A time-based media artist, John Warren has completed many short works that seek to question, to interpret, and to express that which transcends language. His lyrical films and installations have been exhibited internationally at a wide range of galleries and festivals. Warren earned an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and currently teaches Video Art and Film Fundamentals at Vanderbilt University. He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife and daughter.
Working primarily with a 16mm Bolex motion picture camera—a technology considered by some to be obsolete—I have discovered a world of dynamic and transcendent possibilities. By pushing the format and camera to its mechanical limits, 16mm film can be a medium surprisingly flexible in terms of shooting and in-camera editing. I also use digital post-production tools like Adobe Premiere and After Effects to further manipulate my alchemical material.
The expressive way I frame the world through the camera lens reveals the relationship between the medium, the subject, and myself. My artistic approach is informed by a mix of memory, dreams, emotions, revelation, and poetry. I remain flexible when shooting and editing, and I form an idea that becomes an organizing principle. Each piece is a record of discovery, connecting my emotional state with the inner life of my subject. All my projects are concerned with a spirit of inquiry into the deep nature of film, of substance, of luminosity and shadow.
Film and digital production; experimental filmmaking; film/video installation and expanded cinema; analysis of work through the artistic and technical processes of production; DIY filmmaking.