MEDIA FORUM 
(June 23-27, 2001)
 in the frame of XXIII Moscow International Film Festival Rambler's Top100

F e s t i v a l & C o n f e r e n c e

  

 

"Multivideo" nominees.
jury winners
International festival of video art. Videos based on synthesis of different genres and technics are in priority.

 "MECHANICAL RODEO"   Montreal 2000.
1min 40s.
Julie-Christine Fortier, Canada-France
Born in 1973 in Sherbrooke, Quebec (Canada). Lives and works in Rennes (France). A founder-member of the media art collective Perte de Signal, Completed her master in media arts at the University of Quebec in Montreal in 2000.

Video-performance using ocular circumventions - a performer with a static face races at the rhythm of a small mechanics. The author films short performances in which she submits her face to precise constraints. This play causes her to figure herself as flat as an image. The succession of the video-performances as a repertory of acts builds up a composite and unrealized self-representation which can be reactivated in installations or public performances.


 "Lenin and Stalin. Parts 1, 2 and 3"   Russia, 1998-2000.
4:50 min.
For ANONYMOUS And FREE Art, Russia.
started in the beginning of 1990’s the group has been active in all actual near-artistic forms. Announced its self-dismissal in 2001.

These are the first three parts of the parable film-series of surrealistic miniatures about Lenin and Stalin. All characters are represented by basic geometry figures to underline their mythological and symbolic interpretation. The concept is based upon Vasyli Kandinski’s colour and form theory.


 "Untitled No 1: A Haralez Project"   Pittsburgh, USA, 2001.
15 min.
HARALEZ: Elizabeth Monoian, Susie Silver, USA.
Haralez Is the collaborative creative partnership of artists Elizabeth Monoian and Susie Silver. In ancient armenian myth the Haralez were perpetual lickers who came to the rescue of men who had fallen at the hand of an enemy and, by licking their wounds, restored them to life. This is Haralez’s first video production.

An experimental project that fuses electronic noise, video and performance using a method that calls into question our relationships to time, history and memory. Haralez’a repetitive, seemingly futile and potentially unending actions merge with an electronic soundscape, which contextualizes the images narratively to expand the historical and cultural framework.


 "Selfsearch"   Estonia, 2000.
3 min.
Raivo Kelomees, Estonia.
Born in 1960. 1989 published first text on video art in Estonian (art magazine “Kunst”). Since 1994 lecturer at Estonian Academy of Arts on media art history , art and cyberculture. 1999 curated the festival “Media Non Grata”, Tallinn.

Video and website is about looking for new self, private performance realized in Rovaniemi.


 "NochDreiSecundenSwartz (ThreeSecondsBlack)"   Karlsruhe, 2000.
11:30 min.
Kerstin Wagener, Germany
Born in 1969. Studied fine arts at the Akademie der Bild. Kunste in Karlsruhe.
Founder of the independent radio station Karlsruhe “Querfunk”.


The video consists of scenes in a strange, poetic, artificial underwater world. The bodyparts become actors, they interact with each other and with the animation. The animations are made by the software Genesis. They are the visualisation of sound and its vibration but 1000x times slower. Music: Hans Tutschku; dance: Yvonne Lachmann.


 "The Sound Of One Hand Clapping (John Cage At One Of His Last Concerts)"   Germany, 1990/1999.
18 min.
Wolf Kahlen, Germany.
Born 1940, Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany. Video Pioneer, Media Sculptor. Founder of the Videoforum Berlin (1970/1971). Architect and Director of Ruine der Kuenste, Berlin.

Gaps, emptiness, chance and silence are methods of Cage’s works. And in a way of this tape too. The main actors here are hands, actionless or acting, nervous or waiting. And clapping. John Cage attentively observing his own works being performed at the Academie der Kunste der DDR on August 1, 1990, a few months before his passing away. The title corresponds to Cage’s zen-buddhist philosophy and lifestyle, which again is reflected in the above mentioned methods. Wolf Kahlen pays homage to these.


 "A SCRATCH Y2K HUSH-SONG: SILENCES, SECRETS & GAMES"   Montreal, Canada, 1999-2000
43 min.
Katherine Liberovskaya, Canadian.
a Montreal-born professional multidisciplinary artist, working predominantly in experimental video and multimedia since the late eighties. Obtained a diploma in Composite Image in 1990 from the then pilot video-computer department of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Poitiers in France. The current president of Studio XX, a resource and presentation center dedicated to women and new media founded in 1995.

An entirely visual commentary on the current state of the planet as it prepares for the transition to a new millenium. A long lullaby for a crying newborn, this hybrid "scratch" collage sets off from the tender and peaceful universe of nursery songs on a vast panoramic tour of ever more secret, hidden and hushed dimensions of contemporary humanity, to form a mediated musical lament for future generations.


