Real-Life Batman

" . . . Zoltan Kohari, from the southern Slovak town of Dunajska Streda, has donned a leather Batman suit that he’s stitched together himself, in an attempt to help the people of the town. He goes around cleaning the streets, helping the old, and calling the police when he spots something suspicious.

" . . . Kohari was a petty criminal prior to his superhero-avatar . . . . This was before he realized that he had a larger mission – to make life in his community better. . . . “I take care of order and help clean up the environment so we can keep living on this planet,” he says. Since Kohari doesn’t really have a full time job, he’s moved into an abandoned apartment in a dilapidated building on the edge of town. . . .

The unusual thing about Kohari is that he’s a bit of a peace-loving Batman. He says that he never resorts to physical violence, he’d rather make peace between people."

More at Oddity Central; photo and original story from Reuters; and Oddity Central has previously noted another real-life batman, here. (Thanks, Ben!)

Riot Kissers

"She had actually been injured," [said the father of the male kisser]. A riot police officer had knocked her down with a shield, he said. "He lay down next to her to comfort her. She was crying, and he just kissed her to calm her down."

Details at CNN.

Human Anthem.

Per my source, this took place at a Texas Tech basketball game, Feb. 9, 2008. The two girls on the right are six years old; the two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight (I think the aspect ratio's f'd). I've listened to this at least ten times.

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)

The 20th Annual Dallas Video Festival, July 31 - August 5

[NOTE: I may update this post from time to time as the Festival unfolds, to the extent I hear buzz that might be helpful; for links to videos & views of people at the Festival and related events, go here.]

The next DVF will soon be here, bigger and better than ever; it opens Tues., July 31 with Bodacious Boots by Tim Wylie and Laura Neitzel (a.k.a. the Good Witch of the Wild West), a documentary about cowboy boots featuring such luminaries as Lyle Lovett, Kinky Friedman, Dean Fearing, Dr. Laura, and Kelly Le Brock.

The DVF includes some 250 programs on multiple screens over a concentrated period. It's impossible to see everything one should, but I have a blast trying. Total DVF immersion is an experience no one should miss.

Below are some picks for the art-oriented. I've tried to be selective; there's TONS of other good stuff; for more info, go to the Dallas Video Festival website. I have not seen most of these picks, other than the ones I helped curate. Please confirm show times and locations before you go; here's a schedule that describes the programs in chron order, so you can see what conflicts with what. It's 29 pp. long, so you might want to print it two-sided, if you have the option. Parental discretion is advised for some programs.

WED., 8/1, 9PM at the Angelika Dallas: VIVA! by Anna Biller, wrangled by my darling sig. other, Ben. A suburban housewife abandoned by her husband finds herself in the middle of a swinging sexual revolution and is dragged through the worlds of hippies, prostitutes, and [god, no] bohemia! Imagine a more intensely visual, funnier, much more self-aware and much more female Russ Meyers and you’ll get a clue; this film is destined to become a classic! And Biller not only wrote, directed, and produced it, she also stars in the lead role and designed all the costumes -- Anna, you are my idol! Q & A with her here, where I see she notes her work was mentioned in Artforum's "Best of 1994."

THUR., 8/2, 7PM at the Dallas Theater Center: El Automóvil Gris (The Grey Automobile). A blood and thunder melodrama of robbery, kidnapping, and a fate worse than death inspire this cross-cultural, multi-media fantasia based on Enrique Rosas’ 1919 thriller. The real-life Grey Automobile Gang terrorized Mexico City, and Rosas filmed on location where the actual events occurred. Leading Mexican theater director Claudio Valdes Kuri has created an extravaganza based on the Japanese benshi tradition of live actors narrating silent films. Two costumed players supply dialogue and commentary in Spanish and Japanese, with English translation by North Carolina spoken-word artist Thomas McDonald and accompanied by a newly-created piano score. A separate ticket ($25) is required for this three-hour event.

THUR., 8/2, 8PM at the DTC: The Pervert's Guide to Cinema. "Cinema is the ultimate pervert art. It doesn't give you what you desire -- it tells you how to desire" - Slavoj Zizek. The Pervert's Guide takes the viewer on an exhilarating ride through some of the greatest movies ever made. The charismatic Zizek, Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst, delves into the hidden language of the cinematic canon, uncovering what movies tell us about ourselves in what The Times calls "an extraordinary reassessment of cinema." The film cuts its cloth from the very world of the movies it discusses; by shooting at original locations and on replica sets, creating the uncanny illusion that Zizek is speaking from within the films themselves.

