Ulysses in the Subway

The film exploits a telephoto lens, shallow depth of field, and the reconstruction of 3D space from successive frames where possible to capture the rich surface details of the route, which range from brick walls and windows to fences and foliage to railings and graffiti.

All Sides of the Road derives from a twelve-minute 3D video capture of Old Highway 101 entering and departing Dewitt, Iowa. After the title image, the cameras are pointed directly down at the highway, which becomes a rushing microcosm of the world that evokes landscapes both of America and of the mind. The resulting spectacle is both utterly photorealistic and phantasmagoric. In addition to landscape, this digital film also evokes earlier forms of analog film, especially those of the American avant-garde, for the physical properties of the highway are like those of celluloid. In motion, the textures of asphalt and concrete look a lot like film grain, while the lane markers flickering by are easily mistaken for the lines and letterings on film leader rushing through the projector gate.

Repeated visual searches along the full length of the Brush Street transect, moving south to north. It comprises 10 distinct sections, which may be viewed in sequence in a cinema or, for installation purposes, split apart for spatial juxtaposition.