UPDATE: THE PROGRAM, Week One Opening

Before you leave the house, you might want to check here for the latest.

A few photos from the Week One opening here, by Ben Britt. He had to leave early; it got fuller later; and everyone came back for Treewave, which played a terrific mash-up incorporating some of the original chiptunes the band's known for, plus new, cool stuff.

Thanks for coming out!

Week One's work will remain on view until noon Thurs., or with respect to a few pieces, longer. We generally expect to be making the switch starting Thurdays at noon, so if you couldn't make it Sat. nite, try to come by Conduit before then to see what you missed.

Next week's exhibition opens Sat., Aug. 2 (Week Two), at 7pm at Conduit. The Barney and Netzhammer continue through Week Two, but everything else will be new. Up-to-date schedule details here.

Re- UFO's

I'm agnostic about pretty much everything. I operate on the basis of temporary conclusions; "truth" is whatever seems to have worked best so far in terms of predictive power – like, if you live based on certain assumptions, what's your subsequent quantity and quality of life? I have to say, a lot of us live by stuff that does not pass this test.

I don't know how seriously to take the recording at the link below, but it seems to me unlikely that we are the only life in the universe, or the most advanced. I find the possibility of UFO's more plausible than any number of articles of religious faith.

I don't mean to promote or disparage either – I'm dam' glad I've never been in a situation that required me to decide whether I actually believe in either an omnipotent deity or aliens.

I do happen to believe that whether one believes in a deity has little to do with how well one behaves. I think any sane person who's had the nurturing and education to think clearly about life (too few of us) will behave pretty much the same way (constructively), whether they believe in any o' that or not.

All that said, check out the Dr. Edgar Mitchell interview here.

What Obama Wrote in the Guestbook at Israel's Holocaust Memorial

At least he seems well-prepared. Do you think his signature's a bit John Hancock-ish?

If you don't find the pic at right legible, pls see a bigger version here.

SCHEDULE (UPDATED): THE PROGRAM

THE PROGRAM is a new series of video and other media-based art exhibitions opening on five consecutive Saturday evenings beginning July 26, 2008, including more than 50 works by over 40 artists, most of them internationally-recognized. The exhibitions are co-curated by me, Bart Weiss, and Charles Dee Mitchell and presented by the Video Association of Dallas. Except as noted, all exhibitions will be located at Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas, and installations and videos will remain available for viewing during the remainder of the week through noon Thurs. during Conduit's regular hours (Tues. - Sat., 10am - 5pm).

Reserved seating is available for Video Association supporters at the Kilobyter ($100) level and above; for more information about reserved seating, sponsorship opportunities, and membership, please e-mail ac(a)videofest.org. Admission is otherwise free, subject to availability, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Donations to the Video Association are greatly appreciated. All programs are subject to change.

Parental discretion is advised (L, N, S, V).
Where else can you find this concentration of exciting video art and other media-based art? Plus, parties.
Additional comments on Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 13 and Ryan Trecartin's A Family Finds Entertainment here. 

NOTE: Because of the exigencies of installing tech stuff for a mostly-new exhibition each week, the pieces shown at each week's opening will remain available for viewing at Conduit Gallery during normal gallery hours (Tues.-Sat. 10-5) only through noon the following Thursday (so we can begin installing the next week's work).

WEEK ONE

SATURDAY, JULY 26
Exhibition Opening, Conduit Gallery

5:00 – 8:00 PM: RECEPTION WITH INSTALLATIONS:

1. Drawing Restraint 13 by Matthew Barney (and b.t.w., all of M. Barney's websites are really helpful), 27:45 min. (2006). Barney as General Douglas MacArthur in a scene that refers to both MacArthur's infamous WWII landing on the Philippines and the Japanese surrender. (See curator's comments here.) Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

2. RMB City – A SecondLife City Planning by China Tracy by Cao Fei, 6:08 min. (2007). A promotional demo trailer for the artist's "China-like" virtual real estate project, where development rights are now on sale within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life ("RMB" is a name for the Chinese currency). (CS) Commissioned by Serpentine Gallery; courtesy of Lombard-Freid Projects.

3. Online access to RMB City-related web pages.

4. Torcito Project by Marcin Ramocki (2005). The artist uses re-purposed Mac software to transform a gallery of cel phone portraits into sonic bitmap scores which are now "played." (CS) Courtesy of the artist.