 "Parc After Name"   Latvia, 2001.
2:33 min.
George Wallik and Ilia Bessovestniy, Latvia.
George Wallik – Riga poet, freelance, last job: guard at the prison
Ilia Bessovestniy – Freelance, last job: cameraman at the cable TV studio


Summer 2000. Riga. House at the Daugava river quay. Short video whose concept based on the use of momentary possibilities. Soundtrack is a poem by George Wallik.


 "20.21"   Russia-Germany-Sweden, 1999.
20:21 min.
Galina Myznikova, Sergei Provorov, Russia.
(Nizni Novgorod).
Since 1993 authors and directors of experimental vidoe films.
2000. Art project of web-site “megalandscape”, Marseiille, France.
2000. Joint brand PROVMYZA presented at Moscow Pret-a-Porter Week.


 "Feltboots"   Columbus, Ohio, USA, 2000
3:10 min.
Mare Tralla, Estonia.
an Estonia-born artist. Head of the E-media Centre at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Co-curated "Private Views", a touring exhibition of Estonian and British contemporary art, a co-editor of an accompanying academic book. 

This is an illustration of my childhood anecdote, which asked a question ‘why do Russians wear feltboots?’. The answer was: “to silently sneak past the Americans”. It bothered me great deal how they do it and fantasy images were created in my head, which totally excluded the notion of Cold War. In my video I act out those fantasies in the streets of Columbus, Ohio and sneak past the Americans in my soft feltboots.


 "The Silence"   Moscow, 2000.
5:00 min.
Dmitri Trofimov, Angela Ashihmina, Russia.
Dmitri Trofimov Born in 1964, Tashkent. Since 1984 active as film author and director.  Lives and works in Moscow since 1993.
Angela Ashihmina Born in 1965, Tashkent. Professional lawyer. Since 1985 appears in films.


Colour photography, portraits of women.


 "bdt x"   Karlsruhe, Germany, 2000.
5:20 min.
Claudia Westermann, Germany.
Studies in architecture at the University of Karlsruhe, in media art at the College of Design (HfD) Karlsruhe. Projects on sound and space including MUZARS-CD-ROM.

An experimental video composition – a study of the “concept” model, work with surfaces and space, playing with concepts of reality in three scenes. Actors: a courtyard facade in Karlsruhe; various architectural models in the scale of 1:100; live animations from physical models created with the software Genesis: Nik Haffner (Frankfurt Ballet). 
Audio: Sean Reed.


 The Dance of Forms"   Moscow, Russia, 1999.
Jana Aksenova, Russia.
Musician, composer, video artist and film director. Since 1994 studied at the Termen Centre computer studio. Since 1998 - collaboration with the avant-guarde music performance group “e69”, including video production.

All installations created by the author, except location shots. Movements of the white and black “spots” create a harsh contrast and together with cyclic movements of objects and people form the impression of machines at work. The objects seem to grow in size throughout the film and in the end the image is blurred into some vague wide lines, continuing their ecstatic ForMoDanCE.


 "Reanimation-Text "Upon the problem of reconstructing the types of protoenisean verb-stems"   Moscow, Russia, 1998. 35 min.
Vadim Epsein, Russia.
Studied theoretical physics at MIBE, Moscow, Since 1996 author and mastermind of the here:// project and accompanying events, since 1998 - active as VJ.

Technp house sound DJ Gab, voice and text Shish Briansky. Produced and filmed 11.12.998 at the "Krai" club as a part of here:// party "Easy Regressive".


 "The Last Roadtrip"   Netherlands
Arno Koenen, Нидерланды.

Using a laptop as a 3D-scetch book, Koenen modelled a “Digital Road Movie” while driving down the trash littered roads of West Coast America. “The Last Roadtrip” simulates a hallucinogenic drive through the Far West, equally tasteless and colorful. Symbols of the America’s lowest: white trash, Ronald McD, suburb paranoia, domestic violence.


 "The end"   Berlin, 2000.
0 min.
Natalia Borissova, Россия-Германия.
1987-1992 - Moscow Printing Academy (Book design department).
1993-1994 - Postgraduate Contemporary art school. Moscow
2000 – work at the Internet company “R.O.S.A” Berlin.

An endeavor to make a dynamic & complex work with an underlying subversion edge in a really simple way. All footage for this movie were found on the Internet. isual footage – animated GIF files which most likely created by Kids and collected on the internet page. 
Sound footage – collection of Wav files – short sound pieces from American cartoons, TV shows and TV Movies for Kids


 "The Nylon Moon"   Tallinn, 2000.
7: 30 min.
Killu Sukmit & Mari Laanemets, Estonia.
Killu Sukmit. Born 1975 in Tallinn. Studied at the Estonian Academy of Art (1993-1997). 1998 Member of the Union of Artists. 1999 Video and New Media Festival, 2nd edition offline@online, “Media Non Grata”, curator (with Mari Laanements) of the woman’s videoprogamme “The Mad Hatter’s Tea-party”, Estonian Academty of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia.

