Trans

Juan Aizpitarte
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The mythical figure of the lone rider is transferred to a skater drifting aimlessly while his reflections are written onto the screen.

Echoing film through a projector, the sound of a skateboard is repeated at the beginning, and then clouds. Questions and the urgent need to rush. The space is described through the skate's convolutions, moving up and down ramps between pyramid walls. Transit until he forgets himself, leaving his footprints on the path, disappearing into the sea. It is literally an escape from all rationalism, “the thinking body.” The movement activates reflection. The drift of a lone skater on the roof of a building full of architectural elements (the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lejona, Bilbao) leads him to recite his innermost thoughts.

This is an implementation of the classic situationist drift. Updated through the urban routes of the skaters, it serves to reread the urban space according to the possibilities of this sport. The city is seen as a space for sliding, full of items for jumping, falling, or slipping along the railings. Although this is not a typical skate video, where the skaters' bodies and tricks are important, where the recording must be precise to perceive the grace and versatility. This video is dirty because of super8's texture and the skater does not perform circus tricks, there is no danger or tension of him falling, and it is subtitled with deep existential speculation. This is about joy and calm, the sensations that occur on the board. Skate understood as a medium for avoiding “the mind and meeting the body”.

Technical datasheet

  • Title: Trans
  • Direction: Juan Aizpitarte
  • Production: Juan Aizpitarte. 2002.
  • Team:

    Preparation: Mikel Arbiza, Juan Aizpitarte
    Script and Production: Juan Aizpitarte
    Camera: Jon Sagala, Juan Aizpitarte
    Skater: Iñaki Aizpitarte
    Pre-editing: David Lallane
    Final Edit: Seydou Grepinet
    Production Team: Eduardo Bengoa, Jon Sagala, Juanjo Gracia, Fernando Amado
    Music: Juan Luis Etxeberría, Mikel Arbiza
    Thanks To: Zumeta video, La 8, Escuela de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Nanda Fernández

  • Duration: 00:06:08
  • Languages: Spanish
  • Subtitles: English - Spanish
  • Original format: Mini DV
  • Formats: Betacam Digital - DVD
  • TV systems: NTSC - PAL
  • License: Copyright