5. Compilation: End Notes by Tom Moody (with jimpunk), ca. 2:30 min. (2006); New Monuments by Tom Moody, ca. 1:40 min. (2008); and Hoedown by Tom Moody, ca. 1:30 min. (2007). Courtesy of the artists.

6. The Arrangement of Two Opposites While their Maximum Contact is Under Generation by Yves Netzhammer, 27:36 min. (2005). Evocative 3-D animations by an artist exhibited in the most recent Venice Biennial. (CS) Courtesy of Galerie Anita Beckers.

(Still from The Arrangement of Two Opposites While their Maximum Contact is Under Generation by Yves Netzhammer.)

5:30 PM: ART TALK by Carolyn Sortor on Drawing Restraint 13, Conduit Gallery.

8:00 PM: LIVE PERFORMANCE by Treewave. UPDATE: In the past, Paul Slocum's band has been known for his original composition "chiptunes" (8- and 16-bit music) using Commodore 64's, an old PC FM sound card (OPL3), a Compaq Portable II, an Epson LQ500 dot-matrix printer, and an Atari 2600, with projected video created with original and hacked Atari code. But at this performance, Paul played a complex mash-up incorporating some of the music he's made before and a lot of other cool stuff.

12:00 AM: LIVE PERFORMANCE / AFTER-PARTY: Apples in Stereo perform at Sons of Hermann Hall, corner of Elm and Exposition (map; separate admission fee to Sons, but {thanks, Sons!} a limited number of discount coupons will be available at the Conduit Gallery opening).

WEEK TWO

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2
Exhibition Opening, Conduit Gallery

7:00 – 7:30 PM: RECEPTION WITH INSTALLATIONS:

1. Drawing Restraint 13 by Matthew Barney (and b.t.w., all of M. Barney's websites are really helpful), 27:45 min. (2006). Barney as General Douglas MacArthur in a scene that refers both to MacArthur's infamous WWII landing on the Philippines and the Japanese surrender. (See curator's comments here.) Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

2. Accidental Blue Screen and Lord of the Flies by John Michael Boling and Javier Morales (see also http://www.gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogle.com), (2006). The artist repurposes material from corporate and amateur sources to yield meaningful surprises. (CS) Courtesy of the artist.

3. cover this YouTube in blood, Bricks video, and 9 Short Music Videos by Guthrie Lonergan. So many good reasons for this. (CS) Courtesy of the artist.

4. Shiftspace Demo (ShiftSpace was initiated in 2007 by Mushon Zer-Aviv and Dan Phiffer). ShiftSpace is an open source layer "above" the web that allows community members to comment or build overlays on any web page, including adding postit-like notes, image swaps, source code modifications, and trails to other URLs, enabling artists, activists, educators, hobbyists, and others to create online contexts on top of existing websites. (CS)
5. Shiftspace Interactive. Try it out.

6. The Arrangement of Two Opposites While their Maximum Contact is Under Generation by Yves Netzhammer, 27:36 min. (2005). Evocative 3-D animations by an artist exhibited in the most recent Venice Biennial. (CS) Courtesy of Galerie Anita Beckers.

7. Sitcoms by Matt Marello, total ca. 15:00 min. (1996), with the artist as various philosophers displaced into t.v. times: The Beverly Hillbillies featuring Jean Paul Sartre (decontextualized Sartre always cracks me up); Bewitched with Georg Hegel; Gilligan's Island with Rene Descartes; Hogan's Heroes with Friedrich Nietsche; and The Munsters with Immanuel Kant. Courtesy of the artist.

7:30 PM: SEATED SCREENINGS:

1. Bend by Liz Magic Laser and Felicia Garcia-Rivera, 7 min. (2008). Five young men in a motorcycle club follow a series of instructions from an off-camera woman. (CS) Courtesy of the artists.

2. Meals on Wheels by Jon Pylypchuk, 4:24 min. (2006). The spirit of volunteerism is alive but not so well in this possibly all-too-realistic narrative. (CDM) Courtesy of Friedrich Petzel Gallery.

3. Rien du Tout by Clemens von Wedemeyer and Maya Schweizer, 30 min. (2006). An open casting call has drawn dozens of young people to audition for a Medieval epic, a film to be directed by one of the most perfectly odious characters ever created. One not so lucky kid is chosen while the others are told wait outside in the cold and the rain. The peasants begin to revolt. (CDM) Courtesy of Galerie Jocelyn Wolff.

4. Residential Erection by Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, 4:34 min. (2008). A cut and paste animated recap of the campaigns so far. Disheartening news: it could also be a glimpse into the future. (CDM) Courtesy of Postmasters gallery.

