HD Video. “Vintage” 2012 Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Color. 4 min 23 sec. 2023.
Words by: Alexis Smith
Written by: Cuyler Ballenger, Rachel Ballenger
Featuring: Raquel Balerina
Thank you: Jane Zwernemen, The Stuart Collection and Heather Smedberg, UC San Diego Giesel Library
Snake Path by Alexis Smith is a short, experimental documentary about Alexis Smith’s 1992 installation for the Stuart Collection at UC San Diego. The work—part serpentine walkway, part symbolic journey—winds down from Geisel Library to a small garden featuring a marble bench etched with scenes from Paradise Lost and a large-scale granite book sculpture. In the film, a character plays a version of Smith during the conceptual phase of the project, voicing her ideas about the biblical serpent, Buddhist notions of the path, and the influence of On the Road. Shot on location, the film reflects on the path’s physical qualities—its curvature, tile texture, and semi-hidden placement—while considering its layered metaphors: Eden, exile, temptation, knowledge, and the infinite road.
The project draws on the style of 1970s–80s art documentaries by filmmakers such as Agnès Varda and Werner Herzog, blending educational detail with humor and personal perspective. Using Smith’s own words, factual description, and poetic reflection, the film approaches the Snake Path not only as a public artwork but as a meditation on journeys, both physical and conceptual. The making process involved archival research, on-site exploration, and performance, weaving together perspectives on labor, construction, and the hidden processes that shape public art. The result is a work that balances playfulness and seriousness, much like Snake Path itself.
Full film on Vimeo
Screenings: TBD
Some images below if you like
