tqc #eight-escape - Cosmic Horses

Always mumbling they are through buckets one sad soul destined for doom. 

the q continuum #eight - Bethany Scholl and Julia Prudhomme of Cosmic Horses

from left to right Bethany Scholl and Julia Prudhomme - photo by Barsin Aghajan

dg recently had an exciting opportunity to chat with Bethany Scholl and Julia Prudhomme (the two great minds behind Cosmic Horses - a team exploration of videography/cinematography, photography, multiple forms of visual art, found art, sound art and poetry! no lie, they do it all!).

while I was researching a bit about the artists who were to appear as part of Omar Mosquera's art show, ".cultura, ciudad y campo #1", (which took place at the Niagara Artists' Centre from August 13th-20th,) I happened to stumble upon Cosmic Horses' blog-archive. needless to say, I was blown away. (take a look at their online portfolio here.) not only was the sheer multitude of media used by the duo impressive and admirable, the quality of the work-- in each medium-- was shocking.

I felt a kind of artistic kinship with the work's humble nature and whimsical spirit.

the amount of play with so many different levels of sensory input - colour, lighting, sound, texture, etc. - was overwhelmingly stimulating. in fact, when I met up with Cosmic Horses, I told the pair about how my own personal 'sum-up' of their work might be something like, 'Dr. Seuss meets Beetlejuice', at which point both Julia and Bethany chimed in excitedly, "... on acid".

the two were ecstatic to have recently found out that a video piece of theirs called 'put on some raspberry chapstick these hands are frosted' (2011) had been published on an admired and exclusive art website, "Lost at E Minor: For Creative People":

'digital and animated video with audio mash-up' (Source.)

the innate psychedelic quality of the duo's art was mind-blowing to me. I asked how they had met each other and decided to form their own art-group. Bethany described that during their second year Sculpture class at Brock University three years earlier, they'd been grouped together for a nature-themed project: "we had to do an outdoor installation... so we were just spending way too much time out in the woods having fun... we became best friends."

the two told me that their respective work styles rarely ever clash in a negative way. if anything, their differences-- if there are any-- only make their collaborative work all the more well-rounded and layered.

probably my favourite film pieces of Cosmic Horses' are the videos that strategically withhold their typical play with sound or colour, as in the pieces, "Without Colours" (2010),

 'digital video and stop motion animation ... audio by Spencer Burton' (Source.) 

and, "Whimsical verse to a Vomit" (2011), which plays with the absence of sound.

stop motion animation (Source.) 

having read a lot about the level of patience necessary to work with stop motion animation, I was interested in learning a bit more about Cosmic Horses' experiences with the often frustrating video-style.

Cosmic told me that it typically takes them thirty-two frames to get even one second of stop motion film! "but," Julia explained, "the results are completely worth all the work!" 

Comic Horses' pure dedication to their field was amazing to hear about. so were their adventures in discovering found art from by-chance places like garage sales, antique shops, Goodwill, or even side-walks!

the Cosmic Horses' found-art icon 'Cabbage':

Bethany and Julia are soon off to British Columbia to continue their art projects, and gain some inspiration from the new scenery of the Canadian West. (Julia will also be beginning her MA program in Video Art from UBC.) while on their way to B.C., they'll be sending postcards to their friends and families back home in Southern Ontario-- decked out in Cosmic Horses style, of course.

dg is very excited for the future of this talented art duo! not only are their works genuinely well thought out, creative, and complex, but the two just have actual fun with their art-- something many artists and writers forget to do. 

if you'd like to find out more about Cosmic Horses or their work, you can check out their blog here :)

v live long, prosper, and HAVE FUN v
 

"Running with Minnesota" (2011) video installation:

about CH by CH:

Faith is an interstellar girl and Love is a stormy lemons.

All Cosmic Horses eat young, cold waves.

The rainy crystal ball roughly runs the woods.

The small sparkles swiftly hide the wave, play, majestic, and silent.

Scream roughly like a fast Julia.

Julia's talk like rainy Julia's.

All Julia's fight faceless, rainy Julia's.

Bethany the ghost haunts lion, tigers and bears

Flacking Penguins to the spawn

Sometimes you amaze me with your frightening fears

We'll soon see rosy-fingered dawn eating Golden Wonder.

Always mumbling they are through buckets one sad soul destined for doom.

At times like these I find a turtle very handy.

A wanderer emanates velvet bananas.

Called to mind a stampede of our savior's apostles coughing and choking longing to be free shakes her head and whines a little.