FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2003
Turbulence Commission: "Stop Motion Studies-Tokyo" by David Crawford
http://turbulence.org/Works/sms

"Stop Motion Studies (SMS)Tokyo" is a series of experimental
documentaries that chronicle David Crawford's interaction with subway
passengers in Tokyo, Japan on October 28, 2003. The aim of the SMS
project is to create an international character study based on the
aspects of identity that emerge. The body language of the subjects
becomes the basic syntax for a series of Web-based animations exploring
movement, gesture, and algorithmic montage.

The SMS extend Crawford's long standing interest in narrative and, in
particular, look at the subway as a stage upon which social dynamics and
individual behavior are increasingly mediated by digital technology. As
one of the most vibrant and egalitarian networks in our cities, subways
bring people from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds into
close contact with each other. This process plays a significant role in
shaping both the character of a city as well as our individual identities.

"SMSTokyo" is a 2003 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.
for its Turbulence Web site. It was made possible by a grant from the
LEF Foundation.

BIOGRAPHY

David Crawford was born in Riverside, California in 1970. He studied
film, video, and new media at the Massachusetts College of Art and
received a BFA in 1997. In 1999, his Here and Now project was
commissioned by New Radio and Performing Arts with funds from National
Endowment for the Arts. In 2000, Crawford's Light of Speed project was a
finalist for the SFMOMA Webby Prize for Excellence in Online Art. In
2003, his Stop Motion Studies project received an Artport Gate Page
Commission from the Whitney Museum of American Art and an Award of
Distinction in the Net Vision category at the Prix Ars Electronica.

For more information about Turbulence Commissions please visit
http://turbulence.org