5. Once Removed on My Mothers Side** by Nathalie Djurberg, 5:31 min. (2008). A young woman ministers to an obese elder. (CS) Courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery.

6. Host by Kristin Lucas, 7:36 min. (1997). Lucas has said, " . . . I participate in an on-line therapy session directed by the system operator of a streetside multi-media kiosk. . . . [the session becomes] an amalgamation of daytime television and tabloid, wherein the surveillance camera becomes the eye of the media." Courtesy of the artist.

7. Nude Beach by Jon Pylypchuk, 4:59 min. (2006). “I thought this was a public beach.” Famous last words. (CDM) Courtesy of Friedrich Petzel Gallery.

8. Dumstrut** by Nathalie Djurberg, 4.12 min. (2006). A boy torments a cat, testing its and his own limits. (CS) Courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery.

9. The Human Opera XXX by Meiro Koizumi, 17 min. (2007). The artist subjects a man to an "experiment" in which he is to "share a tragic story of his life in front of a video camera" in return for "a monetary payment"; brilliant and profoundly disturbing. (CS) Courtesy of Nicole Klagsbrun gallery.

(Photo from The Human Opera XXX by Meiro Koizumi, courtesy Nicole Klagsbrun gallery.)

**NOTE: During the remainder of the week, Once Removed on My Mother's Side will be available for viewing only on Tuesday and Thursday, and Dumstrut will be available for viewing only on Wednesday and Friday.

9:00 PM: AFTER-PARTY: Bolsa, 614 W. Davis St. (Just west of the Bishop Arts District, at Cedar Hill; map)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5

7:00 PM: SEATED SCREENINGS at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth: (Please see descriptions under Saturday, August 2 Seated Screenings.)

WEEK THREE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9
Exhibition Opening, Conduit Gallery

6:30 – 7:30 PM: RECEPTION WITH INSTALLATIONS:

1. Drawing Restraint 13 by Matthew Barney (and b.t.w., all of M. Barney's websites are really helpful), 27:45 min. (2006). Barney as General Douglas MacArthur in a scene that refers both to MacArthur's infamous WWII landing on the Philippines and the Japanese surrender. (See curator's comments here.) Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

2. A Family Finds Entertainment by Ryan Trecartin, 41:12 min. (2004). The artist's entourage and himself in multiple roles play media-immersed characters in a story about Skippy's adventures in "coming out." [See curator's comments here.] Courtesy of Elizabeth Dee gallery.

3. RMB City – A SecondLife City Planning by China Tracy by Cao Fei, 6:08 min. (2007). A promotional demo trailer for the artist's "China-like" real estate project, where development rights are now on sale, within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life ("RMB" is a name for the Chinese currency). (CS) Commissioned by Serpentine Gallery; courtesy of Lombard-Freid Projects.4. Triptych TV, compilation from a vlog by jimpunk, Mr. Tamale, and Rick Silva a.k.a. Abe Linkoln, --- min. (2008). Courtesy of the artists.

5. Shiftspace Demo. ShiftSpace is an open source layer "above" the web that allows community members to comment or build overlays on any web page, including adding postit-like notes, image swaps, source code modifications, and trails to other URLs, enabling artists, activists, educators, hobbyists, and others to create online contexts on top of existing websites. (CS) Initiated (in 2007?) by Mushon Zer-Aviv and Dan Phiffer.

6. Shiftspace Interactive. Try it out.

7. Battleship Potemkin Dance Edit (120 BPM) by Michael Bell-Smith (with the assistance of Jeff Sission), 12:29 (2007). The artist "separated the film into its constituent shots and time stretched them one by one to the exact same length [, and] then replaced the soundtrack with a one-second dance loop synced to the cuts", replacing the original editing structure of the revolutionary narrative, which has been called seminal in its use of montage, with the "dumb, visceral, metric montage favored by dance visuals and music videos". Courtesy of the artist and EAI.

(Still from Battleship Potemkin Dance Edit (120 BPM) by Michael Bell-Smith (with the assistance of Jeff Sission), courtesy of the artist.)

7:30 PM: SEATED SCREENINGS:

1. Studies in Transfalumination by Peter Rose, 5:30 min. (2008). Courtesy of the artist.

2. May I Help You by Andrea Fraser, 19:47 min. (1991). A gallerist extols a series of black paintings by Allan McCollum, oddly and at great length. (CS) Courtesy of Friedrich Petzel Gallery.

