Monday March 18, 7PM
The Ghostly Elsewhere
New works by Lorenzo Gattorna
artist in attendance
admission $6
Still from Mountain Lying Down (Lorenzo Gattorna, 2012) – © Image courtesy of the artist
Microscope Gallery welcomes Lorenzo Gattorna back to New York and Microscope for an evening of new and recent works by the now Baltimore-based artist, including his latest film Sunrise Fires, a seven-minute exploration of destruction and subsequent regrowth of wildfires almost two decades apart. The program features works in which the artist strives to realize the convergence of direct observation and speculative fiction.
PROGRAM:
Where Other
film transferred to video, color, sound, 12 min, 2011
New Mexico became for us a representation of the capacity for biological and astronomical resonance and retreat; the improbable made possible through an imaginative framework alternative to the empirical environment. A spring spent mostly sick, “which figured to our gaze the significant futures that during those years came to pass … indecipherable from the world during those years … fatally indistinguishable from the world it attempted to adumbrate, to signify.” – John Clute.
At Rest
film transferred to video, black and white and color, silent, 5 min, 2012
The swamps offered sanctuary to those inhabitants that rest assured with their age. The cemeteries reminded us to act civil. There was a celebration amongst friends and the restless souls could not wait, torn by the flight of man and the inevitable return to nature.
Mountain Lying Down
film transferred to video, black and white and color, sound, 3 min, 2012
The title signifies the Paiute name for the north rim plateau of the Grand Canyon, a massive gorge in the state of Arizona and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Turbulence and tranquility gain exposure at enthralling elevations. Strata are uplifted through edges of contrast caused by severe slants of the sun. The scope of the sacred site reaches translation in static brevity, unearthing billions of years of sedimentary rock sequences.
Marshy Place Across
film transferred to video, black and white and color, sound, 4 min 30 sec, 2012
The title signifies the Native American name for Assateague Island, a national seashore and natural landmark located off the coast of Maryland. A passive bay and pristine beach compose the barriers of this subtle yet stunning passage. Distractions amongst the dunes awaken development of the ecological and departure of the artificial. The film culminates in close proximity to a small band of feral horses that share a common territory and domesticated ancestry.
Falling Out, Parts One and Two
film transferred to video, black and white, silent (part one), color, sound (part two), 20 min, 2006 – 2012
Falling Out captures on discontinued b/w and color film the ambiguous determination and seamless distancing of a father and son over the course of several seasons. Part One sways between scenes of shared experiences and temporal passages revealing the fragility and fortitude of the relationship. It is presented as a diptych to further reflect the presence of a father and son, the mindsets affected by the conflicts endured. Part Two follows as the tranquil aftermath to the tumultuous atmosphere foregrounded in Part One. The characters take into account a landscape once adorned with private residences that now, due to drastic flooding, only provides views of a pastoral terrain. Superimposed over the stark contrasts of highlight and shade defining this abandoned area are scenes of the two traversing locales in southern Vermont recently subjected to severe storms. The confluence of conflict and camaraderie in Falling Out calls into question the demonstration of a familial revival. The bond amongst the father and son strays just as intensely as it returns home.
Sunrise Fires
film transferred to video, black and white and color, sound, 7 min, 2013
By early September 1995, the Sunrise Wildfire was extinguished. 7,000 acres had burned during the peak of the tourist season yet nobody was killed in the event. The aggravated assault even swept from one side of Sunrise Highway to the other without the slightest hesitance. Another series of severe brush fires ignited 17 years later and became known as the Brookhaven Blaze. The outbreak left less than 2,000 acres torched. The wild ruin and regrowth were revisited within The Central Pine Barrens, the largest natural area on Long Island and its last remaining wilderness. Soundtrack by Ryan Marino.
Still from Marshy Place Across (Lorenzo Gattorna, 2012) – © Image courtesy of the artist
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Lorenzo Gattorna is a filmmaker and programmer originally from New York now residing in Baltimore. His short films have screened in exhibitions associated with Baltimore City Paper, CCNY, The Chicago Underground Film Festival, LMAKprojects, Maysles Cinema, Spectacle Theater, UnionDocs and Views from the Avant-Garde at The New York Film Festival. He has programmed screenings in NYC for Maysles Cinema, Spectacle Theater and UnionDocs as well. Currently he is programming, alongside fellow practitioners Meg Rorison and Kate Ewald, a roaming monthly screening series in Baltimore called Sight Unseen supported by the MICA Launch Artists in Baltimore Award.
Still from Where Other (Lorenzo Gattorna, 2011) – © Image courtesy of the artist
