Documentary on Graffiti Research Lab (New)

You may remember GRL from the Tech-Art Activism compilation in the 2007 Dallas Video Festival -- see my post here.

Here are clips from a new documentary about GRL premiering at MoMA on May 4, 2008 (via Boing Boing -- worth the click; as usual, they've blogged it well.)

UPDATE: GRL is included in a nice collection of pics of technology-influenced graffiti on WebUrbanist, here.

"THE PROGRAM": In the Code

UPDATE: New, much more detailed post here; although as of this addition, I haven't yet had a chance to add images to the new post.

As you may know, the Video Association of Dallas was the first in TX to show video art by Michel Auder, Matthew Barney, Paul Chan, Harun Farocki, Graffiti Research Lab, William Kentridge, Paul McCarthy, Tony Oursler, Pipilotti Rist, Martha Rosler, and Bill Viola, among many others.

The Video Association's Dallas Video Festival is now dividing into two parts. This year for the first time, most of the video- and other media-based art you might normally find in museums or galleries will be presented in a separate, expanded series of exhibitions at Conduit Gallery. The rest of the Fest, including documentaries and other venerable varieties of video, will be presented in October.

The new, video art + other media-based art exhibition series to be shown at Conduit, called THE PROGRAM, starts July 26: 5 shows over 5 weeks, with openings on 5 consecutive Sat. nites, after-parties, etc. etc. Co-curated by me, Charles Dee Mitchell, and Bart Weiss.

Where else can you find this much exciting, recent video art and other media-based art by internationally-recognized artists -- esp. on our near-null budget? (I certainly hope never to work this hard again for negative income.)

This is not a complete listing, and all programming remains subject to change:

Guy Ben-Ner's Moby Dick and his latest, Stealing Beauty (see Postmasters gallery).

John Bock's latest, The Palms (see Anton Kern gallery).

Dena DeCola + Karin E. Wandner's five more minutes (see the Video Data Bank).

Matthew Barney's latest, Drawing Restraint 13 (see Barney's DR site or Gladstone Gallery).

Michael Bell-Smith, t.b.d. (see Foxy Production or and/or gallery).

eteam: with luck, something re- their Rhizome commission proposal, Second Life Dumpster (see their commission proposal site). I personally also loved 1.1 Acre Flat Screen, 'though it's not looking like we'll be able to show it, but you can view it on their website; just click on "videos" and scroll on what opens.

Nathalie Djurberg: her Camels Drink Water, which debut'd at Art Basel Miami just last year, and, I hope, one or more other works (see Zach Feuer Gallery). I'm pretty sure, 200 yrs. from now, if you search for what might help you both survive and forgive humanity, Djurberg's work will pop.

John Michael Boling + Javier Morales (see their site at http://www.gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogle.com).

Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung's animations featuring Al Gore as a polar bear, his Nobel around his neck, deploying solar panels against a BBQ'ing Bush (see Postmasters and Hung's site).

Cao Fei: knock on wood, her Second Life "documentary," iMirror (see Lombard-Freid Projects), which showed at the Venice Biennale, this year, and her newest piece, RMB City.

Guthrie Lonergan: net art from a favorite New Museum alum (see his site).

Shana Moulton's work takes you back to everything you thought you hated about the 80's but now "pine" for (see Country Club gallery).

Tom Moody: appealing and intriguing shorts from a former Dallasite who's shown around the world (see his site).

Meiro Koizumi's latest, The Human Opera. If I say he's the new M. Barney, that's just shorthand for, i.m.h.o., you need to see his work -- it's going to come up again (see Nicole Klagsbrun gallery).

Matt Marello: Marello greenscreens himself into the horror flick that made Charles Dee Mitchell want to be an art writer; plus, Friedrich Nietsche converses with Hogan's Heroes.

Yang Fudong's An Estranged Paradise. This wonderful early piece illumines the work he's made since (see Marian Goodman Gallery).

Yves Netzhammer: evocative 3-D animation from one of my faves from the '07 Venice Biennial (see Galerie Anita Beckers).

Jon Pylypchuk's animations with hotdogs -- not even bacon is better (see Friedrich Petzel Gallery).