FRI., 8/3, 7PM DTC: Hadacol Christmas by Brent Green (courtesy of Bellwether Gallery in NYC) is a deliciously dark animation about a Santa with "a belly full of cough syrup and a head full of dying crows." 11.11 min. (Thanks for the tip, Dee Mitchell!)

FRI., 8/3, 7PM or a little later, DTC: Tech-Art Activism Compilation (right AFTER Hadecol Christmas), wrangled by moi. The videos in this compilation show creative uses of technology (sometimes kinda hi-tech and sometimes low-) to challenge perceived abuses of power or public resources. Includes do-it-yourself instructions for some of the technologies; as much fun as it sounds! I discovered most of the pieces in this comp. at the OpenCity: Tools for Public Action show at Eyebeam in NYC, which was curated by Graffiti Research Lab (aka "GRL").

From GRL:

• L.A.S.E.R. Tag shows GRL's laser-graffiti rig in action: a mobile projection facility used to "bomb" tall buildings without painting or harming them . . . you can put a lot of stuff up before someone stops you. 3.49 min.
• Light Criticism. A collaboration between GRL and Steve Lambert of the Anti-Advertising Agency to transform publicly-supported, commercial light projection facilities. Advertising is the vandalism of the Fortune 500. 2.20 min.
• The Drip Sessions. DIY light graffiti projection derived from "the classic shoe polish mop recipe." 2 min.
• The FIRST LED Throwie. 1 min. Night Writer. Cheap and easy to make, this device enables you to mount boards with 12-inch letters in glowing LED's on any iron or steel surface, up to 25-feet in the air if you stand on an overturned garbage can. Ca. 1 min.
• Threat Advisory Tower. In this project, GRL created a six-story LED tower lit with the various Homeland Security Threat colors, while blocking out the abutting windows to spell in giant letters, "BLAH BLAH BLAH"; cops arrive, etc. Ca. 3 min.
• Impeach the F#$%!r From west Manhattan to the Brooklyn Promenade, the "surge" is working! GRL joins forces with A28, truth move, Parsons geek graffiti crew and Home X heroes, the OpenLab, Leon Reid, and others to support Dennis Kucinich’s legislation to impeach V.P. Dick Cheney. 6.36 min.
• From Mark Jenkins: Traffic-Go-Round. Washington DC recently spent $6 million dollars to redevelop Thomas Circle. The artists decided, for $35 dollars more, why not turn it into a merry-go-round? 3.57 min.

FRI., 8/3, 7PM DTC: Afraid So by Jay Rosenblatt, part of the Humanness and Other Oddities Compilation. A short, black-and-white film about fear and anxiety permeated with impending doom. Jay Rosenblatt is a Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellow and therapist-turned-filmmaker whose works explore our emotional and psychological cores.

FRI., 8/3, 7PM DTC: everything will be ok by Don Hertzfeldt, part of the Humanness and Other Oddities Compilation. A series of dark and troubling events forces Bill to reckon with the meaning of his life -- or lack thereof. Mega awards.

FRI., 8/3, 8PM DTC: Brand upon the Brain by the brilliant Guy Maddin, a director artier and more f---ed-up than Lynch. I haven’t seen as much as I’d like of Maddin’s work; but I long to compare and contrast his Careful with Paul McCarthy’s Heidi. “This lyrical narrative fantasy . . . tells the story of [Maddin’s] childhood through muddled memories of the struggle for power between his mother and older sister. (Silent with musical accompaniment.)” Sponsored by the Canadian Consulate General. Don’t miss what might be your only chance to see this piece.

FRI., 8/3, 8PM DTC: Graphic Activism Compilation, curated by Jan Baxter. These animated shorts each deal with media and the creation of desire using advertising, search engines and other less straightforward methods. Includes The Stork by Nina Paley, What Barry Says by Simon Robeson & Barry McNamara, Master Plan about the Power of Google by Ozan Halici & Jurgen Mayer, Next Industrial Revolution by Christopher V. Bronsart & Daniel Migge, Pirates and Emperors or Size Does Matter by Eric Henry, Trusted Computing by Benjamin Stephan & Lutz Vogel, Kapitaal by Ton Meijdam & Thom Snels, Black Day to Freedom by Rob Chiu, When I Grow Up by Mauro Gatti, and Bear Witness 111 by Eric Henry.

