Let's get tested ...:..:.::.::.:.::. programmed by Astria Suparak ..

Program Notes for Let's get tested
curated and introduced by Astria Suparak
for 50th Oberhausen International Short Film Festival

> Film and Video Stills: Click on the links below each image for print-quality versions.
> Posters and photos from shows
> Press
> Tour Dates
> Longer text on program and videos

Let's get tested

Let's get tested presents recent video, film and audio by Canadian, American, Brazilian and French artists, young at heart or in age. Playfully adapting public space into personal games, these makers look at architecture, videogames, biology, schoolwork, history and even their own memories with fresh eyes and twitchy fingers. Often sincere, sometimes willfully naive, they project a new optimism and the ability to self-amuse and re-imagine.

Let's get tested frolics under a handmade sun with a few dark cultural reflections. Culled from work I've seen over the past year, it embraces videos made for the Internet, CD-ROM and DVD zines (the new casual pop distribution), crafted with consumer software such as Flash animation, iMovie, Adobe After Effects and Macromedia Director alongside obsolete video formats pried out of dead cameras. Here the coolest nerds hack up a 1980s iconic revelry/reverie [Welcome to my Homey Page]; American Midwesterners romanticize 1970s German political terrorists [Digits]; a Canadian snubs murder commands to peacefully stroll through Grand Theft Auto 3 [My Trip to Liberty City]; and a videomaker refashions his memory into a sweet and disturbing mélange of literature, pop songs, film and news reports [Son of Samsonite] - all trying to make the grade while honoring arbitrary rules. Attempting to keep spirits up in times of strife, this program opts-out of violent spectacle, reckoning that life should be savored and wonder is a calculated state of mind.

As a curator I'm reluctant to make grand statements about the future of short film. The future can only be imagined with what exists in the present. Thus I try to spin intuitive connections into tightly wound shows, letting the audience discover nuance and resonance at their leisure. These artists move fluidly amongst performance, writing, printmaking, music, photography and installation, and one revealed in a disclaimer, "I don't have a preview reel or screening history -- I just make silly movies with my friends, primarily for our own amusement." How novel.

Short version:

Canadian and American videos, film and audio join (their nonexistent) hands and head over to your neck of the hood.

Taking education, biology, architecture and history as starting points, these artists craft their own novel amusements. Hot on the Pursuit of the Trivial, their taste turns gamey, playful, and chummy. The coolest nerds hack up a 1980s iconic revelry/reverie; an American Midwesterner romanticizes 1970s German political terrorists; a Canadian snubs murder commands to peacefully stroll through Grand Theft Auto 3; a videomaker refashions his memory into a sweet and disturbing melange of literature, pop songs, film and news reports - all trying to make the grade while honoring arbitrary rules. Sometimes spontaneous, sometimes laboriously schemed, sporting low-res Flash animation then slipping into silky digital video, this set of eclectic work reckons that life should be savored, wonder is a calculated state of mind, and love will survive...

LET'S GET TESTED includes works and premieres by Alex Villar, Gabriel Fowler, Jeff Chapman, Jennifer Schmidt, Jim Munroe, JoEllen Martinson and William Scott Rees, Jon Sasaki, Kon Petrochuk, Mike Olenick, Miranda July, Paper Rad, Patrick Martinez and Sandy Plotnikoff.

- Astria Suparak, Curator, "Prospektive / Prospective on Short Film", Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen catalogue

1. Temporary Occupations
director: Alex Villar
Location of production: New York, NY / Year of production: 2001 / Length: 4:00 minute excerpt of 6:00 / Original format: Mini-DV / silent

"Temporary Occupations depicts a person running on the sidewalk in New York while ignoring the city's spatial codes and therefore resisting their effects upon the organization of everyday experience. The clips in the video register situations of temporary invasion and occupation of private spaces located in a public setting. The action simply articulates the continuity of these spaces with the remaining areas from which they were extricated, drawing attention to, and possibly subverting, the boundaries that demarcate them.

This piece is part of a long-term investigation and articulation of potential spaces of dissent in the urban landscape, which has often taken the form of an exploration of negative spaces in architecture." -AV

Bio: Alex Villar. Born in Brazil, 1962; based in New York; MFA from Hunter College, 1998 and Whitney ISP fellow, 2000. His works draws from interdisciplinary theoretical sources and employs video-performance, installation and photography.

