YES: Diva Martinez / Robert Orlowski
Program:
(* projected on 16mm film)From March to June
By Robert Orlowski, 16mm film, silent, 2016, 5 minutes *
Diaristic expressions from March to June and the metamorphosis of visual perception, energy, and emotion.
Continuous Becoming
By Robert Orlowski, 16mm film, sound, 2019, 9 minutes *
Utilizing the concept of space-time popularized by Einstein’s special relativity, Continuous Becoming attempts to translate 4 dimensional space through the 2 dimensional plane. The film revolves around the axis of a 360 degree camera rotation. With each rotation, partitions are gradually added dividing the frame, each of which, are off-set by a frame ahead in time. The image, once fixed by a single locality and temporality, slowly becomes a malleable surface susceptible to the pressures of expanding space-time. Near the end of the film, the entire duration of the pan is displayed on screen. But at this point, could the entirety of the film be shown at once? Space and time are no longer passive conduits of the image, but rather fissures in our understanding of cinematic geography.
From Day to Night
By Robert Orlowski, 16mm film, silent, 2018, 15 minutes *
A song of in-camera improvisations composed to the rhythm of the sun’s energy throughout the passage of a day.
Mighty Bright Light
By Robert Orlowski, 16mm, sound, 2020, 3 minutes
A juxtaposition between a camera experiment and the song, “Mighty Bright Light”, sung by the prisoners at the Ramsey and Retrieve State Farm prisons in Texas, 1951, allows for a moment to contemplate the structural and thematic similarities between the two. Participating with the song’s antiphonal (call and response) form traditionally found throughout African and African American music, the lens of the camera is removed in unison with the rhythm of the choir’s chant back to the caller. This action is repeated for the duration of the song which corresponds to the 100’ length of film. As the turret of the Bolex swings away, removing any point of view dictated by the lens or the filmmaker, the light from the present that exposes the film, and the light from the past that is the subject of the song are brought into question. The act of reimagining the camera, not solely as a photographic device, but as a musical instrument capable of engaging with the past ignites a hope for conceptualizing a society without the power structures that define it.
Synthesized Memories
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2020, 4 minutes 27 seconds
Fascinated with the beauty of images that come from physical manifestations of hardware vs those that are digitally synthesized, the artist set out to use their own personal family media as a base for the work. Made using the Dirty Video Mixer, a collection of family memories stored on DVD and various other layers found around the house. Music made in Garage Band by the artist.
Video Synthesis – Eddie Noack’s Psycho
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2020, 1 minute 20 seconds
Using Cathodemer, a CRT screen emulator, and archival footage found on Archive.org with the backing track “Psycho” by Eddie Noack. The video shows a woman dancing by herself while the song plays and the images synthesize. Meshing two worlds of old and new.
Glitched Novela/Feedback Loops
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2020, 1 minute
Practice run with the home made Video Mixer, using DVDs of a novela called ‘Eva Luna’ and the song ‘Hard Times! by John Lee Hooker. Cathodemer was used to synthesize and video feedback of the image was achieved using a Canon 6D.
I made the Dirty Video Mixer!
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2020, 6 minutes 23 seconds
Using Karl Klomp’s design for the Dirty Video Mixer, Diva attempts to build a mixer for the first time with no prior electronics experience. The process is explained through the eyes of a novice, showing that anyone could do it. Afterwards, a small demo is shown which shows successful results for a first try.
Circulation
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2019, 2 minutes 48 seconds
Archive.org footage remixed in Premiere Pro. Using an educational film about Circulation in Black and White, the color is achieved by layering color videos and using blend modes to achieve a new version of the video.
Cigarettes
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2018, 1 minute
Playing around with the frailty of old media, this is a montage of cigarette ADs found on archive.org. Using Premiere Pro to mix the clips together and take them out of their initial context the absurdity of it all becomes the center-point.
Mirrored Girls
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2019, 2 minutes 45 seconds
Footage from Archive.org, mixed in Premiere Pro. Using commercial video from a corporation and videos of dancers, the image of femininity is put on display but questioned visually.
How The Eye Functions
By Diva Martinez, single-channel video, 2019, 3 minutes
Using an educational film about the functions of the eye and scientific film of an organism. Mixed in Premiere Pro. Featuring the song ‘Spooky’ from The Coffin Daggers.
TRT: Approx. 56 minutes