‘GRAVITY’ BY MICHAEL HAUSSMAN SPEEDS UP THE AGING PROCESS – BY HUFFINGTON POST
Gravity isn’t kind to aging bodies, but the decades-long transformation makes for a gentle easing into wrinkles, cellulite and skin flaps.
Not so with “Gravity,” a video installation by Michael Haussman. The artist asked his subjects to jump on a trampoline while he shot them at 2,000 frames per second. In the post-production stage, he steadied the subjects in the frame so that only their skin, muscles and fat jumped up and down. Add some spooky music and the finished video becomes a haunting homage to aging and decay.
“The overall effect is somewhat disturbing,” explains Haussman in the description of the video on YouTube. “We see a singular subject who does not move, and yet the way in which his or her skin moves seems to suggest a kind of time-lapse aging, where they suddenly go from 18 years-old to 55 in a matter of seconds.”
The hyper-aging process can transform one’s perception of a subject, all of whom are naked and holding a prop. Take, for example, Haussman’s first subject: a blonde woman holding her bra and panties.
“She is obviously not coming from a good place, and when she’s at the bottom of the jump, she suddenly ages forty years, making her a Sunset Boulevard tragedy,” says Haussman. “However when she soars up, her body is flawless and attractive and she exudes a confident beauty, making her red underwear sexually promiscuous and enticing.”
“Gravity” was on display at Young Projects Gallery from February to March in Los Angeles, Calif. The exhibit is over, but check out photos from the installation courtesy of Young Projects Gallery.