Temporary Occupations by A.Villar

larger preview

print- quality tiff (300 dpi, 5 inches wide, cmyk; 3.66mb download, 5.62 after uncompressed)

2. Not Microwavable
director: Jeff Chapman
Pickering, ON / 1995 / 1:47 minutes / VHS-C (subsequently pried out of the dead camera)

Bio: "Well, I'm just a guy." -JC

Not Microwavable by J.Chapman

print-quality tif (300dpi, 6x4.5", 1800x1350 pixels, 6.95M)

3. Scan-Tron director: Jennifer Schmidt Boston, MA / 2003 / 3:00 minutes / Digital video Over three months Jennifer responded to the series of test forms - filling in answers with a #2 HB pencil according to a given set of rules and unknown objectives. "Referencing the recording and reading of responses embedded within a series of fabricated standardized test sheets, the techno pop graphics of Scan-Tron become mentally charged with viable questions and patterns of decision." - JS. The scantron test sheets were designed and offset printed by J. Schmidt. Sound co-produced by L. Contra. Longer text. Bio: Jennifer Schmidt (b. 1975) received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999 and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Delaware in 1997. www.jenniferschmidt.com	Detail from Scan- Tron by J.Schmidt print-quality jpg 1 (smaller zigs) (1600x1098 pixels) print-quality jpg 8 (larger zags) (1600x1088 pixels)
4. Circle Game director: Jon Sasaki Toronto, ON / 2002 / 5:28 / mpeg-1 Digital Video "Circle Game recalls with affection a mysterious and somewhat violent high school pastime." -JS Bio: Jon Sasaki is a Toronto-based multimedia artist who employs no fixed strategy of artmaking, instead preferring to take some form of collaboration as a point of departure. He earned his BFA from Mount Allison University, and is currently involved with the art collective Instant Coffee.	Circle Game by J.Sasaki Print-quality jpg (2570x1903 pixels)
5. My Trip to Liberty City. director: Jim Munroe Toronto, ON / 2003 / 9:00 / CD-ROM MPEG "A video travelogue of my time as a Canadian tourist in Liberty City, the setting for video game Grand Theft Auto 3." -JM. Skins made by Marc Ngui and pic layout by Patricio Davila. Bio: Jim Munroe, 31, has written three science fiction novels and does a CD-ROM zine called Novel Amusements. His video game column in Toronto's alt-weekly eye is called Pleasure Circuit. His website (nomediakings.org) is home to his projects as well as many do-it-yourself articles on movie and book making.	My Trip to Liberty City by J.Munroe larger image (Canadian Tourist skin) (194x449 pixels) print-ready jpg (city screen) (2400x1200 pixels)
6. Hoodies director: Sandy Plotnikoff Toronto, ON / 2003 / 1:52 / Mini-DV "Shot during Spring and Fall 2000 in Toronto, Canada. Photo assistants Christina Felderhof and Rebecca Young (Stonehenge). Editing assistance from Michael LeBlanc. Zoom Rhythm 123 soundtrack by Maura Doyle." - SP Bio: Sandy Plotnikoff lives in Toronto and can be found online at sandyplot.com	Hoodies by S.Plotnikoff print-quality jpg (Florida orange) (300dpi, 6x4.5", 1800x1350pixels, 6.95M)
7. Hit on the Head with 1000 Anvils director: Gabriel Fowler Chicago, IL / 2001 / 00:45 seconds of infinite loop / VHS "A montage of short clips from Warner Brothers' cartoons at the precise moment when a character is struck, shot, smacked, or exploded in front of the viewer. What unfolds is an endless barrage of unresolved cartoon violence." -GF Longer text. Bio: Gabriel Fowler is an artist, curator, and publisher living in Chicago, Illinois. He received Master of Fine Arts in Video from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002.	Hit on the Head with 1000 Anvils by G.Fowler larger image (orange) (640x480 pixels) larger image (blueburst) print-quality tif (blue stars) (300dpi, 5.9x5.6", 1764x1344 pixels, 6.78M)
8. Welcome to My Homey Page (excerpt from pjvidz#1) directors: Paper Rad Easthampton, MA and Pittsburgh, PA / 2002 / 2:30 / Digital Video "A tape that celebrates consumer media culture as much as it critiques it. As Paper Rad puts it in their parody of a television schedule listing: 'Episode story summary: Chocofus gets a mysterious video tape in the mail from his cool pals and then somethinng awesome suprise!' [sic]" - EAI catalogue description of pjvidz#1 Longer text. Bio: At once affirmative and critical, the videos of artist collective Paper Rad synthesize popular material from television, video games, and advertising, reprogramming these references with an exuberantly neo- primitivist digital aesthetic. As member Jacob Ciocci writes, "In the '70s and '80s cartoons and consumer electronics were bigger and trashier than ever and freaked kids out... Now these kids are getting older and are freaking everybody else out by using this same throw-away trash." - Electronic Arts Intermix	Welcome to My Homey Page by Paper Rad Print-quality image (Pink Panther) (huge) Print- quality image (eyes)
9. Among the Living director: Jon Rubin San Francisco, CA / 2003 / 1:43 / Mini-DV "...a yellow wild flower...an anthrax song. ...a bit of headbanging...the blossom...the elements. ...a breath of fresh air...these whiffs of death-rock morbidity." -Excerpted from Glen Helfand, ARTFORUM. Bio: Jon Rubin is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work explores the extraordinary possibilities of daily life. He has exhibited internationally and received various public art commissions, fellowships, residencies and awards.	Among the Living by J.Rubin Print-quality image (1637x1200 pixels)