Steve Reinke's Hobbit Love is the Greatest Love. Yes, he actually makes it work (see Video Data Bank).

Treewave (Paul Slocum's band) performs live (see his Tree Wave page, Dunn and Brown Contemporary, or and/or gallery).

Ryan Trecartin: A Family Finds Entertainment and Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me. He may seem hallucino-gen-Y'd, he may even be really fun; he's also profound (see Elizabeth Dee).

Kalup Linzy's Melody Set Me Free and Ride to da Club, both totally smart + fun (see Taxter & Spengemann gallery).

Rick Silva, a.k.a. Abe Linkoln, + jimpunk + Mr. Tamale: a compilation from Triptych TV (also check outAbe + Mo Sing the Blogs: e.g., one blogger's daily psychotropic dosage, à la metal -- and more {here's Rick's site; I also love jimpunk's}).

Clemens Von Wedermeyer: compelling work from one of Europe's stars (see Galerie Jocelyn Wolff).

The main venue for THE PROGRAM will be Conduit Gallery in the Design District, where lots of great galleries are now located (go here for lists by neighborhood with url's, addresses, etc.); and our opening nite, Sat., July 26, will also be "gallery walk" nite in the Design District. The gallery walk hours will be 5-8 pm. We expect to open THE PROGRAM with Matthew Barney's new video, although that's not set in stone, and with Paul Slocum's performance starting around the time the gallery walk winds up (plan to end up back at Conduit).

Then, for our after-party that nite . . . remember Apples in Stereo, whose lead appeared on The Colbert Report with his paean to Stephen? And the inestimable Danette Dufilho, Asst. Dir. at Conduit and Dir. of the Project Room there? Well, her hubby, John Dufilho (of Deathray Davies fame), plays drums in the Apples, and the Apples are playing Big D that very nite, at one of our fave venues, Sons of Hermann Hall, starting after Paul's performance. And strictly betw. us, the Apples might show up at Conduit for Paul's show; and we might be handing out coupons for a discount to get into the show at Sons . . .

And, believe it or not, there's more spectacular stuff in the works! As well as a panel discussion at the Dallas Museum of Art on Sun., August 10 at 1:30 pm and evening screenings in Fort Worth on August 5 and 12. I'll post more details about the schedule as they're firmed up.

I've been working really hard on this, so pls cancel any and all conflicting oblgs, ink us in for the 5 consecutive Sat. nites starting July 26 plus, + tell your friends. (And by the way, if you can't make the opening nites, the shows will remain on exhibit or available for viewing until it's time to install the next week's work.)

Thanks of course to the artists, galleries, and others already mentioned above. I'd like also to go ahead and thank Suzanne Weaver at the DMA for her advice to me over the years, which greatly helped me educate myself, as well as for her support in arranging for our panel discussion to take place at the DMA; the folks at Electronic Art Intermix (esp. Josh Kline), whose advice and screening room have also been invaluable to me; Paul Slocum, who has also generously shared his advice, esp. regarding new media artists; Danette Dufilho and Nancy Whitenack at Conduit, not only for providing us a great space for free but also for their advice, time, and effort in many areas, all of which have been and will continue to be essential to bringing this thing off; volunteers such as LeeAnn Harrington and Emily Ewbank; my co-curators, Bart Weiss and Charles Dee Mitchell, from whom I've also learned so much; and last but not least, our presenting organization, the Video Association of Dallas, which has for over twenty years been one of the foremost proponents of video as a creative medium (please join and support it!).

Until I do a new post based on more definite info, check back here 'cause it's easier for me to just update this post.

Updates on the 20th Dallas Video Festival

Here are some videos from Day Two, i.e., Wed., August 1, featuring Ben Britt, Laura Neitzel, A.C. Abbott, Katie Giminez, Katie & Andy Colvin, Mark Birnbaum, Bart Weiss, Cynthia Salzman Mondell, Meharvan, and Alex Karpovski. I'd been lucky enough to see Viva previously (which I loved), so I skipped that to see Karpovsky's excellent The Hole Story, which might be roughly described as a "slackers" update of Moby Dick. Can't wait to see more from this director.

