Red Buffalo Skydive is a 3 minute video featuring a repeating 6 second 
clip of an animated running buffalo combined with dialogue of the artist 
repeating a story told to her by a paraplegic man who picked her up 
hitchhiking. Initially, the imagery and dialogue do not appear to be 
related, but as the piece progresses, the viewer may begin to make 
associations, and even synchronistic connections, between the two stories.
The animation is a rotoscope, drawn over frames from video footage Norris 
shot of a young buffalo belonging to the Hochunk Nation in Wisconsin, 
while she was visiting there. Unusual for animation, each of the over 100 
drawings contained in the 6 second clip were also created to be able to 
stand on their own as individual works. Although you cannot necessarily 
see the beauty and intricacy of the drawings as you watch the animation, 
it is Norrisıs intention that you can Œglimpseı their nature. In this she 
creates a parallel to her perceptions of everyday reality; that we canıt 
see everything thatıs really there; that many things, particularly the 
spirit world, remain largely invisible to us ­ but we still catches 
glimpses of that bigger ­ or different ­ picture. 
Red Buffalo Skydive is the artistıs first foray into the combining of 
apparently unrelated visual & audio Œstoriesı ­ an idea intended to create 
a kind of diary, chronicling random experiences and tying them together in 
unexpected ways.
" In this case, I found the survival thing one of the most immediate 
connections between the characters. Thereıs a parallel between the 
tenacity of this white guy who continues to skydive even after becoming a 
paraplegic ­ and that of the buffalo ­ and the nations who are so 
inextricably connected with them. Another thing I was struck by was the 
ability of all parties not only to survive in the face of such great odds, 
but to do so with style ­ a certain kind of beautiful Œcrazinessı.
There are other connections there, too, maybe some even I havenıt seen or 
heard yet.. Itıs a format where people can find their own stories within 
another ­ to me this communicates my own ongoing wonderment at the often 
unexpected connectedness of things."

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