presenting work by 11 video artists from 6 countries...

For October of 2012, Alysse Stepanian of Manipulated Image was invited to curate one half hour program for art:screen fest 2012. To date, this curation has travelled to the following festivals:

Coagula Curatorial
September 1, 2013
7pm-9pm
Downtown, Los Angeles, California


Festival Miden
festival dates: July 4 - 6, 2013
Don't Eat the Yellow Snow screening on...
July 5, 2013
Kalamata's Historic Center (Amfeias' square)
Kalamata, Greece


art:screen fest goes on-tour....
presenting Don't Eat the Yellow Snow on
March 9 - April 21, 2013
Vetlanda Museum
Sweden


700IS Reindeerland event
festival dates: Feb 7-10, 2013
Don't Eat the Yellow Snow screenings on...
Friday, Feb 8, 22:30
and
Saturday, Feb 9, 18:30
Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland


art:screen Fest 2012
October 5 - 7, 2012
Don't Eat the Yellow Snow screening on...
Oct 5th, 13:30
Bio Roxy
Örebro, Sweden

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow

MANIPULATED IMAGE GOES TO SWEDEN, ICELAND, GREECE...

“Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow”
By Alysse Stepanian

The powers that control societies endorse selective blindness that stifles our natural sense of compassion and justice as social beings. They capitalize on our desire for convenience and drive for self-preservation. We tend to look away, unless faced with personal calamity or transgression that affects immediate family, our allies, tribe, nation, or us. The title of this curation was inspired by the iconoclastic American composer, Frank Zappa’s song, which tells the story of a boy that is unable to look away from the beating of his favorite seal by a profit-seeking trapper. The ten videos in this show were chosen based on their relevance to an essay of the same title, available for download here...

Christopher Coleman’s animation “Modern Times” is a visual essay about the post-911 U.S. government using the fear of terrorism for control and distraction from issues it is unwilling to address. Taiwanese artist, Wei-Ming Ho’s “The Art-Qaeda Project” utilizes the sounds of Morse code and figures from the Environmental Sustainability Index for a video created from the documentation of a series of guerrilla-type nocturnal projections on government and other buildings in Taipei. This work brings attention to the relationship between human activities and the destruction of the environment. In “The Cameo (Collapsing Memory; Savage Series)” Indonesian artist M.R.Adytama Pranada Charda superimposes the living portrait of a man over a still image of a bloody face that represents the military generals allegedly murdered by the G30S/PKI Indonesian communist Party in 1965. While opposing views point to the possibilities of foul play and the involvement of the internal army, the persecution of the communists eventually led to the election of General Suharto as the country’s president. Iranian-born Alysse Stepanian's video, based on her early dream journal, brings attention to the transience and volatility of social and political hierarchical structures in a post-revolutionary Iran. Israeli-born, London-based artist Guli Silberstein uses documentary footage found online, depicting a young woman who tries to protect a group of civilians from the weapons of Israeli soldiers. This powerful image in “Disturbdance” shows the human side of war. One wonders whether the two soldiers are as affected by the image of this heroic woman, as are the viewers. Socially constructed hierarchies often disrupt the flow of information. Iranian artist, Farideh Shahsavarani’s “Circulus Vitiosus” forces us to acknowledge the invisible walls built with blind prejudices. “The Romantic Self-Exiles 1” is a meditation on the memories and emotional attachments of the Iranian-born artist Morehshin Allahyari. Currently living in the U.S., Allahyari reminisces about what once was, before she chose self-exile over self-censorship. In a surreal animation “Dauphin 007” New York-based artist, Jonathan Monaghan relates elements and events associated with the French monarchy to contemporary forms of institutionalized control. In “Boxed” by Eric Hynynen of Finland, an adult-like child wearing a corporate tie cries feverishly. The freakish child is trapped in a box in the middle of the rubble of a destroyed office. U.S.-based artist, Kasumi’s "JIMMY" depicts a boy from an early American black and white movie. We are continuously reminded that Jimmy is “emotionally sick” because he is afraid of others. The image of the terrified child is juxtaposed against scenes of violence; Jimmy “can run, but he cannot hide”. In an animation video, U.S.-born artist, Michael Lasater depicts a man in a constant state of consumption. Using humor in “Billboard”, Lasater equates this man’s ravenous eating to the American consumer society.

