LIGHT YEAR 87: Summer reRuns: “Obvious Surprise”
Thursday, July 7th, 2022
ONLINE: 2-10pm EST
LIVE: Dusk - 10pm @ Pearl Street Triangle; DUMBO, Brooklyn
Berlin Premiere:
SCOPE BLN
Lübecker Straße 43, 10559, Berlin
Thursday, July 7th, 8:45-10pm CET
Canada Premiere:
THE DREY
Woodbine Ave, East York, ON M4C 4E1, Canada
Thursday, July 7th, 6-10 PM EST
DIGITAL FAIRY TALES: “Obvious Surprise” aims to contribute to the process of unlearning the narrow concepts of “the female character.” The videos use a selection of old folk tales, then subvert the canonized gender roles that for generations have been instilled and are still strongly present in children’s literature. Fairy tales have always been effective tools for shaping social norms. The most popular tales have consistently been adjusted and adapted to fit the needs of the era. But today a patriarchal point of view is still the default in most cultures. This notion of “the woman’s role” seems to be hardening and even regressing further on some fronts. Meanwhile, the digital age and its inhabitants feel free to evolve and broaden the meaning of “feminine” in new and surprising ways.
The videos of DIGITAL FAIRY TALES: “Obvious Surprise” are artistic reflections on these issues. They attempt to challenge the mainstream visuality of the tame, obedient, caring woman figure by revealing characters of the wide majority who often remain invisible. Through digital reimaginings of ancient material, contemporary artists add their visions and voices into the mix; pushing the conversation forward. For this project we collected seven tales, that are relevant to the concept. Most of them are old folk tales that depict female characters in an unusual way.
Curated by Eszter Szabó and Leo Kuelbs, with Kinga Tóth.
Featuring new work by: Dorothée Billard & Kinga Tóth, Juliane Pieper & Sea of Daisies, Maria Naidyonova, Kamilia Kard, Daniela Kostova, Mai’T Segura and Harald V. Uccello, Eszter Szabó
Artist Statements
Poor Woman and the Wolf, video by Dorothée Billard with sound by Kinga Tóth, 2020
This is a film about reading a book. About the different ways of reading a book. About the different speeds of telling a story. About the possibility of going back and forth by reading. About considering a book as a room, as a stage which you can enter from right or left.
It’s about a woman and her children. About her telling them not to be afraid. It’s almost real: it could take place in our cities, in the subway, on our way back home. But it plays in the fairytale forest – the imaginary place where you can seriously discuss with the wolf before he eats you.
You don’t need to worry. All the protagonists are hungry. If our hunger is bigger than theirs, then everything will be fine.
www.dorobillard.de | www.kingatoth.com
Keep your secrets, video by Juliane Pieper with sound by Sea of Daisies, 2020
Inspired by the tale titled “keep your secrets” the animation deals with issues like love, trust, violence.
https://juliepieper.wordpress.com/
He ate me everything, video by Kamilia Kard, 2020
If someone eats you every single thing you have, you remain without nothing.
This is the grey part of the video.
Greedy Grandpa, video by Maria Naidyonova, 2020
My Video “Greedy Grandpa” is based on the tale by Hungarian writer Alíz Mosonyi, “Grandpa and Grandma”. The story's grotesque style inspired me to use bright colors and simplified, exaggerated forms. Alexandr Sood’in's music energizes the old folk tale and makes it contemporary.
Princess Beauty, video by Daniela Kostova with music by Muckemacher (Verena Roth and Florian Erlbeck), 2020
Princess Beauty is a mischievous confrontation with the stereotypes and expectations that society imposes on women from the start of girlhood. Resulting from an improvised play-performance, the video presents a dream-like world where young feral girls behave wildly and have fun, against orders. The characters, three 9-year-old “princesses” address the camera in curlers and makeup, as they blatantly defy the rules on proper behavior indoctrinated within them. The "princesses" do their own makeup, rearrange the set and direct themselves as the camera follows them. In one scene, they crawl through a tunnel made of a series of giant golden rings. In the distance, a diamond ring beckons – representing the most desired object – marriage to a prince. And yet, no prince appears in this story, and the diamond ring is a balloon that can pop at any time.
Beautiful Princess, video by Eszter Szabó , 2020
The short video deals with the conflict between one’s own movement and the constrains forced on them. It combines animation with physical simulations thus creating unwanted events and glitchy effects. It is a 3D animation based on the artist’s own painting.
www.eszterszabo.hu
Sermerssuaq, video by Harald V. Uccello & Maï T Segura, 2020
Our trailer for a possible adaptation of a fairytale kind of story about a very strong Inuit woman called Sermersuaq