"Renaitre" by Russell Chartier

Russell J. Chartier, video
Paul J. Botelho, music (not heard here)

“Renaitre” (2020) echoes the rekindling of self through shimmering vignettes and reverberating soundscapes. The piece depicts glimpses of memories that lay shrouded in an opaque fog of radiated ripples of sound and light and affirms the rebirth of spirit. Transcension is the predominant focus of the work and is evoked figuratively as a cyclically resounding and relentless journey toward the exaltation of truth. The multilayered video and audio piece stands as a statement of hope.

An important aspect of the collaboration between Russell J. Chartier and Paul J. Botelho is the principle of synchronicity. The video artist and the composer never work directly with one another’s work during the collaboration. Only the specific duration of the piece is agreed upon and no other communication in regard to the work is made during the collaboration. Solely upon the completion of both the video and music components is the work realized. The artists call this process a collective subconscious, a term which refers not only to the exclusionary creative actions which take place in their collaborative effort, but more broadly as the commonality that permeates betwixt the artists and those close to them. Unfortunately, due to technical constraints, the projection here is not able to support sound.

Russell J. Chartier attended the College of Santa Fe. Since that time he has spent many years working in Broadcast Television working for various networks including A&E, The History Channel, YES Network and several others. His work in the Video Art Medium explores multiple layers and focuses heavily on texture and color. Many of the images in his works are distorted and manipulated in various unorthodox in an attempt to create a visual depth where recognizable images will appear within the collage of manipulated images and textures.

Paul J. Botelho is a composer, performer, developer, and artist whose work includes acoustic and electro-acoustic music, multimedia installation pieces, visual art works, vocal improvisation, and a series of one-act operas. He performs as a vocalist primarily with extended technique and incorporates the voice into much of his music. His work has been performed, presented, and exhibited in concerts, festivals, galleries, and museums across the world. Botelho received a Ph.D. and M.F.A. in Music Composition from Princeton University, an M.A. in Electro-Acoustic Music from Dartmouth College, and a B.F.A. in Contemporary Music Performance and Composition from the College of Santa Fe. Currently he is Associate Professor of Music at Bucknell University where he teaches music composition.