How does an artist find relief from the pressures of the studio? In this film artist Tommy Hartung leaves his Ridgewood, Queens studio and takes an extended run through the streets and woods of the surrounding neighborhoods. As he jogs, Hartung discusses how running is a necessary physical and mental break from the daily challenge of his intensive in-studio filmmaking practice. Hartung’s cramped space—filled with the architectural and figurative models that populate his experimental films—evidences long hours spent working in the studio. Running along the unpaved footpaths of Forest Park, Hartung draws a connection between the contemplative isolation of jogging and a childhood spent in the woods near his family’s farm in far Western New York. Hartung eventually completes a full loop, having run from his studio to Forest Park and back, a distance of nearly ten miles. Initially trying running as a way to quit smoking, Hartung now has bigger athletic ambitions, building up the distance and frequency of his runs in preparation for possible marathon races. Featuring the work Anna (2011).
From the series, "New York Close Up"