THIS STATE I'M IN is an experimental feature film starring many Houston artists and curators from the late 1980's / early 1990's. This section features two scenes by the late great curator Walter Hopps who played the role of PELHAM SHIVERS, a dysfunctional artist and father who lived with his family along the remote Texas coastal plain. The first scene he is attempting to explain to his daughter TRUEY (Claudia Obrosey) the fish kills found frequently in the polluted waters of Galveston Bay. The second scene he is attempting to rationalize to himself why his daughter, his son, and his wife have all left him. George Shackelford (now at the MFA/Boston) is the narrator.
◇ This State I'm In (trailer) on Vimeo
In 1990 THIS STATE I’M IN was completed after over four years of work by lens-based artist Robert Ziebell. The initial grant funding for the project was to create a trailer for a film that would never be made. The ensuing outstanding performances by a multitude of characters from the Houston, Texas, art scene encouraged Ziebell to expand his initial concept into a feature film after all, and THIS STATE I’M IN was born. In addition to its Wizard of Oz inspired narrative trajectory, the film documented Ziebell’s first impressions and actual experiences in Texas since relocating to Houston for the Museum of Fine Arts’ newly established Core artist-in-residence program. THIS STATE I’M IN may now be seen as a time-capsule preserving a vibrant moment in the nascent Houston art scene. It also foreshadows the future of Houston and surrounding areas, from events such as the Enron scandal to Hurricane Ike and the fate of the Bolivar Peninsula.
Full feature now available for the iPad:
itunes.apple.com/us/app/this-state-im-in/id422238252?mt=8
