Off the MAP and Southern Circuit
posted: February 26, 2007
The Media Arts Project presents more of the Southern Circuit Film Series at the Fine Arts Theatre on Monday, March 12th at 7 PM.
Please join us for Liberia: A Fragile Peace and Fishers of Dar.
{mosimage}
Liberia: A Fragile Peace begins documenting the Liberian saga with the departure of the tyrannical Charles Taylor in October 2003. The film explores the civil war between the wealthy minority of former American slaves and the indigenous, rural tribes across the country.
Rakumi Arts International writes, “Fishers of Dar is a visually lush documentary without commentary. The film takes the viewer, beginning before dawn, to the pier and the bustling central market, as hundreds of people make their living in this age-old way.” The film has screened internationally winning Best Documentary at the Athens International Film/Video Festival (2003) and Best Cinematography at the Ann Arbor Film Festival (2002).
Tickets will be available at the door and are $5 to general public, free to UNCA and WCU students with ID.
Steven Ross describes his film Fishers of Dar as “A sublime bit of filmmaking.” Although the film presents the issues around development in the Third World and the idea of modernizing traditional markets, Ross states, “This film doesn’t take a position towards its subject. It is Africans being productive and allowing the viewer to take an accurate look at their lives.”
For almost a decade, Ross has juggled the two worlds of professional cinematographer and associate film professor at the Ohio University School of Film. While the traveling was a major benefit of being a career cinematographer, Ross says that he has more chances for travel in the field of academia. Continuing in the vein of making location-specific documentaries Ross is now working on a documentary about a Viking Age archaeological dig in the Mosfell Valley outside of Reykjavik, Iceland.
The Southern Circuit Film Series is a program of the Southern Arts Federation in collaboration with the South Carolina Arts Commission.
The MAP would like to thank all of the sponsors who brought the program to Asheville: The Fine Arts Theatre, Western Carolina University, University of North Carolina Asheville, Advantage West and The New York Times.
Curt Cloninger presents "St. Frank and the Wolf" at Flood Gallery
posted: February 13, 2007
The performances will take place in the cave-like side room of the Flood Gallery between 7-9 p.m. on Friday, February 23. The Flood Gallery is located in the Mechanic Building at 109 Roberts Street in Asheville's River Arts district. For more information call 828-255-0066. Email curt@lab404.com Or visit http://lab404.com/video/francis.html
According to the artist:
"St. Frank and the Wolf" is a series of solo, improvisational multimedia performances that explore the irreducible aspects of faith. Abstractly based on the story of St. Francis making peace with a wild wolf, these performances dialogue with sound and light in order to saturate time and space with the presence of God.
The performances consist of two separate audio/video loops projected onto the artist who uses a theremin, an analog synthesizer, and voice to mix between these two loops. The results blur the distinction between real/virtual, live/pre-recorded, and matter/spirit.
The performances will take place in the cave-like side room of the Flood Gallery between 7-9 p.m. on Friday, February 23. Each improvisational performance lasts between 10-20 minutes, and there will be several performances throughout the evening. Between performances, the audio/video loops will continue running, effectively remixing themselves, functioning as a kind of generative installation intermission.
"It really feels like playing some sort of strange, hybrid instrument that is more than the sum of its parts. The volume of my live instruments controls the mix of my pre-recorded instruments, so it's like I am improvising and remixing two different versions of myself.
The different audio sources will be positioned around the audience in the space, and the room is small and intimate, all in order to facilitate a more immersive experience. Each performance will be 10-20 minutes. Once a performance starts, no one will be allowed in or out of the room.
Some people who have seen the performances describe having a kind of ecstatic experience, and other people describe having a very unsettling experience. It's been compared to Sufi whirling dervishes, puppeteering, and one person said it reminded him of infamous clown serial killer John Wayne Gacy. I'm not trying to control the experience people have. I'm just trying to dialogue with sound and light in a contemplative way. It's a conversation between harmony and noise, and each performance is different. With this particular piece, I've noticed that noise often gets the last word."
The performances will take place in the cave-like side room of the 
"It really feels like playing some sort of strange, hybrid instrument that is more than the sum of its parts. The volume of my live instruments controls the mix of my pre-recorded instruments, so it's like I am improvising and remixing two different versions of myself.