PROGRAM
TOTAL RUN TIME: 35:04 mins

1) Christopher Coleman (Colorado/USA)
“Modern Times”
2:46 min, 2004, color, stereo, animation, 4:3

2) Wei-Ming Ho (Taipei/Taiwan)
“The Art-Qaeda Project”
4:11 min, 2010, color, mono, 16:9

3) M.R.Adytama Pranada Charda (Bandung and Jakarta/Indonesia)
“The Cameo (Collapsing Memory; Savage Series)”
0:59 sec, 2011, color, silent, 16:9

4) Guli Silberstein (London/UK)
“Disturbdance”
3:25 min, 2012, color, stereo, 16:9, UK-Israel

5) Alysse Stepanian (Los Angeles/USA)
"Roghieh"
5:31 min, 2009, color, stereo, 16:9, Armenian/Farsi/English subtitles

NOTE: Stepanian did not include her own work in the Bio Roxy and Vetlanda Museum screenings in Sweden.

6) Farideh Shahsavarani (Tehran/Iran & Chicago/USA)
“Circulus Vitiosus”
00:48 secs, 2010 (should be 2011 - see movie), color, stereo, 16:9

7) Morehshin Allahyari (Dallas & Denver/USA)
"The Romantic Self-Exiles 1"
5:05 min, 2012, color and blk/white, stereo, digital animation, 16:9

8) Jonathan Monaghan (New York/USA)
“Dauphin 007”
3:11 min, 2011, color, stereo, CGI animated HD film on BluRay disc, 16:9

9) Eric Hynynen (Ivalo/Finland)
“Boxed”
0:42 secs, 2010, color, stereo, animation, 4:3

10) Kasumi (USA)
"JIMMY"
2:55 min, 2008, blk/white/color, sound, 4:3

11) Michael Lasater (Indiana/USA)
“Billboard”
5:21 min, 2007, color, stereo, Digitized archive film, text, synthesized sound, animation, 16:9

Christopher Coleman (Colorado/USA)


“Modern Times”
2:45 min, 2004, color, animation, stereo; sound design by George Cicci, 4:3

ARTIST STATEMENT:
"Modern Times" examines the issues we cope with regularly such as racism, surveillance, and apathy by using imagery from specific safety brochures. These pamphlets about terrorism readiness, provided by the Department of Homeland Security, are part of a larger system designed to promote meta-fears like terrorism that serve to distract people from their everyday concerns. This animation discusses the effects of fear, apathy, and isolation, and how they are transmitted and utilized for control.

"Modern Times" is an animation created over 18 months and completed in 2005. Because the Department of Homeland Security made their Terrorism Readiness brochures available in digital format, much of the imagery in the video is directly taken from the source, recontextualized, arranged and animated. The original movie, Modern Times, featured Charlie Chaplin struggling to deal with man’s relationship to technology in the Industrial Age. We have now moved into the Age of Information in which our connection to the world around us is not only defined by technology, but the information it does or does not provide.

When first encountering these brochures I was struck by how they, along with other safety illustrations like those found in the back pocket of every airplane seat, are supposed to simultaneously alarm and calm us. There is no sign of fear on the faces of the generic passengers bracing for a water landing. It is interesting to note that while the public was still quite shaken from the events of 9/11 when the US government released these brochures, they were an instant source of ridicule. I have attempted to return their levity but with a different focus.

Wei-Ming Ho (Taipei/Taiwan)


“The Art-Qaeda Project”
4:11 min, 2010, color, mono, 16:9

ARTIST STATEMENT:
The site-specific video intervenes in the urban landscape. A series of nocturnal projections present the conversation between the images and the city environment. Do the images represent the secret signals, an extraordinary parade or a silent protest?