3. Ride to da' Club by Kalup Linzy, 5:06 min. (2002). Linzy plays the female lead and many of the voices in this cheerfully profane conference call all aimed at getting to the club. Now, why is it no one wants to ride with Big Dick Johnny? (CDM) Courtesy of Taxter Spengemann gallery.

4. Whispering Pines 8 by Shana Moulton, 7:36 min. (2006). One of a series of episodes in which the artist's naive, trusting alter ego, Cynthia, resorts to various 80's diversions in a continuing struggle against existential depression. (CS) Courtesy of Country Club Gallery.

(Still from Whispering Pines 8 by Shana Moulton, courtesy Country Club gallery.)

5. Tommy-Chat Just E-Mailed Me by Ryan Trecartin, 7:15 min. (2004). Described by the artist as a "narrative video short that takes place inside and outside of an e-mail," the artist's friends and himself in multiple roles play Pam, a lesbian librarian with a screaming baby in an ultra-modern hotel; Tammy and Beth, in an apartment filled with installation art; and Tommy, in a secluded lake house. Courtesy of Elizabeth Dee gallery.

6. Artist Trilogy by Matt Marello, 13 min. (2001-2002). Mr. Marello plays the lead in three classic – well, maybe not so classic – films about artists as victims, killers, and charlatans. Let’s see, did he leave anything out? Oh, yes, insatiable sex fiend. (CDM) Courtesy of the artist.

7. five more minutes by Dena DeCola and Karin E. Wandner, 17:23 min. (2005). The artists enact intimate moments between a "mother" and "child," to poignant yet peculiar effect. (CS) Courtesy of the Video Data Bank.

(Photo from five more minutes by Dena DeCola and Karin E. Wandner, courtesy of Video Data Bank.)

8. Melody Set Me Free by Kalup Linzy, 14:06 min. (2007). The talented Mr. Linzy, in impeccable Whitney Houston drag, overcomes a mother's negativity and competitors' backstage backstabbing to find true love and a chance at stardom. You go, girl! (CDM) Courtesy of Taxter Spengemann gallery.

(Photo from Melody Set Me Free by Kalup Linzy, courtesy Taxter Spengemann gallery.)

9. The Code by Anthony Goicolea, 1:18 min. (2007). Courtesy of Postmasters gallery.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10

1:30 PM: PANEL DISCUSSION at the Dallas Museum of Art, Center for Creative Connections (f.k.a. the Orientation Theater), featuring the three co-curators plus media-based artist/gallerist Paul Slocum, with clips from various works and screenings of the following complete pieces:

Still Point by Alfred Guzzetti,14:30 min. (2008). The camera lingers on a series of beautifully-framed scenes.

The Dating Game by John Pylypchuk, 5:19 min. (2006). A send-up of the '60's-70's t.v. show in which the "behind the scenes" isn't very.

Moby Dick by Guy Ben-Ner, 13 min. (2000). The artist and his young daughter enact the entirety of the novel, almost entirely in their kitchen.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12

7:00 PM: SEATED SCREENING at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth: An Estranged Paradise by Yang Fudong, 76 min. (1997/2002). This is Fudong’s first, near feature-length film, shot six years before he began work on his multi-part masterpiece, Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest (2003 – 2006). Fudong speaks for a generation of young Chinese intellectuals caught at “a moment when we have to negotiate our past while inventing our future.” The protagonist of Paradise is Zuzhi, a young man who drifts through a rapidly modernizing Shanghai, suffering from an undefined illness that seems to come on with the rainy season. Although he has two girlfriends he admits he is happiest when visiting with doctors or entertaining his parents on their trips in from the countryside. Yang opens his film with a lesson in Chinese landscape painting, in which what is left out can be the most significant elements. (CDM) Courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery.

WEEK FOUR
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16
Exhibition Opening, Conduit Gallery

6:00 PM: SPECIAL PRESENTATION of An Estranged Paradise by Yang Fudong, 76 min. (1997/2002). (Please see description under Tuesday, August 12.).

7:00 – 7:30 PM: RECEPTION WITH INSTALLATIONS:

1. A Family Finds Entertainment by Ryan Trecartin, 41:12 min. (2004). The artist's entourage and himself in multiple roles play media-immersed characters in a story about Skippy's adventures in "coming out." [See curator's comments here.] Courtesy of Elizabeth Dee gallery.