10. Digits directors: JoEllen Martinson and William Scott Rees Minneapolis, MN / 2003 / 8:00 / Mini-DV "A music video/documentary hybrid, Digits tracks the rise & fall of 2 finger-giving Euro terrorists and their sodapop-sucking foe." -WSR Longer text Bios: JoEllen Martinson and William Scott Rees (The Candy Eye Factory) formed a friendship centered in creative collaboration as 12 year old schoolmates in the late 1980's. Since graduating in Media Arts at The Minneapolis College of Art + Design the pair now thrive in various artistic fields. Though their video work has become more experimental, its base remains planted in highly stylized visuals and quirky female protagonists.	Digits by W.Rees and J.Martinson print-quality image (terrorists) (300dpi, about 4.6M) larger image (cop) (444x318 pixels)
11. Untitled (after the visible human project) director: Patrick Martinez New York, NY and Besan_on, France / 2002 / 3:00 of indefinite loop / Mini-DV / silent This video is derived from the cross-sectional images of the human body produced for the "visible human project" of the National Library of Medicine. Longer text. Bio: Patrick Martinez is a French artist who lives and works in New York city. He has exhibited in France, Germany, Spain, as well as in Tokyo and New York. Since 1990, he has been exploring different forms of expression such as video art, sound art, drawing, installation and design.	Untitled (after the visible human project) by P.Martinez larger images - untitled (torsos) (300dpi, 6x4.5", 1800x1350 pixels, 6.95M) larger image - untitled (legs)
12. God's Love director: Miranda July Portland, OR / 2002 / 00:55 / Audio CD (#7) An excerpt from The Drifters, an audio installation commissioned for the elevators of the Whitney Museum at the 2002 Whitney Biennial. The pieces are like picture-less movie excerpts. All characters performed by Miranda July, with sound by Zac Love and Tim Renner, engineered by Renner. Bio: Miranda July makes performances, movies, recordings and combinations of these things. She founded Joanie 4 Jackie, an on-going movie distribution network for independent women movie makers. Her radio performances can be heard regularly on NPR's The Next Big Thing and her short stories are in recent or forthcoming issues of The Paris Review, The Mississippi Review and The Harvard Review.
13. Anabolite See director: Kon Petrochuk San Francisco, CA / 1985 / 14:00 / 16mm film on Mini-DV [ Video format prefered by the artist] "Anabolite See is a personal work about the notion of 'anabolic seeing.' This notion is the process of trying to get complex or significant ideas about 'what this whole thing is about?' through collage editing and set-ups of events and things on film which seem abstract until combined into a more valuable and meaningful whole. Spontaneous, abstract and poetic voice-over narratives serve to further describe the notions or ideas generated by all of the elements." - KP Longer text. Bio: "My fundamental motivation for making Art is the belief that Art is the most direct way to explore our total existential reality. The exploration of this 'thing' is the most important part of human life - the search for truth, the search for some kind of answers to the question 'what is this whole thing about?' Any bit of comedy always helps." -KP. Petrochuk currently teaches at The Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio.	Anabolite See by K.Petrochuk larger image (Golden Gate bridge) (720x480 pixels) print-quality image (worm fragment) (300dpi, 1800x1200 pixels, 6x4", 6.49M) print-quality image (insect+pin) (300dpi, 6.49M) print-quality image (wasp+ tweezers) (300dpi, 6.49M)
14. Son of Samsonite director: Mike Olenick Columbus, OH / 2002 / 9:30 / Video "I have tried to do what a camera does and appropriate what I have seen and experienced. The video is a collection of moments culled from memory. Moments from pop songs, films, literature, and news reports are woven together to create a new narrative. The video is haunted by real life memories of events not personally witnessed (like the bombing of Pan Am Flight 107 over Lockerbie, Scotland) as well as with phrases from films and songs. I have staged images and created conversations which have not really happened and that I would like to remember. The props and scenarios in the video are obviously artificial because I want people to realize that they are fake and let their memories distort them over time - perhaps even allowing them to become real. The images in the video will be remembered, but how truthfully depends upon the memory of the viewer and whether that memory is photographic." -MO Bio:Mike Olenick (b. 1978) is a video artist and photographer. He received his MFA in Photography from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and his BFA in Media Studies from the Columbus College of Art and Design. His work often fuses moments from his own life with ones from cinema and pop culture. The resulting videos are a mangled collision of fact and fiction/comedy and tragedy/love and death. Mike is currently a video editor in the Art & Technology Studio at the Wexner Center for the Arts.	Son of Samsonite by M.Olenick larger image (Am I dead to you?) (1024x768 pixels) Print-quality image (Oh God, I think I'm falling)