UNDER THE SUBWAY VIDEO ART NIGHT Third edition 2013 Curated by Antonio Ortuño June 1, 2013 8:30 pm at Local Project Art Space 45-10 Davis street Long Island City, New York/ USA
Videoartists: Balam Soto, Jean-Michel ROLLAND, Jose Luis Serzo, Sonia Laura Arma- niaco, Peter T. Christenson, Natalia Yovane, Leyla Rodriguez & Cristian Straub, Tara Raye Russo, Ausín Sáinz, Mario Sarramián, David Anthony Sant, Javier Marisco, Leonardo Gra- cés, Mauricio Sanhueza, Robin Assner & Adam Watkins, Khalif Thompson, Nancy Marti- nez, Victoria Febrer & Pedro J. Padilla, Elvira Palazuelos & Emilio Lizcano, José Luis Soto, Cris Gil Benavente, Kelly Oliver & Keary Rosen, Blanca Giménez Calpe, Adriana Marcela Rojas Espitia, The Saturday Program, Sound Composition Class, Cooper Union School of Art with Charles Fambro, Instructional Coordinator, Patricia Sádaba & Ricardo Touron, Carlo Sampietro, Pelota Cuadrada, Marcia Beatriz Granero, Christophe Bruchansky, Edu- ardo Valiña.
Local Project is a 501 (c) (3) non profit arts organization with a satellite space in Santiago, Chile called Terminal 1.
Balam Soto USA
Title: “Self Portrait“ USA. 2011 – 2013
Brief synopsis: Balam’s series “Self Portrait Videos”, Balam created videos of himself utilizing a custom software that he developed. This software allows one to see the natural, digital world, that of pixilations, as it reflects an image of the natural, human form. One of Balam’s favorite subjects to explore is the interac- tion between digital and physical reality; these videos explore the complexity of his personal interaction between these worlds.
Production format: custom software.
Jean-Michel ROLLAND Epinay-sur-Orge – FRANCE
Title: NEONS MELODY Paris. 2011
Brief synopsis: Visual and musical work on the sound and light generated by the lightning of a ceiling neon.
Video screened by Digital Graffiti – most innovative prize award, by 25èmes Instants Vidéo, TVP Kultura, THE 01 Video Art Review, Sokol, Malopolskie Cultural Center (Poland), Galeria Bielska BWA, Experiments in Cinema, by Galeria Bunkier Sztuki, by Charlotte Street Arts Center, by Artaq 2012 with men- tion from the jury, by Videoformes 2012, MADATAC4, Galeria Texu, Wroclaw Contemporary Museum, Interstitial Theatre, Galeria Labirynt, by Underground Supposedium of Electronic Arts – USEA2012, by Geh8 – Nothing Movie Night and by Novi Sad Cultural Center.
Production format: High definition video composite animation using After Ef- fects. Stereo.
Jose Luis Serzo Spain
Title: “The Grand Narrator of the lords of the forest” Spain. 2012.
Brief synopsis: “The Grand Narrator of the lords of the forest” is a video belong- ing to the last series of José Luis Serzo entitled The Lords of the forest, in this series the characters are pseudo-archetypal beings that might be daemons * same, because although their appearance whether human, deal of detail will lead to situate among those beings of collective confabulation living somewhere be- tween imagination (subcosciente group or soul of the world) and reality.
The Great Storyteller is a key figure in this series but also in the work of Serzo. In this case manifested as a big totem in the forest interior, but the time could be looking at a puppet, a puppet of ventríluoco even (by the same author?) In an artificial forest, a stage. In his disturbing and sustained silence can arise all the stories, it is silent, in the viewer’s mind.
All the stories of the world can be enclosed inside your mouth, inside the Forest. Production format: Video animation. 1:43 min
Sonia Laura Armaniaco Italy
Title: TALES OF SUSPENSUS: immaterial fields inquiring 2011
Brief synopsis: Narrative tension that remains effective even when uncertainty is neutralized – Paradoxes –
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Peter T. Christenson USA
Title: Relational Plane Rich Flight 209 Richland, WA. 2012
Brief synopsis: Relational Plane Rich!Flight 201is a ”thematically networked consciousness stream” fostered through the merging and repurposing of appro- priated video footage and found audio segments. Said clips are selected based on their similar depictions and presentations of symbolic and economic capital in popular culture and ultimately assembled to create a fluid storyline.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Natalia Yovane USA
Title: “Poltergeist” Brooklyn, NY. 2013.