Here are some videos and a pic from Day Three, i.e., Thurs., August 2, featuring Ben Britt, Danette Dufilho, Dee Mitchell (obscurely), and Bart Weiss. A Pervert's Guide to Cinema was fascinating; hope to see it again somehow; but I missed El Automóvil Gris (The Grey Automobile), which I hear was brilliant, and most of the I Am/Am Not My Job Compilation, which I also heard was wonderful.

Here are some vidis and pics from Day Four, i.e., Fri., August 3, featuring Kevin Nash, Festival merch, Wendy Golman, Katie Giminez, Nathan, Dee Mitchell, Mike Henderson, Lisa Taylor, Tammy Mcnary, the men's restroom at KHT, & work by Adam Bork. (Thanks to Ben Britt for some of the photos.) Saw again and still loved the Tech-Art Activism stuff -- thanks for turning out! Missed most of We Are the Strange -- hope to see the whole thing somehow; and the Guy Maddin, damn!; saw and loved the David Lynch shorts. I missed Jan Baxter's Graphic Activism Compilation, my sig. other loved it, hope to see that somehow, too; and everyone loved Bork's installation at the after-party (pic above right).

Several people have asked, where can I find out how to make the stuff in the Tech-Art Activism Compilation? The Graffiti Research Lab website has lots more videos, many showing how to DIY. Another resource I just came across is Gearbox's free-media toolkit, co-authored by Mediashed and Eyebeam.

Here are some vidis and pics from Day Five, Sat., Aug. 4, featuring Andy Streitfeld, Jerod Costa, Albert Maysles, Manny Mendoza, Allen Mondell, and Paul Slocum. Thanks for turning out for Idiot Joy Showland! Smells Like Teen Spirit, Black White + Gray, and A Walk Into the Sea were all wonderful and led from one to the next beautifully; and I really enjoyed Hell on Wheels, not just because grrls' roller derby rocks, but also for its portrayal of the grrls' initiative and the process of their maturation as neo-feminist businesswomen.

Here are some vidis and pics from Day Six, Sun., Aug. 5, featuring Deven James Langston, Tom Sime, Brad Ford Smith, Tim Evans, Tina Syring, Barry Whistler, Wendy Golman, Jin Ya Huang, Sheryl Ingram, Katja Straub, Mary Hestand & Alan Tubbs, and a few shots of the Festival crew during the closing nite thanks. Air Guitar Nation was totally fun; I enjoyed Daydream Nation featuring animations from Sweden and loved Bill Daniel's amazing Who is Texas Bozino?; and I heard DFW Punk was great.

I want to cry as I confirm what many of you already know: Laura Neitzel is leaving VAD, after doing a truly tremendous job for nine years. At The Texas Show, Bart and Andy Streitfeld gave eloquent thanks, but they clearly felt as we all do that nothing can thank her adequately for all she's given us.

In conjunction with the Festival, an installation by Bob Paris entitled Disturbance was exhibited at Conduit Gallery. Three monitors in a severely darkened room displayed highly-choreographed, manipulated clips from a single tape of television footage haphazardly recorded by the artist over a two-day period during the L.A. riots -- complete with violence, newscasts, Bush Sr.'s Presidential comments, and commercials.

Here's my previous post on DVF 20, with my original recommendations for the art-oriented plus a link to the full schedule.

Graffiti Research Lab Co-Founder Detained by Chinese

"Days without potable water, hours of interrogation, sleep deprivation, and the theft of more than $20,000 in cash and equipment are among the hardships two New Yorkers say they endured as prisoners of the Chinese government during the Beijing Olympics.

"'They threatened our lives, threatened the lives of people we know, of our family members, and they told us that they could get us, even outside of China,' [GRL co-founder] James Powderly said yesterday."

More at The New York Sun; see also boingboing and cnet.

THE PROGRAM

Me, Bart Weiss, and Dee Mitchell, co-curators of the DVF ' 08's new, new media and video art series, THE PROGRAM. Ok, yeah; in reality, I'm cuter. (Image scavenged by the superb Danette.)

