Naomi & Irving

Laura Bouza (in person) - 2007, 4:00, 16mm/miniDV, Los Angeles, CA

Filmed in Boyton Beach, Florida, at ages 80 and 90 respectively, Naomi and Irving share their exercise routines.

Naomi & Irving is the first film in a series of portraits based on routines that I am working on.

Laura Bouza is a film and video artist whose body of work includes performance and installation. A recent graduate of California Institute of the Arts MFA Program in Film/Video, Naomi & Irving is the first in an on-going series of portraits based on routines.

Questions with Laura Bouza by Liz Wing

Liz Wing: What's your relationship to the subjects of the film? Had you known them long before asking them to be a part of the project?

Laura Bouza: Naomi and Irving are my maternal grandparents. I have always admired my grandmother’s exercise routine in the pool. She was a dancer and although her movements in the pool are for herself, there is a performance aspect to them as well. Being nearly 10 years younger than my grandfather, she always made sure he exercised daily to keep in shape. I thought it would be interesting to make a portrait of her daily movement routine along side my grandfather’s walks.

LW: Was there any particular reason why you chose to work in black & white?

LB: I was drawn to using black and white reversal simply because I thought it would be a beautiful way of rendering water and light.

LW: I'm curious to hear if your thoughts on aging changed as a result of making the film. Did any of your preconceptions shift?

LB: I don’t know if I can say that my thoughts on aging have changed so much. They’ve probably expanded. I think that the body is amazing and beautiful as it ages. I also think there is a connection between physical and mental agility, working on the articulation of one will enhance the other.