Light Year 21: Peering Behind Appearances
January 5th, 2017, Dusk – 10pm
The Triangle at Pearl Street and Anchorage Place
The world deceives us through the lens of the video camera, as changeable versions reflected back onto us and others, skewed perspectives, or a surprising lack of observational precedence. This group of works pulls from a bandwidth that looks into, beyond, and behind broader appearances of the everyday or the uncharted to deliver moments that peel back the veil of appearances revealing the depth of even our slightest glances.
Artists: Janaye Brown (NY), Craig Drennen (GA), Kevin Jerome Everson (VA), Victoria Fu (CA), and Lilly McElroy (KS)
Curated by Erin Dziedzic.
Janaye Brown: Genesis
Genesis is a video portrait of a traveling carnival ride. Shot from behind its façade, the static camera showcases the apparatus that allows the ride to function. Through the use of the long take, the persistent image lingers despite the transitory nature of the eponymous structure; soon to be folded up and headed for another city.
Craig Drennen: Bandit (Ho Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha)
This is the first video work by Craig Drennen dedicated to the character of Bandit from Shakespeare's Timon of Athens. For this piece, the artist performs as the title character of "Bandit," a distorted version of Santa inspired in part by Joseph Beuys' Ja Ja Ja Ne Ne Ne voice performance from 1968.
Kevin Jerome Everson: Smooth Surface
Filmed in a bowling parts factory in Virginia Smooth Surface is an excerpt from Everson’s eight-hour film Park Lanes (2015). Everson’s cinematic observations of highly skills individuals shaping and polishing in an industrial environment exercises the artist’s most masterly approach to fusing craftsmanship and artistic modes in his image making.
Victoria Fu: Deuce
Deuce presents a game of tennis filmed at night, superimposed with a choreographed re-enactment shot during the day. The outcome of each play remains the same between the original game and its re-enactment, underscoring the duplication as a redundant act. However, imperfection inevitably creeps in, even after the best efforts at playing the same game twice. Through simulation, Deuce attempts this delicate balance between futility and unique chance.
Lilly McElroy: Untitled (Sun In Hand)
McElroy grew up in southern Arizona, surrounded by cliche representations of her own experiences. There were cowboys riding bulls, coyotes howling on moonlit nights, beautiful sunsets, and vicious brawls. McElroy has translated those experiences into epic photographs and playfully antagonistic videos. These works are a pursuit of a reflection of the artists complex relationship with the American West and an exploration of what it means to be an American in a time of diminished expectations.
About The Curator:
Erin Dziedzic is Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. She is the founder/editor of artcorejournal (www.artcorejournal.net), an online contemporary art platform.