As you may know, the DVF was the first in TX to show video art by Michel Auder, Matthew Barney, Paul Chan, Harun Farocki, Graffiti Research Lab, William Kentridge, Paul McCarthy, Tony Oursler, Pipilotti Rist, Martha Rosler, and Bill Viola, among many others.

This year, the new media and video art portion of the DVF will be presented separately from the rest of the Fest, in an expanded series of programs over a five-week period, with each week's work remaining on exhibit until the next week's is installed.

Nothing's set in stone yet, but it looks like there's a decent chance we'll get to show -- no, I'm afraid of jinxing it. But I will say, I'm really excited about the way the schedule's shaping up.

5 shows over 5 weeks, with openings on 5 consecutive Sat. nites, after-parties, etc. etc. Starting July 26 at Conduit Gallery.

Ink it into your calendar; and tell your friends!

One Project Spurs Two Controversies:

Is art work?

And is ART WORK "art"?

For most of my life, I have not been a fan of overtly political art (although I happen to think all art works {as well as other expressions} have at least indirect political implications, by omission or otherwise). So why did I take on this project?

First, I did connect to the politics of Temporary Services' ART WORK newspaper. Society benefits tremendously from artists' efforts, yet very few artists make a living at it; indeed, many whose works are in major art museums need dayjobs to get by.

But more importantly, artists could be poster-kids for the lower and middle classes in general. People in the U.S. work at least as long, hard, and efficiently as workers anywhere in the world. Our productivity has doubled, but our inflation-adjusted incomes have actually declined. The quality of life for most of us as measured by important criteria has fallen dramatically since the 1970's and earlier (see Elizabeth Warren's brilliant presentation; see also here), and it's substantially below that enjoyed in many other developed countries (see here; see also here).

Meanwhile, the rich have grown vastly richer, and the gap in wealth between the top few percent and the rest of us has skyrocketed to an all-time high (see here; also here). As Warren Buffet's said, "It's class warfare, [and] my class is winning, but they shouldn't be." (CNN interview).

If there's been one good result from our tribulations during the last ten years, it's that many more of us have realized we simply cannot afford not to pay attention to political and economic matters, and that things probably won't get much better so long as we continue to allow the few who control disproportionate wealth to make all the big decisions (see, e.g., here).

But while the rest of us have overwhelming numbers, we remain powerless unless we understand what's going on, and organize, at least for certain purposes.

Most of us have been operating as individual entrepreneurs for years now, and there are benefits to that approach. But it's left us atomized and isolated from one another. Maybe we're ready to put our heads together to think about ways to have our entrepreneurial cake and still put food on the table.

Change for the better may not be easy – destruction is easy; creation is hard – but I happen to believe with Andy Warhol, Margaret Mead et al. that it can be done (hey, if we can change Earth's climate as a mere side-effect of other efforts, imagine what we could do if we actually tried).

But that was not the only reason I got involved in the ART WORK project.

During the last few years, I'd become aware of the terms, "relational art," "littoral art," "discursive art," "participatory art," etc. These terms have been used by various writers (Nicolas Bourriaud, Grant Kester, Claire Bishop, Liam Gillick, et al.) who define them in distinctly different ways, but there seems to be some overlap in the kinds of art they're talking about. I've found these terms to be powerful tools for thinking about a trend I personally, roughly describe as art in which the artist's main focus is the production or modification of relationships among people, as distinguished from the production of some other art object. That is, while the project or practice may yield material artifacts, or involve performance, the construction of an environment for viewers, or other things or activities we've recognized as art in the past, what's new-ish is that the artist's principal preoccupation seems to be with the creation or modification of relationships, rather than any object, environment, or even performance – i.e., arguably, the principal art "object" is the relationships formed, or the modifications made to them, in the course of the practice.

(Writers discussing the relational trend disagree intensely about the best ways to define it or to evaluate the works it might include. Such questions go beyond what I can address in this post, but they'd be part of conversations I'd like to have.)