2. Who’s Listening 1 by Yu-Chin Tseng, 7:55 min. (2003-04). A series of children are surprised. (CS) Courtesy of the artist.3. RMB City – A SecondLife City Planning by China Tracy by Cao Fei, 6:08 min. (2007). A promotional demo trailer for the artist's "China-like" real estate project, where development rights are now on sale, within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life ("RMB" is a name for the Chinese currency). (CS) Commissioned by Serpentine Gallery; courtesy of Lombard-Freid Projects.

4. Triptych TV, compilation from a vlog by jimpunk, Mr. Tamale, and Rick Silva a.k.a. Abe Linkoln, --- min. (2008). Courtesy of the artists.

5. Second Life Dumpster by eteam in collaboration with Relder Waco, Whooter Walworth, Dunn Bing, and others, 45 min. (2008). The artists are creating a dumpster within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life, to collect virtual trash such as unmarketable virtual merchandise and superseded avatar body parts. (CS) Courtesy of the artists.


6. Max Payne Cheats Only 1 by JODI, 23 min. (2004). A video game said to have influenced John Woo is deconstructed. (CS) Courtesy of And/Or Gallery.7. Battleship Potemkin Dance Edit (120 BPM) by Michael Bell-Smith (with the assistance of Jeff Sission), 12:29 (2007). The artist "separated the film into its constituent shots and time stretched them one by one to the exact same length [, and] then replaced the soundtrack with a one-second dance loop synced to the cuts", replacing the original editing structure of the revolutionary narrative, which has been called seminal in its use of montage, with the "dumb, visceral, metric montage favored by dance visuals and music videos". Courtesy of the artist.

7:30 PM: SEATED SCREENINGS:

1. Timbuktu** by Nathalie Djurberg, 4:40 min. (2007). A bureaucrat loses in a contest among three different kinds of power. (CS) Courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery.

2. Stealing Beauty by Guy Ben-Ner, 17 min. (2007). Ben-Ner and his family make themselves at home in a furniture store – literally – while discussing the virtues of capitalism. (CS) Courtesy of Postmasters gallery.

(Still from Stealing Beauty by Guy Ben-Ner, courtesy Postmasters gallery.)

3. Hogan's Heroes by Matt Marello, 2:47 min. (1996). Friedrich Nietzsche chats up America’s most lovable POW’s and their charming SS guards. (CDM) Courtesy of the artist.

4. IMirror (A Second Life Documentary Film by China Tracy a.k.a. Cao Fei) by Cao Fei, 28:07 min. (2007). A documentary created by the artist within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life; this piece was shown at the most recent Venice Biennial. (CS) Courtesy of Lombard-Freid Projects.

5. Hobbit Love is the Greatest Love by Steve Reinke, 14 min. (2007). The artist explores literal and figurative projections in space and time. (CS) Courtesy of the Video Data Bank.

6. Gas Zappers by Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, 5:45 min. (2007). Al Gore as a polar bear wields solar panels against a BBQ'ing Bush. In glorious color and delirious bad taste. “Bring it on!” (CDM) Courtesy of Postmasters gallery.

(Still from Gas Zappers by Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, courtesy Postmasters gallery.)

7. Snapshot: 6 Months in the Life of a Korean American Male by Valerie Soe, 4:30 min. (2008). Courtesy of the artist.

8. Camels Drink Water** by Nathalie Djurberg, 3:48 min. (2007). Two camels help a parched, differently-abled person. (CS) Courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery.

9. Anaconda Targets by Dominic Angerame, 10:51 min. (2004). As video games become more and more sophisticated, we admire their realism. Here’s a harsh reminder that realism is based on the real. (CDM) Courtesy of the artist.

10. Aria by Brooke Alfaro, 3:20 min. (2002). A young woman sings La Wally to unusual accompaniment. (CS) Courtesy of the artist.

**NOTE: During the remainder of the week, Timbuktu will be available for viewing only on Tuesday and Thursday, and Camels Drink Water will be available for viewing only on Wednesday and Friday.

9:00 PM: AFTER-PARTY: The Windmill Lounge, 5320 Maple Ave. (between Motor/Medical District and Inwood; map).

WEEK FIVE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 23
Exhibition Opening, Conduit Gallery

7:00 – 7:30 PM: RECEPTION WITH INSTALLATIONS:

1. A Family Finds Entertainment by Ryan Trecartin, 41:12 min. (2004). The artist's entourage and himself in multiple roles play media-immersed characters in a story about Skippy's adventures in "coming out." [See curator's comments here.] Courtesy of Elizabeth Dee gallery.

