We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Alexander Morris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael Alexander, why did you pursue a creative career?
I work as an experimental filmmaker, but I support myself primarily through teaching art and filmmaking. I chose this path because I love teaching and helping student achieve their own artistic visions, but I also chose it because it supports my work as an artist and filmmaker. I’m an avant-gardist and I don’t compromise my vision in order to be commercially viable, so supporting my work by other means gives me a level of freedom that making a living as an artist makes much more difficult. My work will likely never be mainstream, but I know it has the ability to move people in a deep way if they are open to having an experience that challenges them and their conception of what a film or artwork can be. I believe this kind of path should be available to everyone who chooses it, because everyone has something important to say and saying it through art is a key part of the human experience.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The art I make is in the tradition of a personal cinema, experimentation with technology, and all the poetic possibilities that follow from different forms of mediation. This might take the form of autobiographical films with very loose story structure, combining documentary style with abstraction or experimentation that is less interested in telling an entertaining story than creating something more like a collage-in-time. It may take the form of films made from the pieces of existing films that were kept in an archive, or mashups of popular cinema to create something new. It may also take the form of handmade films that don’t utilize a camera at all, films that are multi-projection live events, or software based video installations. I try to use whatever medium seems appropriate to each work, but I regularly gravitate towards 16mm film because of it’s particular qualities. I don’t think analogue media is necessarily better than digital media, but it does things naturally that digital media can only simulate, and I’m not interested in simulation. I’m interested in the truth (or the true lie) of the image.

Experimental film might be one of the most thankless of art forms, with limited opportunities and a low ceiling of possible success, but it’s also potentially one of the most radical. Cinema (and all its extensions from episodic television to video games to virtual reality) is one of the most popular art forms, but also one that is very closed in its aesthetics and models of funding. To do something radically personal and propose a different model of how this art form is created, exhibited, and distributed is potentially a huge challenge to the dominant order of things in American society. One of my heroes is the filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek, who proposed a totally different vision of cinema with his idea of the Movie-Drome, a way that different cultures might learn about one another and how to peacefully coexist together through a personal, underground cinema. It may seem naive in this moment of cultural conflict and nationalist paranoia, but I believe artists should dare to have visions that can change the world and make it a better place. This is what I understand the role of the avant-garde to be. I’m tired of trying to change art, or trying to change myself. I want to change the fucking world, and I don’t care if it’s beyond my grasp.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I lived in Dallas most of my life, but I currently live in Columbus, Ohio which doesn’t seem to have many of the things I really cherished about Dallas. When I visit, I have several places I go and would recommend to others. I always try to visit some of my favorite bars like the Lakewood Landing, the Cock and Bull, or Lee Harvey’s. I like to try to see live music whenever I can, particularly experimental and DIY music showcases, which have had many homes in the DFW over the years, but currently seem to be centered around Rubber Gloves in Denton. I first started going to Rubber Gloves in the late 90’s, and it remains a vital part of the music scene. I would recommend anyone visiting Dallas to try to see Dallas Ambient Music Nights, a fantastic showcase of experimental music and video art that is frankly world class. It typically takes place at the Historic Texas Theatre, another place I’d recommend to get a drink, see a movie, or just be part of the creative community of Oak Cliff. I’m excited about the micro-cinema Spacey that’s located in Tyler Station, and would recommend people check out the events there. Dallas is also an art city, with a ton of local visual artists that put on their own shows in artist-run venues. These spaces are sometimes naturally short lived, but essential to the vitality of the art community. You may need to be in-the-know to find some of these shows, but checking Glasstire for listings is a place to start.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The other artists in my life have inspired me and shown me ways to create without compromise. In many cases, they have been my peers and often coworkers who have given me opportunities to exhibit my work, given me teaching opportunities, or given me feedback on my work. I owe a great deal to Bart Weiss from the Video Association of Dallas, who gave me early opportunities to work in film festivals and encouraged me to continue making my own films while also working as a curator. I also owe a great deal to the arts faculty of various universities in the DFW who gave me my first teaching opportunities and mentored me as a young teacher, like Jenny Vogel at University of North Texas, Michael Corris and Noah Simblist at Southern Methodist University, John Pomara at University of Texas at Dallas, and Dwayne Carter at Richland College. I wouldn’t have a career as a college professor without them. I have many dear friends who make up my network of artists across the world whose work inspires me and and who have given me invaluable feedback on my films and installations like Eileen Maxson, Morehshin Allahyari, Olivia Ciummo, Roger Beebe, Arthur Peña, Marwa Benhalim, and Tamer El Said. There are so many other people I could mention, because part of the beauty of being an artist is in being part of a large community, making opportunities for others, sharing your work, and supporting one another through struggle after struggle.

Website: https://michaelalexandermorris.com

Other: https://vimeo.com/michaelalexandermorris

Image Credits
Nan Coulter, Bart Weiss, Mono No Aware, San Diego Underground Film Festival, Michael Morris

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