M.R.Adytama Pranada Charda (Bandung and Jakarta/Indonesia)

“The Cameo (Collapsing Memory; Savage Series)”
0:59 sec, 2011, color, silent, 16:9

ARTIST STATEMENT:
"Memory has the ability to bridge the 'gap' between the past with the present to connect the principle or personal beliefs to the audience because it has a memory and a similar experience. Memory also has the function not only as a reminder of the past but also as an attempt to reconstruct all the 'things' that represents the current (present). " – Adytama Pranada Charda

I live in Indonesia, a democratic country that since its establishment has had a long history of violent conflicts. This work is about how actually subconsciously, explicitly, the ruling party or the media uses fear and violence as a selling tool and controller, without us realizing that we have 'approved it and enjoy it' through the shows on television, until conflict games – it is also suspected that recent violent conflicts in Indonesia is due to the impression that rampant violence has eventually become 'the role model' and most efficient way to resolve problems. But actually violence has also occurred due to the ruling party's repressive reaction not only in Indonesia, but also in other countries.

G30S/PKI (Communist ‘partai’ uprising) museum diorama's mannequin image that describes the seven military generals, who were kidnapped and tortured by the communist party sympathizers, is projected onto the place of privacy of a home. The G30S/PKI Indonesian Communist Party uprising to overthrow the government was thwarted by General Soeharto. He used this to get rid of his political opponents, consolidate his power, and become the president of Indonesia. This also caused millions of deaths, missing people, detentions on charges of communism without obvious reasons, and millions of other people experienced physical and mental harassment. In my childhood, I was forced to go to the museum and watch the movie about Soeharto's 'Heroism' on the national television. The museums are still running, and with its subtle ruling party these methods are still used.

Guli Silberstein (London/UK)


“Disturbdance”
3:25 min, 2012, color, stereo, 16:9, UK-Israel

ARTIST STATEMENT:
Like in a choreographed dance scene, on a little hill in a rough landscape, a young woman is trying to obstruct two armed soldiers from firing at a group of protesters in a village behind her. The surreal but real image, picked up from the multiplicity of news clips found online, is digitally processed, turning the video from journalistic to allegorical. The video moves to an abstract and estranged level, highlighting the unexpected interruption to a never-ending cycle of violence, reminding us of a human component which is still there; or is it?

“Truth to tell, the best weapon against myth is perhaps to mystify it in its turn, and to produce an artificial myth: and this reconstituted myth will in fact be a mythology”
Roland Barthes

Alysse Stepanian (Los Angeles/USA)


"Roghieh"
5:31 min, 2009, color, stereo, 16:9, Armenian/Farsi/English subtitles

ARTIST STATEMENT:
This video is based on Stepanian's early dream journal shortly after moving to the U.S. from post-revolutionary Iran. “Roghieh” paints a surreal picture of the early stages of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when it empowered the underprivileged, who had a significant role in the overthrow of an elitist regime. A cleaning lady’s broom becomes a weapon symbolizing newfound strength. She jumps into the revolution from the wall-less bedroom of a young girl caught in the middle of great social changes and role reversals.

(This work was not included in the Bio Roxy and Vetlanda Museum screenings in Sweden)

Farideh Shahsavarani (Tehran/Iran & Chicago/USA)


“Circulus Vitiosus”
00:48 sec, 2010, color, stereo, 16:9

ARTIST STATEMENT:
It Is man made. In every form, size and whatever substance, earthly or ethereal.

It shelters us from nature's violent forces, as it hinders us to see the light rising from the horizon.

It has become, through times, part of our heritage. Part of the genetic structure of our civilization.

WE ALL, women as men have had our share of rising them to heavens, or surrounding our nearest and dearest by them, condemning those to live in hell.

Deep inside, we are imprisoned by our own fears, prejudice and ignorance. These invisible ones are the most vicious.