Brief synopsis: This video was shot from the F train as it was going underground. I’m attracted to the way the graffiti lines start to dance and with the speed of the train it begins to look like static images on an old television screen.
Production format: DVD.
Leyla Rodriguez & Cristian Straub. Argentina-Romania
Title: Senses suspended Hamburg. 2013.
Brief synopsis: “Senses suspended” is a super8 sensory meditation which merges with it’s creators, who are joyously jumping and celebrating the beauty of their film, while, at a different spot, a mute Leyla carries the flag of victory towards a
performance space. Production format: DVD.
Tara Raye Russo USA
Title: El camino real en tonos tierra. Santa Fe, Mexico. 2013
Brief synopsis: El camino real en tonos tierra. The landscapes flipped perspec- tive gives the video a sense of other worldliness, by combining a painterly qualit while streaming in motion with a soundtrack of recorded and modified from elec- tronic devices.`
Production format: DSLR HD Video. Estereo.
Ausín Sáinz Spain
Title: THE STRAIGHT-JACKET. Spain. 2012.
Brief synopsis: It presents in an ironical way the submission of many women to Their partners. First, They moved from the doubt to the search, after from the game to the aggression and finally They struggle for Their freeing.
Production format: Video HDV 1080i60. Color. Stereo.
Colectivo Pekín es Mario Sarramián Spain
Title: Interventionism Spain. 2011.
Brief synopsis: Mao’s piece is an indictment of government intervention on mi- gration still existing in many countries, including the Republic of China, where the government, through unilateral and inhumane policies, selfishly directed movements of people, both inside the republic as to the outside and from outside it. This ‘regulation’ illegal human movement, besides being a violation of the fundamental rights of individuals, promotes corruption in government and the people. The situation in the R. Mao complaint P. China is extensible to many other countries, even some of those who consider themselves Democrats.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
David Anthony Sant Australia
Title: ‘Fractured’ Sidney. 2013
Brief synopsis: Decisions about what to film within the confines of the specific parameters of the camera frame were determined as much by the decision to avoid filming what lay outside the periphery of that frame. This film explores and reworks perceptions of urban peculiarities found in an Inner Western Sydney landscape through ever shifting camera movements and unconventional editing techniques. Human artifacts in this landscape include such peculiarities as the desolate rooftops of multistorey car parks, street signage, telegraph poles, power lines, empty construction sites and shop front awnings. The re-working is a frac- tured spatio-temporal continuity that pursues, in the visual and auditory realm, a new mode of expression that seeks to expand cinematic thought.
Production format: Digital video.
Javier Marisco Spain
Title: Subliminal Hollywodd Spain. 2010.
Brief synopsis: This piece explores the use subliminal image that, according to urban legend, Coca-Cola used, introducing these images in movies. in this case, has been subverted category: in a Coca-Cola has introduced Hollywood kisses images, if you look, never get to be consumed.
Production format: DVD stereo.
Leonardo Gracés Argentina
Title: PROXEMIA (PROXEMICS). Buenos Aires. 2012.
Brief synopsis: Where ends personal space? where starts the other ́s space? What relationships are generated when personal space is influenced by the presence of others? Can two strangers maintain an intimate relationship without wanting it? Proxemics is a reflection on space and interpersonal distance. My interest lies in the way it can be built the intimacy between people given only by the proximity of the bodies. “To the intimate distance, the presence of another person is unmis- takable and can sometimes be very upset about the influx of sensory data. The vision (often distorted), the smell, the warmth of the other person , sound, smell and feel of breath, all combine to highlight the distinctive relation to another body. “Edward T. Hall, The Hidden Dimension, 1996, p. 143.
During the process,at no more than two meters from people, the camera also takes up a space, intimidates and takes part of that suffocating mass, uniform and particular.
Mauricio Sanhueza Peru
Title: Calico. Lima. 2012.
Brief synopsis: Throughout the centuries dreams have been to many cultures around the world the images that speak of the future. In modern times dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious. Based on the myth of Per- seus, Calico is looking for the key that will lead him to a sad fate.
Production format: DSRL full HD 1080.
Robin Assner & Adam Watkins USA
Title: You Cross My Path. St. Louis. 2013.
