Stripping Away the Las Vegas Strip

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Photos by Jeremy Corbell

by Ashley Avis

Jeremy Corbell talks art, his new documentary Lost Vegas, and being an "accidental artist".

There's a magnetic quality to Jeremy Corbell's work. Something quietly, gently undefined, which parallels way he views himself as an artist and... recently, a startlingly strong emerging filmmaker.

Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, a former jiu-jitsu warrior (... literally), is an artist well known for his unique, avant guard mixed media pieces ... which are generally vibrant with color, character -- and interwoven with texture. They allow your eyes to almost feel.

More recently on the slate for Corbell, however, is his new documentary, a project called 'Lost Vegas', which will mark his directorial debut. The film is twelve minutes of those two exact things Corbell infuses into his pieces... color, emotional texture. And just like his art, the film looks perfectly, unapologetically evocative.

Bunker Hill: Tell Me About Los Vegas.

Jeremy Corbell: I directed, shot, filmed, and edited the entire short. We rolled out to Vegas a few months ago during "the rapture" which was supposedly the end of the world -- and there was this really enigmatic guy I wanted to interview while we were out there. He's really outspoken about advanced ariel technology, was in the CIA, has some wild theories. Everyone said, "you can't get ahold of this guy, you can't interview him". And he called me up!

The short of it was, however, that in the end he wouldn't let me film him. So I took my camera, grabbed some beers, and just started walking up and down the strip. And then this... Las Vegas idea... just jumped into my head. People literally started jumping in front of my camera and talking. So, as I walked up and down... I asked them all two questions.

Bunker Hill: What did you ask?

Jeremy Corbell: What's the biggest risk you've ever taken, and how have you benefited by taking that risk? And... Do you believe in life outside this planet? Man. From the guy who's an excessive gambler, his experiences ... to people who have been shot in the head by their own best friends ... the stories these people told were so genuine, so real. It was crazy what people shared.

Bunker Hill: How many people did you end up interviewing?

Jeremy Corbell: In the film, we show interviews of a total of six people. The depth of their experience. Flashes.

Bunker Hill: What did you shoot it on? The imagery is stunning.

Jeremy Corbell: It was literally shot with me walking down that street with a 5D camera [Canon 5D Mark II], a tripod, and a little light and a microphone. From about 9pm to 6am I walked up and down that strip backward about eight times and just found these... incredible people. The last shot was from my hotel window when the sun was coming up.

Bunker Hill: What else, film-wise, are you working on right now?

Jeremy Corbell: Well, I'm also working on a documentary about extraordinary belief systems. For about eight months, I've been following, interviewing this guy, Ken -- who claims to have the unique ability to summon what you and I would call UFOs. He describes them differently... as angels, extraterrestrials. Now, this is something most of us would consider an outlandish belief system... but [his beliefs] have profoundly impacted and bettered his life.

There's a part of me that's very intrigued on a fundamental level that positive belief systems can change, or alter our, lives... so, seeing a guy like this, seeing how he looks at the world / his point of perspective... I wanted to explore that [in film]. That's all I can tell you for now!

Bunker Hill:What kind of advice would you offer to a young artist who wants to get into directing... into photography... into art, but might be afraid?

Jeremy Corbell: (laughs). I think you just answered your own question. Fear is the one inhibitor of our lives. We all know it. It's in our subconscious. Whatever your dream is -- whatever my dream is -- the only difference between a dream and a reality if picking up and doing something about it. Not taking no for an answer.

I'm an accidental everything... an accidental artist, an accidental filmmaker, the difference was, I walked through it. I used it as an opportunity. I guess my answer is: use fear as propulsion [for what you want to do]. You'll have great failure, sure. But see those failures for what they are, learn from them. Go wall to wall! Life isn't as beautiful, otherwise.

Corbell and his wife, artist Katrina Bea, will be coming together for an immersive new show -- which will put on display the process of the artist at Groundfloor Gallery in 2012.

 

Check it out on the web...

Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell: www.JeremyCorbell.com

See the official trailer for 'Lost Vegas' at: www.LosVegasMovie.com

 

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