Ted Regklis

ORNIS

Fetters of Beauty.

This piece is part of the ‘Music Pieces’ series, where I explore the interconnected inspiration between music, sound, film, and words.

Each work in this series intertwines three core components: sound, visuals, and text, with no fixed hierarchy among them. A single quote might spark a musical composition, or a visual element might lead to a new musical direction. These elements evolve in tandem through a refining process, resulting in a final creation—a short film, video art piece, or music film—that I refer to as a ‘Music Piece.’

‘Ornis’ began with just a draft of a musical motif. The discovery of stunning footage by Ami Bornstein spurred the completion of the composition.

The footage depicted birds in a zoo, presented in random order. As I studied the visuals, I noticed their striking beauty and later observed them engaging in acrobatics, which was surprisingly impactful. This imagery redirected the music towards exploring the concept of beauty as a potential constraint—a force that compels individuals to prioritize others’ needs over their own.

In absence of a suitable quote, I coined the phrase ‘Fetters of Beauty,’ drawing a parallel between ‘fetters’ and ‘feathers,’ reflecting on the burdens that beauty can impose.

PORFYRA

“Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream." - Euripides

There’s a profound serenity in slow motion, even when it unveils something dreadful. It’s the chance to witness an event’s magnitude and truly grasp its gravity.

These visuals marked the beginning. A house ablaze, a tragic scene, captured in slow motion. I aimed to convey the overwhelming impact of witnessing such trauma, where life is abruptly divided into before and after.

Fire possesses a strange purifying quality, leaving nothing in its wake. In Greece, wildfires are all too frequent, each summer engulfing forests, homes, and lives. Repeated exposure numbs us, dulling our empathy and sensitivity.

My own growing desensitization compelled me to explore this theme. I often wonder if this artistic pursuit is merely a feeble coping mechanism, offering solace in the face of devastation. Perhaps that’s enough—yet uncertainty lingers.”

“Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream.” - Euripides

This quote, loosely translated from Euripides’ play “Alcestis,” resonates deeply. The play delves into love, sacrifice, and the delicate boundary between life and death.

ESTI

“someone will remember us, I say, even in another time” - Sappho

When you look closely into someone’s eyes, you can glimpse the universe.

‘Èstí’ explores what remains of each of these worlds, what stays remembered.

‘Someone will remember us, I say, even in another time’ - Sappho

This quote, perhaps a paraphrase or interpretation from an ancient Greek lyric poet named Sappho, sparked my initial inspiration. I began gathering visual pieces, focusing on close-ups of eyes. When the time came to compose the piece, I knew the direction I wanted to take. I aimed to capture the essence of encountering a universe behind a gaze—a fusion of the past, what lies beyond, and the future, what lies ahead, the horizon of their gaze. Through the music, I sought to evoke a sense of awe, akin to witnessing a cosmic phenomenon, an inevitable event unfolding, where one can only observe.

THE PLEDGE

My overarching aim with ‘Music Pieces’ is to ignite the audience’s imagination, encouraging them to interpret the provided stimuli and weave their own narratives.

In this particular work, I focused on the human condition, particularly the concept of suffering. Few things illustrate suffering as vividly as historical torture practices, particularly depicted in medieval drawings, which have always fascinated me. The idea that people devised methods and tools to inflict pain, often driven by beliefs, has deeply troubled me.

The inception of this piece began with an audio sample, that initial plucked strum sound. Its trajectory toward darkness remains a mystery to me; perhaps it’s a topic for my therapist. However, it led me to create this haunting composition. To my ear, it evokes the essence of the Dark Ages through a storyteller’s lens, not only in its thematic content but also in its harmonic structure.

At 1:38, the chord progression encapsulates the piece’s core. It imagines a convergence embodying aspects of God, confusion, passion, hatred, and affliction.

Subsequently, I sought out drawings from that historical era to complement the piece’s narrative.

Lastly, the quote is from Homer’s ‘The Iliad’:

‘That is the god’s work, spinning threads of death through the lives of mortal men, and all to make a song for those to come…’”

APODIMOS

Elevation and fall. The void.

This is the first piece in my “Music Pieces” series, and perhaps one of the most honest.

The footage came first, and I slowed it down further, drawn to the contrast of the dark figures of the birds against the deep blue sky. Something about the scene stirred a mix of calmness and unease, as if capturing the quiet yet inevitable moment of abandonment. Slowing it down amplified the weight of their action—leaving this place behind, in the dark.