Brief synopsis: This video documents the intricate exploration of a new domestic environment through its surfaces, textures and subtle nuances. Surveying ones surroundings is truly that of discovery and investigation toward a distinct, distant and oft over-looked world. The layering of textural images accompanied by the layering of sounds recorded and manipulated from a similar found environment, creates a visual and aural unity that suggests a journey through time. The build- ing of images on the screen, the fusion of surfaces and sounds intertwine focus, allowing the clarity to move in, out and around. By juxtaposing various textures, both visual and audible, a sense of movement is created and desired by allow- ing the eye and ear to thoroughly explore this environment. Experiencing these surfaces, textures and spatial relationships in an intimate manner, viewers are left with a sense of synchronized harmony.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Khalif Thompson USA
Title: Lif in Perpetuity New York. 2013.
Brief synopsis: I started work on this artistic film thinking about the amount of work that is endured by me and people each day and how this schedule oftask we create for ourselves turn into a forward routine, especially in NYC; it becomes time without end, in what would seem an eternity of work. The film follows me, seeing life through my perspective as I go through my own little piece of eternity; narratives of different familiar shots are included from my everyday experience as well as things that inspire me to keep trying each day. This is also homage to the many fellow artists in high school working at future goals with each passing period of time.
Production format: Digital Video Montage with Soundtrack.
Nancy Martinez USA
Title: Breathing New York City. 2013.
Brief synopsis: A looping animated illustration that represents the cycle of breathing. All life on the planet is connected by this repeating motion. The images that make up the animation were first by hand, with color, texture, and movement added digitally. I hope to illustrate that a tree is very similar to a hu- man being and that we are dependent on one another. We need trees to breathe, and trees need us as well.
Production format: Hight definition video composite animation of drawings done by hand. Stereo.
Victoria Febrer & Pedro J. Padilla USA
Title: Untitled Promise. New York City. 2013.
Brief synopsis: A lone poppy flower emerges before us in a desolate bar- ren landscape. As the landscape disappears, we are forced to return from the dreamlike memory reproduced in the projected film and consider our actual surroundings-now brightly lit and becoming populated with hundreds of flowers. This projection takes us from the world of memories to the here and now, forcing us to consider the rich possibilities of the moment.
For thousands of years, the common wild poppy has symbolized rebirth, remembrance, and hope due to its remarkable ability to reemerge after a field has been damaged by agriculture, drought, fire or war. The image used to create this projection is a work of art made using only red wine, a ubiquitous but symbolically rich material.
Production Format: High definition video composite animation of handmade vinographs.
Elvira Palazuelos & Emilio Lizcano Spain
Title: CMYK (Meeting Point). Spain. 2012.
Brief synopsis: The piece comes from a cyclic and vertiginous movement in which stopping is not possible. We look for a game-like and digital aesthetic in order to create a visual schizophrenic situation. We are interested in wondering about the new forms of social interactions and meetings throughout the images in the contemporary world.
Production format: Quicktime Movie. Stereo.
José Luis Soto USA
Title: gray No. 33. New York City. 2013.
Brief synopsis: An oniric communicative and anti-boring performance that wishes to highliThe landscapes in motion that are presented in the gray series are part of my constant exploration of complex visual structures in nature. gray re- moves color and invert fields to expose the core forms that build our landscapes . It is not a simplification, but an amplification of what lies beneath our complex human experience. gray No. 33 This video depicts patterns generated falling snow. The image is mirrored to cre- ate a kaleidoscope effect and in the process, the patterns are revealed. The work is inspired by nature’s use of repeating fractal forms. The sound was produced specially for this video to create a relaxed atmosphere that facilitates the viewer’s aesthetic experience.
Production format: HD Video 1080p ( mailed as low resolution 480p DVD )
Cris Gil Benavente Spain
Title: DUERMAN TRANQUILOS. Spain. 2012.
Brief synopsis: It’s a dystopian vision of the abuse of surveillance cameras in urban space. The city is divided, structured and controlled by the forces of order, in order to ensure safety. A perverse game.
Production format: H-264, DVD. Stereo.
Kelly Oliver & Keary Rosen USA
Title: The Second Firing. Raritan, NJ. 2013
Brief synopsis: “The apple pie is cooling on the windowsill. After all that work I still wasn’t invited to the Second Firing.”The Second Firing is a collaborative video work by artists Kelly Oliver and Keary Rosen that explores the conjunc- tion between language and imagery. In this piece, the audio portion was written and performed by Keary Rosen and then set to video shot and edited by Kelly Oliver.
