a year or two back i came across the music video for the White Stripes' Blue Orchid, and was entirely sucked in (it remains my all-time favorite music video, and a huge inspiration to me). the director, i quickly looked up, was Floria Sigismondi. i discovered that i had seen some of her other videos in the past and been intrigued by (but had not looked up) them, including Christina Aguilera's Fighter. (she has directed over forty other videos, including for Björk, David Bowie, and Marilyn Manson). anyway, after watching more of her videos and looking at her photography, she quickly rose onto my list of favorite artists, and has remained there.
i can't give a better bio of her than is on her website (so i absolutely recommend checking that out). briefly though, directing-wise, she is known (and has influenced others) by her dilating, jittery camerawork, and "images derived from hallucinatory dream-states". her entire body of work includes not only her videos, but also some astounding photography (she started off as a fashion photographer) and sculpture/installation. they all tie together beautifully, and it is obvious that they are all coming from the same place and are very much in conversation with one another.
also notably, her work has been shown with photo greats such as Cindy Sherman and (one of my personal favorites, and surely a subject of a future post) Joel-Peter Witkin.
what really grabs me, i think, about Sigismondi's work is the bizarre and dark (though sometimes disturbing) insight that you get into her imagination while watching one of her videos (or viewing her photography). the imagery that she comes up with just blows my mind really. her imagination is out of this world.
in short, her work mesmerizes me. check it out.
Sigmondi's website
music video for The White Stripes' Blue Orchid
photos: http://www.floriasigismondi.com
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