 |
Our West
|
The cinematic landscape for filmmaker Leighton Pierce exists in his own Iowa backyard, where he aims his digital video camera to capture his children at play in video shorts like Wood and Back Steps. The impact is ultra-real. We feel the blades of grass and the warmth of the summer sun. The effect is truly transcendent.
Wood and Back Steps are poetic films, which is not something I usually say about the commercial films I review. They contain no dramatic arc or climactic finish. They're about life the way Pierce sees it in his own backyard and are mesmerizing to watch.
Avant-garde film and video truly is a cinema of loneliness. It's tragic just how seldom a film as stunning as Back Steps is seen by the general public. Thankfully, Intermedia, a four-day celebration of avant-garde film, video and performance art at the Weston Art Gallery, puts the spotlight on the moving image.
The Aronoff Center's Weston Gallery has been home to avant-garde programming before. But Intermedia gathers together local, regional and international film, video and performance artists like no other institution in town.
It's the one arts program that truly offers something unique on the Cincinnati arts calendar. In that respect, Intermedia is priceless.
"Most of these films have never been seen in Cincinnati," says Wright State University Professor Russ Johnson, curator of Intermedia's independent film and video program. "These independent films are rarely seen by audiences."
There are plenty of familiar names involved with Intermedia. Matt Distel, curator of the recent Weston Gallery exhibition Stacked, leads the collaborative project Interdrift. Cincinnati artist Tony Leunsman joins Saw Theater partner Mark Fox with a performance piece titled And the Movements of Hearts Came at Me Like a Storm ... . Film and video works by regional and national artists will also be screened.
Gathered together recently at the Weston, the Intermedia group clearly is the wittiest arts clique in town. Their passion has resulted in Cincinnati's boldest spring arts event.
University of Cincinnati Professor Charles Woodman is collaborating with Scott Davenport on the video work Cowboy Romance 92 Remix. A poppy collage of images culled from classic Westerns, Ennio Morricone soundtracks and scrolling text, it pokes a sly jab at the iconic image of the cowboy hero, resulting in video art as colorful satire and an intentionally dizzying experience.
Intermedia allows local film and video artists a real opportunity to show their work publicly. More importantly, the project creates a portrait of the Cincinnati filmmaker as an artist clear and distinct from the commercial community.
Intermedia reminds us that film and video is also an artistic medium. If there's to be something like a Cincinnati film community, the message here is that it should be a community of film artists. Basically, it's impossible to imagine watching a film like Cowboy Romance 92 Remix at a suburban multiplex.
For the Aronoff Center, Intermedia is another example of the Weston Gallery offering a jolt of the new to a building best known for its Broadway touring shows. More importantly, it offers the Aronoff its best chance at attracting new audiences.
In Impulse of Objects, video artist Peter Fruend celebrates the beauty of the human body in audible fashion. As a man's bare shoulders rise and fall with every deep breath, it's as if you can hear the wheezing sound of the expanding lungs. The man's neck turns slowly, the sinew of his muscles forming a noticeable knot.
Shot mostly in stark black-and-white photography, there are moments when you forget you're watching a person. Impulse of Object portrays man as a work of industry, and the impact is both eerie and beautiful.
My hope is that funding support will allow a bigger Intermedia series to take place next year. Of all the local exhibits that deal with the avant-garde, this project continues to look the most exciting to me.
Video art like Impulse of Objects emotionally impacts me in ways that Hollywood films seldom do. As a critic, I know how important it is to experience avant-garde films, but people interested in independent films have few local opportunities to experience new work. There are ongoing programs on cable TV's Sundance Channel. Trips to Columbus' Wexner Center for the Arts becomes a common routine.
With Intermedia, the hope is that Cincinnati audiences will have a fringe festival to call their own.
 |
Loverdosis
|
In Cincinnati, where there are no museum retrospectives or urban cinemathèques, Intermedia makes the local climate for artistic cinema less dismal. It's about supporting what avant-garde pioneer Stan Brakhage calls "independent cinema" and giving film and video artists like Freund and Woodman the opportunity to show their work publicly.
Intermedia is a place for regional artists to build upon their reputations. It's also a place for student artists to experience their first taste of public acclaim. Even more importantly, it's a place for audiences to watch the boundaries of cinema become pushed and expanded.
Intermedia portrays the ebb and flow of film technique. Experiments with exposure, focus and color are welcome. The expressive possibilities of handheld cameras are discovered. None of these things could happen at a commercial theater.
Finally, Intermedia helps answer one key question: Where is Cincinnati's avant-garde community? Over four days in early May, they can be found at the Weston Art Gallery.
INTERMEDIA, the Weston Art Gallery's video and film festival, runs May 2-5. Some events are free, and some charge admission. Check CityBeat's listings next week for details.
