Black Out

BLACKOUT
Screening July 26, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Participating Artists: Camel Collective, Deanna Erdmann, Loretta Fahrenholz, Kate Gilmore, Tommy Hartung, Steffani Jemison, Angel Nevarez & Valerie Tevere, Sarada Rauch, Livia Ungur and Sherng-Lee Huang

A special evening of experimental video art presented by the Peekskill Film Festival and organized by Michael Barraco of HVCCA

BLACKOUT presents a cinematic screening of short films which reinterpret the stage as a site of catharsis, self reflection, and political action. The program takes its title from the theatrical convention of the blackout. Between acts the lights go dark and the audience becomes temporarily blind and the set transforms. In this moment of media blackouts, political corruption, and widespread violation of human rights; revealing hidden narratives through through the arts continues to be of the upmost importance.
Camel Collective turns the stage lights on those closest to the means of production. In The Situation, a stagehand rearranges a theatrical set as she recounts her involvement in radical theatre, but the protagonist’s frustration seems to question whether artistic revolution is even possible operating under late capitalism. Stephanie Jemison’s work Sensus Plenior focuses on a performer of gospel mime. Jimison’s innovative cinematography accentuates the cathartic intensity of the performance, creating a moving tribute to the power of human gesture. Tommy Hartung in contrast gives us a contemporary interpretation of The Lesser Key of Solomon, a 17th century grimoire on demonology – a powerful work utilizing experimental animation techniques that summon the darker aspects of human nature. Ditch Plains by Loretta Fahrenholz takes us deeper into a world devoid of light, focusing on the derelict streets of East New York, filmed post-Hurricane Sandy. Aggressive sound design by Steffen Martin and the inclusion of industrial noise artist Pharmakon give this nightmare a visceral intensity.
A sense of hope and lightness continue to persevere in the work of Sarada Rauch, who brings a do-it-yourself attitude to revolution with Topple; a timely film preceding recent controversies demanding the removal of confederate monuments across the United States. Angel Nevarez and Valerie Tevere’s body of work investigates how appropriations of popular culture can be utilized as tools of protest. In Touching from a Distance, a mariachi band performs a cover of Joy Division’s song “Transmission” in the Plaza del la Liberación in Guadalajara just as simultaneous protests against the inefficient use of regional public funds transpires. Deanna Erdmann similarly makes use of appropriation and song in her film Untitled (Women), interlacing the performances of Karen Dalton, Lesley Gore and Marianne Faithful. Editing transforms the feminist pop anthem “You Don’t Own Me” into an estranged echo from the 1960s, desperately trying to land with a contemporary audience. Kate Gilmore furthers this narrative of progress. In Built to Burst, the viewer finds Gilmore engulfed within a claustrophobic structure smashing and climbing her way to the to the top functioning as a metaphor for the struggles of all women. An experimental documentary by Livia Ungur & Sherng-Lee Huang investigates the performance of sexuality and gender, focusing on a flamboyant wrestler who always plays the villain; Pagliacci imagines a world where Rick “The Boy Diva” Cataldo finally becomes the hero.

BLACKOUT is a program fully informed and inspired by narratives of gender, artifice, race discomfort, and socio-political reality.

Image: Ditch Plains by Loretta Fahrenholz
Courtesy of the artist and Reena Spaulings Fine Art, NY/LA