Much of the art I've found most exciting during the last decade and more arguably falls into this "relational" category, as defined in the way I currently find most interesting. I'm thinking of, e.g., Rotozaza's GuruGuru (discussion here), Cao Fei's RMB City (see also here), Meiro Koizumi's Art of Awakening and Human Opera XXX (here), eteam's Second Life Dumpster (see also here), Graffiti Research Lab (see also here) and at least some of Good/Bad Art Collective's projects (see here; and other highly-respected artists associated with this trend and whose work I admire or find interesting include Marina Abramovic, Liam Gillick, Pierre Huyghe, and Phillippe Parreno, to name a few).

Temporary Services' project is definitely relational. They didn't just produce a newspaper; they recruited people nationwide to help distribute it, and they invited everyone interested to take the ball and run with it – to use the newspaper as a springboard to create their own exhibitions, discussions, or events. Their goal is to create and modify relationships – in particular, to inspire us to combine our creativity and other strengths to bring greater fairness to art workers and others, creating or modifying relationships not only among ourselves but within society at large.

(Temporary Services' project may also be related to trends having to do with collectivity and socially-engaged art practices generally, which have their notable practitioners and theorists, as well as to conceptual art. I also find it interesting that the artists chose to distribute their publication in the form of hardcopy newspapers, at a time when print is on the ropes, as well as via the project's website. The collective has been described as "working out of a Situationist tradition"; their work or publications have been been featured at Mass MoCA, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, the Smart Museum of Art, and elsewhere.)

But although relational art and theorizing have been around for some years (Bourriaud's seminal Relational Aesthetics was first published in French in 1998 and discusses work created in the 90's), we've seen relatively little of this kind of work in the Dallas area (Good/Bad was a brilliant, early instance; but I know of few others); and I'm aware of even less public discussion here of relational (or of socially engaged) practices.

So another motive for turning Temporary Services' project into an occasion for an exhibition, etc. was to bring more of this kind of work into view here and perhaps inspire conversation about the ART WORK project as art – relational or otherwise – or not-art.

The work shown in the main gallery at CentralTrak "present[s] projects that propose solutions for contemporary artists seeking to work outside of the 'white box' to secure greater economic autonomy during this post-market-glut economic correction" (see CentralTrak); i.e., works reflecting artists' responses as individuals (among other things). This portion of the exhibition was organized by Kate Sheerin, Director of CentralTrak, and includes works by Richie Budd, Gary Farrelly, Thomas Riccio and Frank Dufour, Ludwig Schwarz, Marjorie Schwarz, and give up. The opening reception also included "Son of Trunk Show," presented by Shelby Cunningham and featuring eight other artists.

The materials in the CentralTrak corridor focus on collective efforts (among other things). This portion of the exhibition was organized by moi and includes the ART WORK newspaper plus materials on works and/or writings by Gregory Sholette, Harrell Fletcher, Liam Gillick, Not an Alternative, Mel Chin, Lize Mogel, Maria Lind, Research and Destroy, Robert Projansky and Seth Siegelaub, W.A.G.E., Michael Corris, Hollis Frampton, Don Celender, and Julius Getman.

I think the two areas complement one another in interesting, even provocative ways.

Is ART WORK "art"? After viewing the show, one prominent local critic told me I should be an activist – implying that I should stay away from art. I suggested there could be no greater art project than to help make a better world (to which s/he objected, "[i]sn't that terribly self-absorbed?" I replied, how is that more self-absorbed than building a company or having a family?)
So yes, my own working hypothesis is that, to some degree or in some sense, ART WORK is art.

And you don't have to like ART WORK, or agree with its political orientation, or even agree that it's art, to agree that now is a good time for us to talk about those questions.
For more info about the ART WORK in dallas event series, see my previous post, or click on the "ART WORK in dallas" label below.

(The image top right is of a naturally-occurring fractal in the form of a Romanesco cabbage, from "Fractal Food." The image center left is of Tracy Hicks' Moose, from the National Academy of Sciences Online via Mutable Matter, and the image bottom right is also from Mutable Matter, apparently by the blog author – thanks, Angela!)

UPDATE: Great review of the show by Erin Starr White in Art Lies, Fall 2010. For visuals of the exhibition, see here.

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.