The UCF Center for Emerging Media hosted fantastic displays of visual imaging in the experimental film exhibition “Hypnotic Suggestion” created by current and former UCF film students last Saturday.
“In an instant, I am transported right away. In 10 seconds, I am there,” Christina Santa Cruz, UCF alumna who graduated in 2009 and organizer of the event, said about the feeling for the various exhibits at the event.
Experimental film is a genre of art that has no clear guidelines. Artists of the event have the freedom to create installations without any boundaries. The installation for the medium of this art ranges from a 27-inch iMac to four projector screens in a room the size of a normal classroom. The key to a successful installation is working with the environment, structures and video, Santa Cruz said.
Alternative Currents Collective is a local art collaborative focused on the exploration of the many ways one can view art. This group looks for local experimental film and collaborated with UCF to bring the current and former students’ productions together for this exhibit.
There is no basis to judge any part of any installation because it is based on the perspective and creativity of the individual artist. In other forms of art there are certain “rules” artists abide by, such as symmetry or lighting. Experimental art throws all rules out the window and displays the true depth of a person’s imagination.
Cameron Gagne came to this event without much understanding about what experimental film was.
“It feels very chaotic but definitely perspective based,” Gagne said after visiting some of the installations. “The installation makes me uncomfortable at the same time I am intrigued.”
Intrigue seemed to be the overall feeling of the exhibition because of the different forms this art took.
In one area, Alex Wolfe, a UCF alumnus with a BFA in film, and Tia Fakess created “A Glimpse of the Peripheral,” which was meant to be viewed on three screens simultaneously — one in front and one on each side. This involved the person stepping into an enclosed area to fully experience the exhibit.
“This shows what you see and don’t see and how your peripheral compensates,” Wolfe said. “If you are only looking straight ahead, you are missing what is going on, on the sides of you, until something directs your attention there.”
Fakess explained how important sound is with this installation because it makes the person aware of what is going on at all times. In one segment, there is the noise of keys falling to the ground. One would then look left to where the sound came from and see the person picking their keys up off the ground. Without the noise accompanying the action, one would not have looked to their left and would have missed what was happening in their periphery.
The inspiration for this exhibit came from Fakess’ condition of lattice degeneration, which is the development of holes in the retina that cause “floaters” or dots in the peripheral. Because she misses some images from her peripheral, this installation is meant to make people more aware of what is going on around them, Wolfe and Fakess said.
Santa Cruz’s exhibit named “Gorgeous Media” exposes the inherent fear of manipulation that resides in any viewer of social images produced by the media.
In her installation, the setting is 1960s suburbia. The installation included watching her film on an old, small black and white JVC television while sitting on a retro couch that could have been from the set of Happy Days. The old black-and-white photos hanging on a gaudy dark green wall created an atmosphere which took you back to that time period.
Santa Cruz has viewed music videos and noticed a strong persona in many of them. She decided to make her film with the same quality. In the few days of shooting, she created this by filming underwater, in a dark room and in stop motion.
The Portland Film Festival is the next stop for her installation, as Santa Cruz is looking to show off her unique interpretation of how media creates this nature of nostalgia and controls why we dress and act the way we do.
“Phase Space” by Jon Perez, a senior film major, is a multiple-channel video installation that journeys in and out of visual abstraction, engaging the body and spirit within a forest that builds up infinity within its own boundaries. The installation was in a dark room with the exit signs blacked out and only a small light at the entrance of the room. There were four projection screens suspended in the air surrounding the viewer, flashing pictures of running and spinning through the forest.
“It’s all about making new encounters with the world,” Perez said about experimental filmmaking.
“In a normal movie you have two hours to interact with it, but with this you are moving from one installation to the other so it has to capture your interest from the moment you look at it,” Santa Cruz said.The UCF Center for Emerging Media hosted fantastic displays of visual imaging in the experimental film exhibition “Hypnotic Suggestion” created by current and former UCF film students last Saturday.
“In an instant, I am transported right away. In 10 seconds, I am there,” Christina Santa Cruz, UCF alumna who graduated in 2009 and organizer of the event, said about the feeling for the various exhibits at the event.
Experimental film is a genre of art that has no clear guidelines. Artists of the event have the freedom to create installations without any boundaries. The installation for the medium of this art ranges from a 27-inch iMac to four projector screens in a room the size of a normal classroom. The key to a successful installation is working with the environment, structures and video, Santa Cruz said.
Alternative Currents Collective is a local art collaborative focused on the exploration of the many ways one can view art. This group looks for local experimental film and collaborated with UCF to bring the current and former students’ productions together for this exhibit.
There is no basis to judge any part of any installation because it is based on the perspective and creativity of the individual artist. In other forms of art there are certain “rules” artists abide by, such as symmetry or lighting. Experimental art throws all rules out the window and displays the true depth of a person’s imagination.
Cameron Gagne came to this event without much understanding about what experimental film was.
“It feels very chaotic but definitely perspective based,” Gagne said after visiting some of the installations. “The installation makes me uncomfortable at the same time I am intrigued.”
Intrigue seemed to be the overall feeling of the exhibition because of the different forms this art took.
In one area, Alex Wolfe, a UCF alumnus with a BFA in film, and Tia Fakess created “A Glimpse of the Peripheral,” which was meant to be viewed on three screens simultaneously — one in front and one on each side. This involved the person stepping into an enclosed area to fully experience the exhibit.
“This shows what you see and don’t see and how your peripheral compensates,” Wolfe said. “If you are only looking straight ahead, you are missing what is going on, on the sides of you, until something directs your attention there.”
Fakess explained how important sound is with this installation because it makes the person aware of what is going on at all times. In one segment, there is the noise of keys falling to the ground. One would then look left to where the sound came from and see the person picking their keys up off the ground. Without the noise accompanying the action, one would not have looked to their left and would have missed what was happening in their periphery.
The inspiration for this exhibit came from Fakess’ condition of lattice degeneration, which is the development of holes in the retina that cause “floaters” or dots in the peripheral. Because she misses some images from her peripheral, this installation is meant to make people more aware of what is going on around them, Wolfe and Fakess said.
Santa Cruz’s exhibit named “Gorgeous Media” exposes the inherent fear of manipulation that resides in any viewer of social images produced by the media.
In her installation, the setting is 1960s suburbia. The installation included watching her film on an old, small black and white JVC television while sitting on a retro couch that could have been from the set of Happy Days. The old black-and-white photos hanging on a gaudy dark green wall created an atmosphere which took you back to that time period.
Santa Cruz has viewed music videos and noticed a strong persona in many of them. She decided to make her film with the same quality. In the few days of shooting, she created this by filming underwater, in a dark room and in stop motion.
The Portland Film Festival is the next stop for her installation, as Santa Cruz is looking to show off her unique interpretation of how media creates this nature of nostalgia and controls why we dress and act the way we do.
“Phase Space” by Jon Perez, a senior film major, is a multiple-channel video installation that journeys in and out of visual abstraction, engaging the body and spirit within a forest that builds up infinity within its own boundaries. The installation was in a dark room with the exit signs blacked out and only a small light at the entrance of the room. There were four projection screens suspended in the air surrounding the viewer, flashing pictures of running and spinning through the forest.
“It’s all about making new encounters with the world,” Perez said about experimental filmmaking.
“In a normal movie you have two hours to interact with it, but with this you are moving from one installation to the other so it has to capture your interest from the moment you look at it,” Santa Cruz said.
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