Last Chance...Sort of
Don't say I didn't tell you....
Don't let a few flurries deter you from stopping by the gallery this last weekend of Cathy Begien's exhibition. It was chosen as a "Top Pick" by the opinionated Barry and James over at Artcal.net. And Holland Cotter writes in today's "highly recommended" Last Chance listing in The New York Times:
Should you find some slightly credible excuse to miss the exhibition, though, you'll have another chance. We've just learned that Cathy's video Black Out has been curated into a major exhibtion at the main space at the Getty in Los Angeles next year! (March 18-June 8, 2008). Curated by Glenn R. Phillips (with 6 guest curators, including Meg Cranston, Rita Gonzalez, Kathy Rae Huffman, Bob Riley, Steve Seid, and Bruce Yonemoto), the exhibition will explore the history of video art in California from 1968 to 2008 and include 60 artists. This focus on video comes on the heels of the Getty's acquisition of the Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive, which, at almost 5,000 works, is one of the largest video art archives in the world.
Personally, I'd try to catch it in both locations (just so you have "I saw it back then" bragging rights), but that's me.
Don't let a few flurries deter you from stopping by the gallery this last weekend of Cathy Begien's exhibition. It was chosen as a "Top Pick" by the opinionated Barry and James over at Artcal.net. And Holland Cotter writes in today's "highly recommended" Last Chance listing in The New York Times:
The reason to see this first solo show by the San Francisco filmmaker Cathy Begien is an ingenious, surprisingly intense short video called “Black Out.” In it the blindfolded artist delivers an episodic account of a bad-trip, club-hopping night on the town, as friends pop into the frame from the side to hand her drinks and cigarettes and act out parts of the story. When Ms. Begien breaks down toward the end of the film, it’s hard to tell whether she’s laughing or crying. Both responses make sense. Winkleman Gallery, 637 West 27th Street, Chelsea, (212) 643-3152; closes tomorrow. (Cotter)Bu...bu...but, I can't take a flight to New York to visit the gallery this weekend. I'd miss March Madness.
Should you find some slightly credible excuse to miss the exhibition, though, you'll have another chance. We've just learned that Cathy's video Black Out has been curated into a major exhibtion at the main space at the Getty in Los Angeles next year! (March 18-June 8, 2008). Curated by Glenn R. Phillips (with 6 guest curators, including Meg Cranston, Rita Gonzalez, Kathy Rae Huffman, Bob Riley, Steve Seid, and Bruce Yonemoto), the exhibition will explore the history of video art in California from 1968 to 2008 and include 60 artists. This focus on video comes on the heels of the Getty's acquisition of the Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive, which, at almost 5,000 works, is one of the largest video art archives in the world.
Personally, I'd try to catch it in both locations (just so you have "I saw it back then" bragging rights), but that's me.
Labels: gallery artists exhibitions
posted by Edward_ at
8:10 AM
11 Comments:
Edward, I don't know what a flurry is, but it sounds scary. I'll wait and see her work here in L.A.
Flurries are cute, David.
Squalls are scary
you snow-free states don't know what you're missing!
EW, I was actually just kidding about my snow-ignorance. I grew up in upstate NY. When I was learning to drive, it was 3 months before I learned that you didn't always skid around corners.
She should put it on YouTube.
At least for a week or two.
And honest, if people ever catch me presenting a single monoband film in a gallery (I've worked with video), one that is not installative, one that is not a loop or multi-channel, please come and tell me "CEDRIC !!! You should put this on YouTube!!".
"But..but...but...Aren't you afraid of copyrights??"
The quality of Youtube video is cheap, and the fact that the video gets known, to me that can increase its value. Besides I'm not interested by value of video art as material object. I don't think that's the point of the medium.
Cheers,
Cedric Caspesyan
centiment@hotmail.com
(I'm annoying about this but Edward gives me an opportunity to cry out loud something that I would write at countless other artists, so please dont take it personal)
I agree w/the YouTube idea. I imagine though that after creating the video for a certain presentation i wouldn't want to squash it into the utube mix. i might view it on the web and not visit the gallery then where would we be? I'd never see it the way the artist intended or even close to the intention.
edw, I know this is off-topic, but what do you (and commenters) think of the Matthew Kangas debacle?
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=171459
Maybe you'd do a post on it?
I've been watching that unfold, anonymous.
I've written a comment over at artworld salon, but agree we could/should hash it out here.
Thanks for the tip.
e
Whatever. This is an AMAZING show, especially Black Out. Reduced my ass to tears. Smart, beautiful, powerful stuff. Brave the snowhailrainflurries. You won't be sorry.
PS: Yaay, Meg Cranston.
i really love this video, and the context was really right for it. YouTube is a different medium that Begien owes a small debt to, but its more about the sharing of information than the actual content of the videos. the Begien piece exists in a very special place.
But I don't think the gallery is the place for "standard" short films, unless they are presented in
a series in a certain way that the viewer is invited to go from one to the other, but, even then that can be problematic.
I remember a show in NY last year or the year before where I had to move from one monitor to the next to watch grotesque animations, but to see the whole I needed over 60 minutes and it was really uncomfortable. I think if you can screen them in a row at a local theatre that is best. They are places suited for that. And if the work is worth it, I would want to see it on a big screen. Is it worth the big screen?
On the other hand they are cases where you can tell that the gallery setting is the best. A bunch of Aida Ruilova shorts are simple monobands set on monitors one not far from the other, but they work altogether very well (and no effort is made to separate each work, like headphones or anything). So in the end there is the "case by case" evaluation.
I totally understand why video artists would want to get away from trad cinema spaces, as it's been an overused medium. But..Don't come and show me your trad film in a gallery?? I mean, if the issue is for it to be presented continuously, many museums offer video rooms with constant automatic replay. It's no big deal to built a decent screening room if you intend to show a lot of videos.
There is a love-hate relation between video artists and cinema that I can't understand. The best "trad" (narrative) video art I've seen, it was in film festivals (Brothers Quay, etc..).
So comparatively, it seems pretentious sometimes to see mediocre films (again, trad narrative) beeing presented non-stop for a month in a gallery.
This said I have NOOOO idea what the work at Winkleman is about, so please don't interprete me as criticizing that artist. From description it seems almost more a documentary.
Bye
Cedric Caspesyan
centiment@hotmail.com
WooW =)
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home