TASMAN RICHARDSON
1996/1997
Fourth year OCAD, pioneered the Jawa method. A straight cut a/v editing style with strict use of scavenged video source with its sound intact. Violence and immediacy combined with spectacle were primary. Precise micro edits thanks to the invention of non-linear digital editing. The cutup dictated the rhythmic result. The technique is picked up and credited by many peers including Jubal Brown and Leslie Peters. Scratch and Pummel are acquired by the National Gallery of Canada.
1999/2000
After graduating, scavenging was essential. Computing power was too weak for full quality home editing. Glitch, ASCII text art, and circuit bending experiments were manageable alternatives which could be layered. The Atari 2600 remixes tested the primitive limits of straight cut glitch editing. Collaboration with Leslie Peters explores analog vs digital glitch.
2001
Improvements in home editing allow a return to sampling video footage. Satire of spectacle focused on totalitarianism and media hysteria. All edits are still limited to single layer straight cut. Extensive collaboration and co-exhibition with Jubal Brown leads to competitive improvements and experiments in editing.
2002
Applying a structured frame count using multiples of four allows for more complex editing with layered combinations. Jawa edits start to take on stronger musical quality. Sensational pop and media imagery are heavily scavenged. The Self-deprecating Basement Boy Hardcore series begins coinciding with the rise of the Breakcore music genre. FAMEFAME media arts collective is co-founded with long time collaborator Jubal Brown and is joined by Elenore Chesnutt and Josh Avery.
The Basement Boy Hardcore series ends resulting in a DVD video album. An experimental concept which was extremely rare which attempted to sell video collage alongside music in stores. Jawa is shared through festival competitions like Attack of the Clones. Artists are invited to edit using only The Sixth Day as source. The power of the edit as gesture becomes the prime focus.
2003/2004
2005/2006
To advance awareness of Jawa, international competition and outreach is launched by our collective FAMEFAME in the form of an annual a/v tournament called Videodrome. In Toronto, it's hosted at The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. Abroad, the works are exhibited in Paris, London, Syracuse, and Tokyo. Shadowplay, my jawa video essay summarizes a decade of my perspectives on video. Read curator, Clara Hargittay's commentary below.
Tasman Richardson’s Shadowplay: A Consideration, Clara Hargittay