2. Who’s Listening 1 by Yu-Chin Tseng, 7:55 min. (2003-04). A series of children are surprised. (CS) Courtesy of the artist.3. RMB City – A SecondLife City Planning by China Tracy by Cao Fei, 6:08 min. (2007). A promotional demo trailer for the artist's "China-like" real estate project, where development rights are now on sale, within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life ("RMB" is a name for the Chinese currency). (CS) Commissioned by Serpentine Gallery; courtesy of Lombard-Freid Projects.4. Triptych TV, compilation from a vlog by jimpunk, Mr. Tamale, and Rick Silva a.k.a. Abe Linkoln, --- min. (2008). Courtesy of the artists.

5. Second Life Dumpster by eteam, 45 min.(2008). The artists are creating a dumpster within the multiplayer online virtual reality game, Second Life, to collect virtual trash such as unmarketable virtual merchandise and superseded avatar body parts. (CS) Courtesy of the artists.

6. Max Payne Cheats Only 1 by JODI, 23 min. (2004). A video game said to have influenced John Woo is deconstructed. (CS) Courtesy of And/Or Gallery.

7. Hand Flurry by Joel Holmberg, 1:00 min. (2008). Courtesy of the artist.

7:30 PM: SEATED SCREENINGS:

1. The Guest by John Bock, 11:25 min. (2004). A rabbit. An apartment. A man with lettuce tied to his feet. (CDM) Courtesy of the artist.

2. Palms by John Bock, 59:14 min. (2007). In the films of John Bock, mad scientists and crazed farm workers conduct visceral experiments in settings that range from pastoral landscapes to baroque palaces. In Palms, his first American-produced film, he takes on the world of Sunshine Noir. Two European killers arrive at LAX, rent a Lincoln convertible, and set off on a journey that is part hit job, part road trip, and possibly a spiritual quest. Expect blood, funny props, music, classics of modern architecture, and dialog that doesn’t really get scary until it begins to just maybe make sense. (CDM) Courtesy of Anton Kern gallery.

(Photo from Palms by John Bock, courtesy Anton Kern gallery.)

3. Anniversary Waltz by David Adamo, 3:58 min. (2007). The party is over. The guests have all gone home. The artist dances alone. (CDM) Courtesy of Fruit and Flower Deli.

9:00 PM: AFTER-PARTY: Absinthe Lounge, 1409 S. Lamar St., #008 (at Southside on Lamar; map)

Puts the puppy in perspective.

ok well we did just get a non-housetrained puppy,

like we had nothing else to do; and have been desperately watching Cesar since . . .

THE PROGRAM: Comments on the Matthew Barney and Ryan Trecartin Pieces

[This post originally contained the schedule for the new exhibition series being presented by the Video Association of Dallas, THE PROGRAM, July 26 - August 30. You can now find the complete schedule here.]

On Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 13
27:45 min. (2006)

In this piece, Barney impersonates General Douglas MacArthur, across from an asian man in formal attire (referred to by Barney as "the Japanese Delegate"), in a scene carefully reminiscent of several chunks of the stories we've been told about our past, which doubtless contain both unintended and intended truths as well as bias. (Photo courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.)

MacArthur's push to re-take the Philippines prior to attacking Japan more directly, in fulfillment of his vow, "I shall return," was controversial and proved bloody. He seems to have had some real knowledge of and empathy for asians, however. During the initial occupation of Japan while he was in charge, he left Emperor Hirohito in place, albeit as a puppet; released political prisoners; and encouraged labor unions and other political freedoms. At the same time, he deployed heavy censorship in an effort to "democratize" Japan from the top down.

Barney's re-packaging of history seems to refer to footage actually shot at the time of MacArthur's infamous re-landing on the Philippines – see contemporary footage that I understand was likely shot more or less under MacArthur's direction, here – and the ceremony that ended WWII (see here); and possibly also to the re-packaging of these events in the 1977 film directed by Joseph Sargent, MacArthur, with Gregory Peck as lead.

Our history, as we remember it, shapes our future; and our remembrance is changing fast. I think we can safely say, the history we allow ourselves to be told is now changing as quickly as our present.

But instead of signing a treaty documenting the surrender of Japan, Barney heat-brands (think cattle, etc.?) and signs the backs of a series of his own drawings, art works within an artwork, and then slides them across the table to the Japanese Delegate, who also signs them (i.e., the "victor" is submitting); and then they are labelled by his gallerist, Barbara Gladstone (referred to by Barney as "the American Delegate"), dressed in vintage civvies.

