Stella Maris
Experimental Super 8 / video; running time: 11 min. Sound and Music: Mario-Erik Paoli Musicians: Mario-Erik Paoli, Ramiro de la Zerda, Bryon Hankins
Camera: Michael Teitel + Clea Waite, Editing: Clea Waite
Cast: Angela Babin, Jane Gillooly, Celia Lee, Nancy Manley, C. Lisa Monrose, Regan Perry, Yvette Torell, Jane St. Clair, Clea Waite, Cindy Woolworth
Texts: Wolkstein / Kramer (from the Sumerian), James Joyce "Ulysses", Osip Mandelstam, Sappho, Clea T. Waite
Narrators: Karine Hrechdakian, Erin Scott
Stella Maris is a study of the human form and the use of light, movement, rhythm, and sound to evoke the kind of metaphor and sensibility usually associated with poetry. The triptych structure of Stella Maris echoes the Triple Goddess archetypes, the Virgin, Matron, and Crone, who personify the three main phases of existence, Birth, Life, and Death. The structural references to the Goddess in the piece are complemented by Mario-Erik Paoli's score, which interweaves sounds from nature with the music. The imagery of this piece was inspired by the unique quality of light under water, by the photography of Brett Weston and Phillipe Lavaille, and marble statues from Antiquity. The text was drawn from ancient Sumerian prayers, the poetry of Sappho, Osip Mandelstam, and James Joyce's Ulysses, as well as original writings.
© Clea T. Waite 1988
This work was created with the support of The National Endowment for the Arts New England Regional Fellowship + MIT Film/Video and B.K.