Friday, November 15, 2002
Co-sponsored/co-presented by:
Hallwalls, University at Buffalo's Canadian-American Studies Committee, University at Buffalo's the Graduate Student Association, and University at Buffalo, Department of Media Study
Presented at:
Squeaky Wheel
Guest-curator Bernie Roddy has been interested in finding inexpensive and non-laborious means of exploring conceptual approaches to audiovisual communication, and has lately been viewing short tapes with a confessional angle found in Toronto's VTape collection. In an effort to share some of his discoveries, he is pleased to present his selection of tapes exemplifying a wide range of approaches to self-presentation:
Self Portrait (Martin Spellerberg, 1999, 2 min.) - Hiding behind an electronic mask, the artist's refusal to confide in us is punctured by sudden inhaling.
I Have Something to Tell You About Myself (Tanya Murdoch, 1993, 4:30 min.) - Murdoch discusses the repercussions of an event that is manifestly untrue, namely that she has turned into a man "over the holidays."
Hey Madonna (Mike Hoolboom, 1997, 9 min.) - The third in a series of correspondences with Madonna, this tape narrates a tale of former lovers, one of whom has become positive.
True/False (Colin Campbell, 1972, 9 min.) - The artist makes a number of potentially revealing statements about himself, then asserts and denies them as "true" and "false."
Children's Video Collective (Steve Reinke, 1996, 3:20 min.) - Reflecting on his childhood involvement as a founding member of Canada's Children's Video Collective, Reinke reviews his early manifesto
Vision (With Birds) (Steve Reinke, 1994, 5:01 min.) - "I had a vision - it wasn't a dream because I was awake. My father was dragging my mother into the forest by her hair."
Being Fucked Up (Emily Vey Duke & Cooper Battersby, 2001, 10:16 min.) - Combining crude animation and performance, this collection of nine short works about ego, happiness and holding on is a succession of carefully crafted monologues.
Kept Quiet (Julia Meltzer, 1995, 6 min.) - At Manual Arts High School, where Meltzer was an artist in residence, Latina youth video makers collaborate on two stories of sexual abuse, combining images of everyday life with voice-over confessions.
Accidental Confessions (Jeanne C. Finley, 1987, 5:30 min.) - Footage from a demolition derby is combined with scrolling statements taken from automobile insurance claims.
Crowdog (super 8-video, 1984/1998, 7 min.) - Footage from a demolition derby is combined with scrolling statements taken from automobile insurance claims.
Lockjaw (Paulette Phillips, 1992, 20 min.) - A woman sits in her hotel room and offers biting confessional commentary on life and love.
This is Your Messiah Speaking (Vera Frankel, 1991, 9:50 min.) - Several interlaced modes of narrative and representation, including American Sign Language, are used to trace and disclose the bond between messiahism and consumerism.
Some publications related to this event:
November and December, 2002 - 2002