The scene was shot in Gladstone Gallery, with the front of the gallery open to the street. In the foreground stands an army photographer, on duty to historicize (package) this event. MacArthur understood the importance of packaging as well as the various meanings of "theater"; and his assiduous, filmic documentations of his own successes for the benefit of U.S. audiences brought him considerable political leverage back home.

In Drawing Restraint 13, artwork serves literally as document. In Barney's version of Japan's surrender, there are fifteen such documents (excluding the video itself). We glimpse each of the fifteen drawings except the last, only the title of which is shown: The Instrument of Surrender. The Japanese "Instrument of Surrender" was the written agreement that ended WWII.

"Instrument" evokes writing, drawing, or musical instruments – tools by which we accomplish goals or make expressions of ourselves that may or may not survive us.

It seems the artist has compelled an aggressor to surrender. Whatever you think of Barney's work, it can't be denied that he has, in some sense, won the art wars. But unlike the signing of the original Japanese Instrument of Surrender, in Barney's ceremony, the artist brands his own "instruments" (with an image of a whale within Barney's own logo, the field emblem), signs before the defeated side instead of after, and as the video ends, remains in the white-box "container" of the gallery and within his own figment, while the Japanese Delegate walks out into the street. Perhaps the Japanese Delegate leaves the scene because the Japanese have been defeated; but apparently he's also in some way more free.

Is there a sense in which the U.S. actually lost the war to the Japanese? Has Barney as artist really conquered, or surrendered – perhaps to some (drawing or whatever) restraint? In Barney's version, he entered the scene in a container from which he had to be released by his soldiers. Is it a real restraint if it's one you chose?

Barney has surrendered his work to his gallery, his patrons, to all of us. If he wants others to see his work, he has no choice but to suffer whatever limited interpretations any of us may put not only upon the documents through which he expresses his vision, but upon him personally.

Barney's Drawing Restraint series deals with the relationship between creativity and self-imposed resistance, "facilities designed to defeat the facility of drawing" (see Harper's Bazaar).

DR 13 relates to Barney's previous film, Drawing Restraint 9 (135 min., 2005), much of which was shot aboard the largest ship in the Japanese whaling fleet.

DR 9 opened with the meticulous, ceremonial, several-layered wrapping (packaging) of two halves of a fossil in several sheaths, sealed with a metallic gold field emblem. As this scene unfolds, we hear the song, Gratitude, with lyrics adapted from a letter received by MacArthur, which I can't resist quoting, because I found them exquisite:

July 13, 1946

Dear General MacArthur,

With your permission
I offer wishes of good health,
During this heat
That burns anything.

The words I slowly put together
Do not flow easily, they only fill my heart

Recently, fulfilling
Your heart’s desire
You removed the whaling
Moratorium.
Your gesture brings
A much needed food
To our community
And families,

The words I slowly put together
Do not flow easily, they only fill my heart

A million year old fossil
I send to you.
This comes from my family
And the ancient sea.
A prehistoric impression
Of the modern krill,
She feeds the noble whale,
And offers you longevity

The words I slowly put together
Do not flow easily, they only fill my heart

Finally, please take good care in the heat.

Sincerely yours,

Shizuka

Some of the drawings in DR 13 are reproduced in three catalogues available for viewing at Conduit Gallery during the exhibition there of DR 13 (July 26 - August 14, 2008). The drawings incorporate images relating to Drawing Restraint 9, whaling, or Japanese history or culture: a log of ambergris (a protective substance produced in whale intestines and re-purposed by humans as a fixative in perfumes); prow-like shapes; references to hosts and guests; the Japanese arts of wrapping or tying packages or tea vessels, or of binding sexual partners; a Shinto shrine purported to be the home of a sacred mirror; breaching whales; intercourse; Barney and Bjork after they've sliced away one another's legs; Dejima, a fan-shaped island which, during a period of self-imposed Japanese isolation, was the only lawful place of contact between Japanese and Europeans, with a field emblem serving as sole bridge to Japan; and Barney/MacArthur as a skull smoking a pipe spouting like a whale, among other things.

Like MacArthur and the Japanese, Barney too appreciates the importance of packaging. And through this re-enactment, he transforms both our past and the present, as well as himself.

Remember the Queen's Magician (Houdini-esque) in Cremaster 5, at the bottom of the Danube, his hands shackled, on the verge of transformation: escape and freedom, or death.