FRI., 8/3, 8PM DTC: 8 Bit, by Marcin Ramocki. A melange of rocumentary, art expose, and culture-critical investigation, this piece examines the influence of video games on contemporary culture and artistic expression. [Update: Local video artist/gallerist/musician Paul Slocum and his band, treewaves, appear in this piece, which elevates it to a must-see for me. See Slocum's and/or gallery website here, his band site here, or his band's MySpace site (where you can hear some music) here. Cory Arcangel, Tom Moody, Marcin of VertexList, RSG, and DRX of Bodenstandig 2000 are also featured.]

FRI., 8/3, 8:30PM DTC: Best of Slant: Bold Asian American Images Film Festival. I’m dying to see this (credit to my unconscious for that pun or whatever it is), since I plan to be born in China for my next life: a 70-min. compilation of short works by Asian American directors, presented at Aurora Picture Show's annual Slant Festival between 2000-2007.

FRI., 8/3, 9:45 DTC: Short Works by David Lynch, including programs from Six Men Getting Sick, The Alphabet, The Grandmother, and each episode of Dumbland. These are or will be available only on his new website, and I think you'd have to subscribe there to see them, and I'm guessing you wouldn't get them there in a large-screen format. (Inland Empire inspired my first blog post, here.)

SAT. 8/4, 12 noon DTC: Those Were the Days by my friend Adam Bork, part of the You Should Meet My Family! Compilation. “No explanations or meanings for said piece are available. It has been made and now it exists.” I'll just add, it's got mannequins and dunes.

SAT. 8/4, 12 noon DTC: Strange Culture by Lynn Hershman Lesson. If you don't know about this already, you need to. In May of 2004, artist Steve Kurtz woke to find his wife dead of heart failure and called 911. The police looked at his art works, which included harmless microbe specimens, and called the FBI. The FBI charged Kurtz with bioterrorism. Actors Thomas Jay Ryan and Tilda Swinton play the Kurtzes, while Kurtz himself appears in interviews.

SAT. 8/4, 12:45PM DTC: Here is Always Somewhere Else by Rene Daalder. The life and work of Dutch/Californian conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader, who in 1975 disappeared under mysterious circumstances at sea in the smallest boat ever to cross the Atlantic. As seen through the eyes of fellow emigrant filmmaker Rene Daalder, the picture becomes a sweeping overview of contemporary art films as well as an epic saga of the transformative powers of the ocean. Featuring artists Tacita Dean, Rodney Graham, Marcel Broodthaers, Ger van Elk, Charles Ray, Wim T. Schippers, Chris Burden, Fiona Tan, Pipilotti Rist, and many others.

SAT. 8/4, 2PM DTC: Idiot Joy Showland, also wrangled by me. It’s a jam-packed art video compilation co-curated by John Pilson and Claudia Altman-Siegel (and presented by Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, NY). Shorts by 28 artists, including "stars" such as Cindy Sherman and Doug Aitken as well as not-yet-as-well-knowns, exploring a wide array of subjects and strategies. You won't believe how much good stuff this comp. includes. Total run time ca. 115 min. Includes Fragments from an Abandoned Cinema presented by Peggy Ahwesh, Makin’ Love in the Sunshine by Guy Richards Smit, Famous Quotes from Art History by Michael Smith, Doll Clothes by Cindy Sherman, Untitled video by Guy Ben-Ner, Rehearsal Behavior 1 by Alix Pearlstein, Lollypop by Kalup Linzy, The Results of Energy Neither being Created Nor Destroyed on a Sunny Day by James Yamada, Fear of Blushing by Jennifer Reeves, If I Wasn’t Me I Would Be You by Harrell Fletcher, Wing Bowl by Jenny Drumgoole, PleasePleasePlease by Kathy Spade, Crush Collision by Chris Larson, Sleepwalkers by Doug Aitken, 29 Palms: Brief by An-My Le, North of the Rug Fibers by Christopher Miner, Lower East Side Bike Drumroll (excerpt) by Kristin Lucas, My Father Breathing into a Mirror by Neil Goldberg, Harold Boner by Larry Clark, House Burning by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, life like by Aida Ruilova, Review by Jenny Perlin, You Won’t Remember This by Jeff Scher, Don’t You Want Somebody to Love You by Laurel Nakadate, Softcore by Rodney Graham, Hic et Ubique by John Pilson, and Art of Awakening by Meiro Koizumi.