“The Nylon Moon” is a short film about a girl in depression. It is a story of a seamstress who couldn’t work anymore in a sewing workshop for ready-made clothes. She then feels a desire to do something for herself, to beatify her body. She wants to stitch something into her body, being both poetic and coarse at the same time. The story is about desires so extreme they can not be realized. Something prevents it, some voice says that it could be too dangerous, still we need to experience them.


 "Je ne bouge plus d'ici” (I'll stay down here)"   Montreal.
Claudette Lemay, Canada.
Member of Montreal based media arts collective Perte de Signal.
Earned a bachelor degree in fine arts at the Université du Quebec a Montreal in 2000. 
Her videos were shown at many international events such as: Poevisioni Elettroniche 2000-2001 in Italy, Videoriflessi 2000 in Suisse.


No, I've made up my mind about it: I'll stay down here! I'll stay down here till I'm somebody else.


 "<Data stream processing>"   Minsk (Belorussia), 2001
10 min.
Andrei Savitski, Belorussia.

The result of a search for a fast, cheap and easy method of making animated video streams. The technological solution found and realized in the finished track of <Data stream processing> uses the trivial technique of “slide-show”, doesn’t require either special tools (apart from a common PC or video camera) or software for non-linear editing. Thus the author has an opportunity, using all means of computer graphics production, to turn his undivided attention to the contents of his animations and to acquire video materials more rapidly, while being in total control of the process of production. This method is ideal for VJ-mixing.


 "God's Virtual Body"   Moscow, 2000.
6 min.
Andrei Velikanov, Julia Velikanova, Russia.
Andrei Velikanov: Born in 1954, Moscow. Studied at MIEP and the Moscow Polygraphic Institute (department of graphics). Poet, performer, video and web artist.
Julia Velikanova: Born in 1976, Moscow, Studies at Moscow Institute of Architecture. Video and web artist.

The poem by Andrei Velikanov from the cycle “The Index of Ideal Love” in the form of a prayer, the sacred character of it is underlined by quotations from the Psalms, profession of faith and other religious texts. Meanwhile, the general meaning of the text is an advertisement of faith as a consumer product. The beautiful faces of young boys and girls, appropriated from TV-commercials look solemn and pious even in the process of putting a new brand of chewing gum in their mouths or washing their hair with a new brand of shampoo.


 "Matching Four With Twelve: Digesting Patience"   Hong Kong, 2000.
8 min.
Jamsen Law, Hong Kong.
Studied in Fine Arts and also in Literary and Cultural Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Since 1993, has been one of the core members of "20 Beans + A Box".

"Imagine a chamber like a cave. In this chamber are men who have been prisoners there since they were children, their legs and necks being positioned so that they can only look straight ahead of them and cannot turn their heads. In front of them, a image-monument has been built, like the screen at the puppet shows between the operators and their audience, above which they show anything on earth."
"I see perfectly."


 "Polina"   Novokuznetsk, 2001.
Roman Kornienko, Russia.
TV-director at Novo-TV. 2000 –participation in the all-Russian festival “cultural heroes of the XXI century”, Moscow. 2000 – participant and curator of the regional festival of actual art “Novi Gorod” (“New City”), Novokuznetsk.

A textual play, randomly combining words brought out of their context reflecting the emotional state of the author. The work is based on the author’s actual e-mail correspondence.


 "Subscribers"   Russia, 2000.
Olga Stolpovskaya, Victor Olimpiev, Russia.
Olga Stolpovskaya. Born in 1969, Moscow. 1990 - graduated from Moscow Art College. 1997 – finished studies at the Studio of Individual Directing of the Russian Thatre Academy. 1997-98 chief editor of the CINE PHANTOM Bulletin. Since 1999 producer (currently the chief producer) for NTS (СТС) Network for TV-Stations.
Victor Olimpiev. Born in Moscow. Got education in Moscow Art School named after 1905 year and in School of New Artistic Strategies at George Soros Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow. Now making video (separate films and video for installations) and art projects which includs different visual elements.

A deconstructive story about the dream of FLYING. Deconstruction is the characters' life style. They come to an airport, named «Vokzal» («Station») but don't fly anywhere or even go away. Their dream must stay a dream. The film is positoned between image and sound. The telephone conversation of a disabled man (or a man passing for one) and the woman who introduces herself as Katya - is also about FLYING.


 "Dear Fort Knox"   Sweden, 2000.
3 min.
Marie Bondeson, Swedish
Born in 1957. University College of Craft and Design, Gothenbburg.


    © 2001 MediaArtLab; design - @division

  
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