Therefore The emergence of the myth of FREEDOM.

I am talking about WALLS.

Jonathan Monaghan (New York/USA)


“Dauphin 007”
3:11 min, 2011, color, stereo, CGI animated HD film on BluRay disc, 16:9

ARTIST STATEMENT:
Referring to the heir-apparent to the French throne, Dauphin 007 is a short animation which draws on elements and narratives surrounding French monarchy. The Dauphin is portrayed as a would-be king lion who meets an untimely demise after an eagle snatches his crown away. Medical devices re-occur throughout the animation, hinting at a more contemporary form of institutional control. With an almost irreverent use and misuse of these references the film attempts to create an absurd reality that is both familiar and alien at the same time.

Eric Hynynen (Ivalo/Finland)


“Boxed”
0:42 secs, 2010, color, stereo, animation, 4:3

ARTIST STATEMENT:
(This video was originally part of an installation)
Boxed takes place in an office that has been completely destroyed. Within this apocalyptic vision, a monitor displays the act of destruction as recorded by surveillance cameras. There is one video within another video.

“Boxed” expresses a concern for the shortening or loss of childhood in today’s world. Training for working life and a good job starts earlier and earlier. Kids are often under a great deal of pressure, as they compete against others within the education system. This begins at an earlier and earlier age. Increasingly, out of fear, we train (educate?) our young to become tools for those in power. Our children must be prepared for the competition of life, or they will be left behind.

Kasumi (USA)

http://www.kasumivideoart.com
http://www.kasumifilms.com
"JIMMY"
2:55 min, 2008, blk/white/color, sound, 4:3

ARTIST STATEMENT:
Text by Douglas Max Utter
At just under three minutes in length, Jimmy sketches a complex study of fear in search of a context. This emerges as a half-perceived storyline strung between images suggesting family relationships and acts of violence. It begins with a distant, soft scream, and an approaching siren. The found, painted and distressed celluloid footage include repeated sequences of a boy running awkwardly alongside the wall of a school building. He’s a child of the latest mythic American past, with crew-cut, striped t-shirt and shorts. His arms are at his sides, helplessly limp as his bare knees pump around a brick corner into shadow. A man in a dark suit strides briskly after him. A male voice speaks the lines, “Jimmy is emotionally sick. His terror of others cannot be dismissed as mere shyness.” Thick with prejudgment, the voiceover takes on the finality of an inquisitorial sentence; a witch has been found. The imagery tells us the obvious: he can run, but he can’t hide. Then Kasumi moves quickly into a montage of violent scenes set against a rhythmic, industrial-martial soundtrack. An older boy is seen swinging an ax; a woman’s face fills the screen -- she looks insane. Another woman is running down a corridor, a man is falling, a man swings his arm as if hitting something with all his strength. Several times we hear the words “Desolate, barren, empty.” This wasteland-like evocation introduces larger themes. Violence, isolation, even psychosis, are the inevitable social outcomes of the abuse of power. Brief clips of what might be a military training film show a man walking away from a gun turret; strong light behind him compresses his shadowy image: he becomes wraith-like, an alien in a nightmare. Then, soon, it all ends, as Jimmy’s tear-stained face looks woefully upward, toward horrible realities he can neither comprehend nor change. The political implications that emerged from Jimmy suggested the themes of blowback and retribution that characterize the political content in the films that followed.

Michael Lasater (Indiana/USA)


“Billboard”
5:21 min, 2007, color, stereo, Digitized archive film, text, synthesized sound, animation, 16:9

ARTIST STATEMENT:
A monotonous snare drum riff drives this composition. With each drum roll words fly and tumble onto the screen, then exit. A man in neon outline eats ravenously, constantly. The rhetoric of Billboard is that of mass advertising, vaudeville, and TV situation comedy. It's a sales piece, designed first and foremost to simply get and hold the attention of the audience. What it's selling is a message with several possible interpretations.