February 26, 2011 • 4:18 am 0
I made a new piece called Rosetta and showed it a Future Tenant in Pittsburgh, PA. It’s a digital print, 24×36″. I started with a low-res image of the Rosetta Stone, which was the key to translating hieroglyphics. I’ll get a detail shot soon so you can see that it’s been really compressed by both digital translation and scale. But this new language is yet to be determined…
Thad is posing with the piece for scale.
Filed under: Uncategorized
February 20, 2011 • 11:57 pm 0
I was included in a program as part of Feedback: Video by Artists, screening in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature (part of the University of Richmond Museums, see below).
Somewhere only we know already screened in Program 1 alongside some heavy hitters! but there are still great programs as well as performances and lectures through late March so if you are in Richmond check it out!
More about Feedback: Video by Artists
The University of Richmond Museums presents Feedback: Video by Artists, on view from January 12 to March 18, 2011, in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature. The exhibition consists of eight videos, divided into four categories, and accompanied by two lectures and a five-part screening series. Together, these works are designed to set contemporary artists’ videos in a historical context. Focusing on the distinct features of this medium, the exhibition highlights video in its nascent form with an accompanying series of screenings of contemporary video art.
Filed under: Somewhere only we know, The Bearing Witness Trilogy
February 20, 2011 • 11:49 pm 0
I’ll be showing Climbing as part of group show curated by Thomas Weinrich that marks the opening of his new space Interstate Projects in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The show is called Life in a Peaceful New World and opens March 4. Also featured in the show is fellow Chicagoan Eric Fleischauer, who will be in attendance at the opening. Have fun in NY!
Filed under: Uncategorized
February 4, 2011 • 7:02 pm 0
Rising stars and acclaimed masters come to screen their films and talk with Wexner Center audiences.
Wed, Feb 16, 2011 | 7:00PM
Dani Leventhal, a talented filmmaker from Columbus who is now based in Brooklyn, and Chicago-based video artist Jesse McLean introduce this one-of-a-kind program of new shorts.
The program seeks to take stock of this present moment in a handful of recent videos and films that balance the impersonal technological tenor of the times with a complex emotional palate ranging from tenderness to irony. At the center of the program is Leventhal’s Hearts Are Trump Again, a remarkable diary collage film. Pop songs feature prominently in several other works, including Wex favorite Michael Robinson’s new video, These Hammers Don’t Hurt Us, which imaginatively and astonishingly fuses footage from a Michael Jackson video with Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. McLean’s Magic for Beginners assesses a particularly modern emotional landscape through an examination of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tron videogame machines, Celine Dion, and Andy Warhol. And that’s just the start of the evening—you won’t want to miss this. (program app. 100 mins., video and 16mm)
Filed under: Magic for Beginners
February 4, 2011 • 12:34 am 0
Somewhere only we know will be screened at Transmediale, in Berlin, screening as part of the Live on TV program this Sunday. The program looks great, I love the still!
Filed under: Somewhere only we know, The Bearing Witness Trilogy
February 4, 2011 • 12:30 am 0
I am super excited to be screening Magic for Beginners as part of the Images Festival in Toronto! More details to come regarding screening. I will definitely be in attendance!
Filed under: Magic for Beginners
February 4, 2011 • 12:29 am 0
Got the word that Somewhere only we know will be part of FLEXFEST, a really terrific festival! More details regarding the screening to come, if you happen to be in Gainesville, FL….
Filed under: Somewhere only we know, The Bearing Witness Trilogy
February 4, 2011 • 12:27 am 0
Magic for Beginners will screen as part of group program (with a nice title) curated by Pamela Cohn.
MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS Curated by Pamela Cohn
SKALITZER140/TEMPORARY
U8/U1 Kottbusser Tor-Skalitzer Strasse 140, Kreuzberg, first floor 04.02.2011 / Friday / 20H
Fallen Art, Tomasz Baginski—6’ 40” animation, Poland, 2004
On a remote atoll, an old, forgotten military base sits somewhere in the Pacific. Soldiers who have lost their minds due to the hardships of past missions and exemplary officers the Army can’t get rid of are sent there. Laws and rules go by the wayside and the lost General creates his unique artwork with an endless supply of material.
The Guarantee, Jesse Epstein—11’ animated documentary, US, 2007
A dancer’s story about his prominent nose and the effect it has on his career. “Pinocchio,” “Schnozola,” “Sir Nose,” Charles grows up to be self-conscious of his prominent Italian nose. Still, he is shocked when one of the teachers at his ballet academy asks him to consider plastic surgery to forward his career. Of course, in ballet, as in life, there are no guarantees as to whether it will land him a starring role. In Part 2 of her Body Typed series, Epstein uses illustration and humor to instigate serious focus on body image, cultural identity, and the often-dangerous pursuits of physical perfection.
There’s a War Outside My Window, Christian Sønderby Jepsen—29’experimental documentary, Denmark, National Film School, 2007
This quietly disturbing film explores the indoctrination of young minds. Five boys from the country are tried and tested in a Danish forest at sundown, receiving and feeding one another random bits of information about a world they have not yet experienced. Insidious and chilling, this is a piece that will stay with you long after it’s over. [Warning for the squeamish: the film contains a graphic scene of chicken slaughter.]Falsche Freunde / False Friends, Sylvia Schedelbauer—4’ 50” experimental, Germany, 2007
Schedelbauer presents a haunting montage of mid-20th century found footage. Mysterious strands are obsessively braided to create a poetic reflection about an anxious interplay of memory and projection. The jury at the German Film Critics’ Award in 2008 had this to say: “With the simple means of old black-and-white archive material and rather familiar, albeit slightly alienated horror soundtrack, the director manages to draw the viewer into the nightmarish atmosphere of the images by the unsettling rhythm of the cuts.” Filmmaker will be present.
Reveries in a Small World, James T. Hong and Yin-Ju Chen—19’ experimental, Taiwan/The Netherlands, 2010
Enter the netherworld of provocative and whip-smart husband and wife team, Hong and Chen, in one of their latest collaborations: The Defense Security Cooperation Agency releases the news that they have notified Congress of a Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States of 35 advanced adaptive control unmanned aerial vehicles. The information they gather, including forays into Disneyland’s Small World, will surprise you.
Real Snow White, Pilvi Takala—9’ experimental documentary, Finland, 2009
A “fake” Snow White wreaks havoc at the gates of Disneyland-Paris, forcing frantic guards to work overtime in the director’s hilarious performance piece. With simple means and great effect, she exposes the fear of the real in the midst of an artificial paradise when as a fan of Disney’s Snow White, she is banned from entering the park dressed as her favorite character since the “real” one is inside ready to pose with paying customers. The slogan ‘Dreams Come True’ means only dreams produced (and owned) exclusively by Disney, of course.
Magic for Beginners, Jesse McLean—20 minutes—experimental, US, 2010
The latest film from this Chicago-based artist examines the mythologies found in fan culture, from longing to obsession to psychic connections. The need for such connections, whether real or imagined, as well as the need for an emotional release that only fantasy can deliver, is explored. [Warning: Halfway through the piece, there is an extended and very intense stroboscopic light effect that may bother some people and/or be dangerous to watch for anyone with an epileptic condition.]
The program is approximately 90 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.
Filed under: Magic for Beginners
