Private Project

Candle and Heartbeat.

Candle and Heartbeat. brings together Hi8 video footage captured in St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, along with a sound recording made by the artist of her heartbeat with a DIY stethoscope microphone at home in Chicago. Executed with single takes, both files possess a slight unsteadiness, reminding us of the body’s presence. The imagery of a solitary burning candle references a common religious practice of remembering those who have passed. As the minimal and soft flame flickers and the low decibel of her heartbeat pulses, Quinn intends to evoke contemplation of the present, our bodies, and our mortality.

  • B. Quinn
    Director
  • B. Quinn
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    conceptual, psychological, death
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    3,250 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Austria
  • Shooting Format:
    High 8 Film/Handycam
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - B. Quinn

A conceptual and visual artist, B.Quinn received her BA from Chatham College for Women in Pittsburgh, PA, and later completed her MFA in Painting and Drawing at the SAIC. While living and working in Chicago, she has participated in numerous exhibitions and projects across the US and internationally. During her appointment as a Fulbright Independent Scholar in the spring of 2021, Quinn was an artist-in-residence at MQ21 in Vienna, Austria. Then, in the fall of 2021, she presented her first solo exhibition in New York, titled "The Haircut," at AIR Gallery, supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

"The Haircut" was the debut of an 18-hour single-channel video installation of the same name. It reconstructs selected scenes from movies in which female characters cut their hair or have their haircut unwillingly. Quinn spent two years researching and gathering source material from close to 600 films to produce this video-based work.

Press release: https://www.airgallery.org/s/Quinn_PR.pdf

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