The Galilean Satellites is a series of four films that explore the four large moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei on January 7, 1610 : Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The discovery of these satellites disproved the then-popular geocentric model of the heavens, turning the world of Astronomy upside down, and laid the groundwork for our current understanding of the solar system. The Galilean Satellites are complex dynamic bodies that are highly influenced by their surroundings. Their close proximity to Jupiter encourages their individual personalities. The Giant planet's gravitational forces produce tidal effects on the moons, warming them and provoking tectonic activity. Magnetic radiation from the gas giant interacts with their atmospheres, creating auroras and storms. This series of four films is a personal response to and reflection on working in the close orbit of Stan Brakhage, whose mass of work and gravity of being rivaled that of Jove himself. His works turned the world of cinema inside out and honestly portrayed the complexity of the spectrum of human emotions. The series is also a reflection on my relationships with those fellow Coloradoan satellites with whom I feel a close bond through our shared cinematic and human experiences. These films were made through a similar manipulation of dynamic materials. Materials in a delicate phase of matter - liquid crystal - were pushed to their individual limits by bending, pressing and heating. The changes provoked by these forces - strange and subtle changes in visible light - were recorded on film. The result is an exploration of plastic materials in a plastic medium. The optical soundtrack consists of a recording made in the invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum: radio recordings of Io, Ganymede and Jupiter from NASA's Galileo and Voyager missions, also manipulated to express the personalities of these moons.
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