And, through this videotaped performance, Barney has re-packaged many different layers of our past and present, in order to transform them as well as to transport them -- in the manner of a thoughtfully purposeful guest (or invader?) -- into our present and future.

Barney's own Drawing Restraint site is highly recommended for more information about the Drawing Restraint series, although as of this writing, it does not include DR 13. His Cremaster site is an excellent source on the works in the Cremaster Cycle, and Gladstone Gallery has some fine images and other info. Finally, Eric Doeringer's Cremaster Fanatic site offers all kinds of fun, as well as serious, detailed descriptions of many of Barney's works.


On Ryan Trecartin's A Family Finds Entertainment
27:45 min. (2006)

Trecartin's Family speaks for itself – frenetically and in the vein of Pee-Wee's Playhouse-meets-Nirvana.

Trecartin/Skippy's locked in his closet/bathroom, feeling suicidal. "I believe that somewhere there is something worth dying for, and I think it's amazing" -- he sounds deeply sarcastic, yet envious. He polaroids himself, cuts the pic in half, and flushes it down the toilet. He uses duct tape to stick a large knife to the mirror, perhaps to cut away his reflection – his soul, his knowledge of himself? or to divide his knowledge of himself?

In another room, a young man sings, "Show me something beautiful and I will live. Show me something to hold onto and I will hold on." Veronika simpers; the young man smirks with self-satisfaction, "We're planning on going on tour pretty soon."

Veronika screams at Skippy, "open that fucking fuck-door!!"; then the ultimate indictment: "my music friends are leaving because your show is a bore and more."

Skippy accidentally cuts himself on the knife, then pretends to cut himself more dramatically while singing, "it's not that I want to keep things this way, it's just that I may be impersonating some people who are not me." Maybe they aren't and maybe they are: in this piece, Trecartin plays at least six roles, three "female" (Shin, Booty Girl, Snowy White), two "gay male" (Skippy, Closeted Bladerunner monster guy), and one (Video Face) of indeterminate humanity.

Skippy seems to long for something more real; but even feelings aren't always what they seem: "I'll cry for you," says one of Skippy's companions, "– not because I care but because I'm emotional." Contentment is also suspect: "People make peace, and then they fall asleep."

The confusion is compounded by the media in which Skippy and his peers are immersed; it offers quick stardom; but it fosters obsession with appearances and looking good, and if you're not constantly fun, your viewers abandon you. Life is ours to "re-mix"; we're surrounded by choices; but what we mostly possess is not real freedom but, as Skippy exclaims, "free-DUMB!!"

In a dreadful interlude, we meet Skippy's parents, who seem completely unloving, unless you count incestuous lust.

Outside, Skippy encounters video artist Zoey, who's making "a documentary on medium-aged kids all over the world. . . . It's called The Other Version of Me. Life is fun, but we're funner." Skippy, by now an apparition of anger and utter despair, cries, "I am FUN! Tape me, Zoey! Tape ME!" He dashes into the street and is instantly hit by a car – "taping" is temporarily completed as a metaphor through which being filmed is associated with being stuck, cutting, and getting killed.

Trecartin/Shin is less tragic. Her make-up may be clown-ish – artifice in aide of a freedom that feels more real? – and there's still a certain desperation; but she's perky and she's having pretty much fun. When Shin learns of the dead boy in the street, she urges Zoey, "keep filming him!"

As Shin's "Experiments in Music" party unfolds ("Bring everything you own!"), Skippy magically revives – perhaps video art can resurrect us? Zoey's name, after all, means "life." Skippy says, "I hear music"; Zoey replies, "You should follow it." Shin, too, is born again, "baptized" in a child's wading pool, while the partiers sing the same song we heard near the beginning of the "show," now transformed by the sincerity of the singers: "Show me something beautiful and I will live. Show me something to hold onto and I will hold on."

What's worth dying for and what's worth living for are two different questions, but they may have the same answer.

You can see the entire piece on UBUWeb, other stuff on Trecartin's YouTube page, and some good photos of other work at the Elizabeth Dee gallery site.

Huh, II?

Obama voted to abet the evisceration of our Fourth Amendment rights?

Check this out. And this. Here's the source for the image.

Huh?

Magnetic Movie, created by Semiconductor Films and filmed at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratories, uses animations based on magnetic measurements to visualize some of the many magnetic fields in which we are immersed.



(Thanks, Ben!)

Gray is Groovy

(Thanks, snarky!)