic and visual trip and a continuation of Kerr's fascination with landscape cinema. (more)
The Machine in the Garden (1991)
Shot in Hi8 video using a high-speed shutter and a spinning turret camera mount, "Machine in the Garden" is inspired by, and an homage to, apparatus-oriented work such as D. Vertov's "Man With a Movie Camera" and Michael Snow's "La Region Centrale." (more)
Shot in Hi8 video using a high-speed shutter and a spinning turret camera mount, "Machine in the Garden" is inspired by, and an homage to, apparatus-oriented work such as D. Vertov's "Man With a Movie Camera" and Michael Snow's "La Region Centrale." (more)
Cruel Rhythm (1991)
Shot during the opening stages of the First Gulf War, Kerr's "Cruel Rhythm" revisits the American desert for a cinematic tone poem in the vein of 'The Last Days of Contrition' A canopy of sound bites of media coverage on the build-up toward the war is juxtaposed ... (more)
Shot during the opening stages of the First Gulf War, Kerr's "Cruel Rhythm" revisits the American desert for a cinematic tone poem in the vein of 'The Last Days of Contrition' A canopy of sound bites of media coverage on the build-up toward the war is juxtaposed ... (more)
Plein Air Etude (1991)
An ecstatic, kinetic formal study of light, colour, and movement shot in the region of the Montreal River which so inspired members of the Group of Seven. (more)
An ecstatic, kinetic formal study of light, colour, and movement shot in the region of the Montreal River which so inspired members of the Group of Seven. (more)
McLuhan (1993)
In "McLuhan", Kerr recontextualizes a "question and answer period" for design students delivered by media theorist Marshall McLuhan at Sherdian College in 1975. Operating from McLuhan's own aphorism "the medium is the message," Kerr combines footage of the address ... (more)
In "McLuhan", Kerr recontextualizes a "question and answer period" for design students delivered by media theorist Marshall McLuhan at Sherdian College in 1975. Operating from McLuhan's own aphorism "the medium is the message," Kerr combines footage of the address ... (more)
the willing voyeur... (1996)
A photograph. Two blondes with a past on a train from Washington DC. Their destination is an abandoned train station, with body bags and kids running for their lives. At the station dead bodies are pulled from the basement and piled in the foyer for disposal. Mr. ... (more)
A photograph. Two blondes with a past on a train from Washington DC. Their destination is an abandoned train station, with body bags and kids running for their lives. At the station dead bodies are pulled from the basement and piled in the foyer for disposal. Mr. ... (more)
Pictures of Sound (1998)
Depicting the coastal islands outside Vancouver, 'Pictures of Sound' is an enigmatic landscape portrait caught by a stationary camera. Reducing land and water into colour gradations on a flat plane, Kerr compresses and fragments temporality to focus on the gradual ... (more)
Depicting the coastal islands outside Vancouver, 'Pictures of Sound' is an enigmatic landscape portrait caught by a stationary camera. Reducing land and water into colour gradations on a flat plane, Kerr compresses and fragments temporality to focus on the gradual ... (more)
never confuse movement with action (1998)
In September 1998, Kerr released "never confuse movement with action," a post-modern biography of Patrick Hemingway (a grandson of Ernest Hemingway). July 1999 was the centenary of Ernest Hemingway. There would be the publication of yet another posthumous novel. ... (more)
In September 1998, Kerr released "never confuse movement with action," a post-modern biography of Patrick Hemingway (a grandson of Ernest Hemingway). July 1999 was the centenary of Ernest Hemingway. There would be the publication of yet another posthumous novel. ... (more)
human tragedy on a grand scale (1999)
"human tragedy on a grand scale" is a response to "never confuse movement with action" and the struggle of dealing with the Hemingway family. What results is a piece very different from its predecessor - a visual poem, episodic in nature, made up of travel diaries ... (more)
"human tragedy on a grand scale" is a response to "never confuse movement with action" and the struggle of dealing with the Hemingway family. What results is a piece very different from its predecessor - a visual poem, episodic in nature, made up of travel diaries ... (more)
i was a strong man until i left home (2000)
A travelogue as catharsis, "i was a strong man until i left home" blends footage from several trips across North America, by plane, train and car. Informed by principles of Imagist Poetry, Kerr turns his camera on familiar imagery of the American travel experience, ... (more)
A travelogue as catharsis, "i was a strong man until i left home" blends footage from several trips across North America, by plane, train and car. Informed by principles of Imagist Poetry, Kerr turns his camera on familiar imagery of the American travel experience, ... (more)
Collage d’Hollywood (2003)
An eight-minute work filmed on 35mm film, Collage d’Hollywood explores the materiality of the film medium in a literal way. Collage is assembled from movie trailers found at a deserted drive-in cinema, and explores onscreen sex and violence (more)
An eight-minute work filmed on 35mm film, Collage d’Hollywood explores the materiality of the film medium in a literal way. Collage is assembled from movie trailers found at a deserted drive-in cinema, and explores onscreen sex and violence (more)
Universe of Broken Parts (2007)
Inspired by Beat Poet Ed Dorn's assertion that a poem is a 'document,' "Universe of Broken Parts" reflects Richard Kerr's interest in the poetics of image and sound. Transitioning from a balletic dance of shadows playing basketball, to pure abstraction of shape and ... (more)
Inspired by Beat Poet Ed Dorn's assertion that a poem is a 'document,' "Universe of Broken Parts" reflects Richard Kerr's interest in the poetics of image and sound. Transitioning from a balletic dance of shadows playing basketball, to pure abstraction of shape and ... (more)
De Mouvement (2009)
As an extension of his INDUSTRIE/INDUSTRY project, Richard Kerr furthers his appropriation of feature film trailers, formally reconstructing their cinematic language. Monochromatic French film trailers from a bygone era provide the source material, and here the ... (more)
As an extension of his INDUSTRIE/INDUSTRY project, Richard Kerr furthers his appropriation of feature film trailers, formally reconstructing their cinematic language. Monochromatic French film trailers from a bygone era provide the source material, and here the ... (more)