Production format: miniDV video and 16mm film
Blanca Giménez Calpe Spain.
Title: A sea of tears. Valencia, Spain. 2011.
Brief synopsis: “Un mar de lágrimas” (A sea of tears) speaks of deep emotions, which are clearly revealed through the action of crying. Thus, the viewer faces an image which is out of context of a moment he or she is not familiar with and feels complicity, guilt or maybe even indifference.
Production format: Digital, HD, 1080p.
Adriana Marcela Rojas Espitia Colombia
Title: ALTAVISTA Medellín, Colombia. 2013.
Brief synopsis: From an image in movement perspective, this project, named “Altavista”, addresses space framing processes, environment and esthetic prac- tices in different squatter settlements in the city of Medellin.
Production format: Video HD (1280 x 720).
The Saturday Program, Sound Composition Class, Cooper Union School of Art Charles Fambro, Instructional Coordinator USA
Title: Green Screened Objects. New York City. 2013.
Brief synopsis: This video was created by NYC public high school students enrolled in the Saturday Program’s Sound Composition class. It utilizes origi- nal and electro-acoustic sounds made from non-musical sound sources. The images are intended to act as prompts for sound; in effect the entire video con- stitutes a graphic score. Since many of the sounds used in the class come from field recordings made in the East Village and on the lower East Side, the stu- dents scoured these same neighborhoods for visual images – manipulating them through green screen technology.
The Saturday Program of the Cooper Union School of Art has been providing free studio art classes for NYC public high school students since 1968. We offer classes in Drawing, Painting, Graphic Design, Architecture, Sculpture, Portfolio Preparation and Sound Composition.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Patricia Sádaba & Ricardo Touron Spain
Title: I (undo); me (by); myself; Spain. 2013.
Brief synopsis: We relied on advertising images, especially those in which skin and flesh are an important part of the picture. Images and bodies that in the end are fictions created and deeply absorbed in a collective way, and which from our critical position, allow us to open a space for multiplicity. We cross the field towards the different and its modification, we uphold the possibility of doing so.
We draw off parts that show skin and at the same time, we have created a soft- ware that, through video captures the action and results in another image and audio. A new look, a new representation showing a different interpretation of gestures and movements made by the drawing off.
Production format: HD mov + Processing.
Carlo Sampietro USA
Title: Bunda Pandeiro New York City. 2009
Brief synopsis: In Brazilian slang, the phrase is used to describe attractive but- tocks by referring to them as a tambourine. While the ass is a universally recog- nized symbol of sexual allure, the film blurs lines between gender and race, re- ducing each participant to the utilitarian role of a musical instrument. Traditional sexual roles are also eliminated. This “body concert” is a metaphorical represen- tation of the “tambourine,“ which has no gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation but is defined perfect simply from the sound that it makes.
Production format: Sound mix DTS, format aspect ratio 1.78 16×9 video.
Pelota Cuadrada Equador
Title: Sopa Imposible. Quito. Equador. 2007.
Brief synopsis: Sopa imposible captures with a simple routine the implicit contradiction contained in human behaviour. Human beings are, themselves, tools for missing. While we are fighting inside ourseleves, life goes away full of unfinished goals.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Marcia Beatriz Granero Brasil
Title: TV TRIP São Paulo, Brazil.
Brief synopsis: TV TRIP is a string of media hallucinations imagined by Jaque Jolene. Falling into an exciting reverie, fragmented divas start to emerge from her remote control.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Christophe Bruchansky Canada
Title: Concentration. Hong Kong. 2010.
Brief synopsis: What is most fascinating in a skyscraper? Is it its height? Or is it the importance given to its location? Why do thousands of people want to be teleported every day to the front door of a single building, while there are so many other geographical coordinates to choose from on Earth? The massive ap- pearance of a skyscraper is the materialization of the importance of its location.
The “Concentration” video suggests that such a disproportionate interest in spe- cific locations is due to a phenomenon of concentration: a door becomes highly desirable because of the importance given to the doors next door. This remains true even when the first building becomes anecdotal, and when concentration in itself becomes the significance. The Hong Kong harbour has brought in work- ers, financial institutions, and then consumer-facing companies, the whole being sustained only because of concentration.
Production format: DVD. Stereo.
Eduardo Valiña Spain
Title: Command itinerant II Spain. 2009.
Brief synopsis: A group of people pursue an individual with the intent to assault and take something that supposedly has.
Production format: video HD.