SAT. 8/4, 3PM DTC: Lunch Films by various artists. A series of films commissioned by Mike Plante. He'd buy a filmmaker lunch, with the debt to be repaid with a film of the same cost. It started by accident and necessity; since then, 28 shorts have been eaten. Terms based on whatever was discussed at lunch were written on a napkin contract. Buy an artist lunch today.

SAT. 8/4, 4PM DTC: Black White + Gray by James Crump. An examination of the life of Sam Wagstaff, an influential curator, collector, and force in the art world, this film explores Wagstaff's strong bonds with Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. Director Crump served as curator of photography at the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research.

SAT. 8/4, 4PM DTC: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Jem Cohen. A brilliant interpretation of Patti Smith's cover of the song originally recorded by Nirvana. Totally f---ing gorgeous; Patti wields a guitar like an AK-47; The Matrix meets Deliverance. (Compare and contrast Paul Anka's cover here; no, don't; just watch Cohen's several more times.) [UPDATE: I liked this piece so much that I ended up writing a 6,000-word analysis of it, here.]

SAT. 8/4, 5:30 DTC: A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory. No further info provided; I’ll be there.

SAT. 8/4, 8PM DTC: Chicken Delight by Bryan Konefsky, in the Corporation Nation Compilation. An exploration of America's love affair with radioactivity: irradiated lunch meat, radioactive nail polish, radium suppositories sold as a precursor to Viagra, etc.

SAT. 8/4, 8PM DTC: Copyright, Culture (Remixed): Volume 3, Illegal Art by Rebekah Farrugia. A media prof. questions the boundaries of U.S. copyright law by focusing on artists who borrow from images in the mainstream media. Using as a backdrop the traveling exhibit, Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age, Farrugia illustrates through artist interviews how remixed CNN footage of George W. Bush, the Teletubbies, altered photos of corporate signs, and Pez dispensers for fallen rappers can be recombined to create unique, original work transcending the rights of prior copyright holders.

SAT. 8/4, 8PM DTC: war_machine by Deven James Langston. “war_machine is a simplified, biased view of the systematic and mechanical structure I see in the United States. It is not a linear video, but rather an interactive, continuously looping animation. It aims at nothing more than to bring the viewer's attention to the idea of representing the life cycle in a very rigid and graphical manner.”

SUN. 8/5, 5:30 PM DTC: Fat Girls by Ash Christian. A theater-obsessed gay teen and his overweight best friend embark on a journey of discovery that leads from smalltown America to the Great White Way. Score by my friend John Dufilho and the Deathray Davies, including the infamous, "Danette is the Bomb."

SUN. 8/5, 6:45 PM DTC: Video Sketches by Rusty Scruby (courtesy of (PanAmerican Projects), wrangled by moi. Scruby was trained as an aerospace engineer but traded that career for art, developing a technique for weaving 3-D paintings from thousands of precisely-cut pieces of photographs and sketches. He recently made these short videos as experiments to illustrate the abstract relationships he uses in synthesizing "a new visual and musical language.” Followed by Quin Mathews' documentary about Scruby and his work.

SUN. 8/5, 7PM DTC: Rusty Scruby: Beyond the Plane. Filmmaker Quin Mathews follows Scruby around, documenting his unique method of creating art. Quin's an accomplished documentarian; this is my favorite of his films that I’ve seen.

SUN. 8/5, 8PM DTC: Who is Bozo Texino? by Bill Daniel. (those of you who came to the recent series at Conduit may have noticed Daniel is the one who discovered the lost footage of Pie Fight ‘69.) "This travel adventure, faithfully photographed in black and white at considerable risk from speeding freight trains and in secret hobo jungles, in the dogged pursuit of the impossibly convoluted story of the heretofore untold history of the century-old folkloric practice of hobo and railworker graffiti and the absurd quest for the true identity of railroading's greatest artist, will likely amuse and confound you in its sincere attempt to understand and preserve this artform" [de-emphasis supplied].

SUN. 8/5, 9PM DTC: The Texas Show. This independently-juried compilation showcases the best submissions connected to Texas.

FULL SCHEDULE here.

All-Day Passes range from $10 (weeknights) to $25 (weekends)
All-Festival Pass & -Party Access: $150
All-Festival Pass: $80
All-Festival Pass for VAD Members: $60
Most Individual Programs: $7.50 (not available for all programs, door only)
Special event ticket to El Automóvile Gris (presented by the Dallas Video Festival, Vistas Film Festival, and the Asian Film Festival Dallas): $25
Discounts available to community partners, seniors and students.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.acteva.com/go/videofest.

To join, donate, or for more info, go to www.videofest.org.