Detroit Transect — Glimpsing (2014 DOWNIE KAISER)

Glimpsing (23 min) is a section of the Detroit Transect suite of 3D films by Marc Downie and Paul Kaiser. Detroit Transect forges a new kind of visual documentary radically different from the conventional documentary form.

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.

The fastest-paced and most abstract of the five films, Glimpsing challenges the eye to find clarity in the welter of impressions, only occasionally honing in and freezing on such clarity itself.

Detroit: Transect

Our artists’ statement and a well-illustrated account of the sections and methods of the entire Detroit Transectproject is provided in this PDF document (18 mb).

Support

The executive producer was Dennis Scholl. Support provided by the Witt Residency Program at the Stamps School of Art & Design, University of Michigan and by

In early 2015 this artwork was aquired by MoMA for it permament collection.