FRESH SHORT SHORTS: Centre for Art Tapes

CFAT 35th ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE Curated by James MacSwain Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 8:30-10PM Broken City Patio - 613 11 Ave SW

INTRODUCTION What is an archive? An archive is a safe depository of ephemera that memorializes and immortalizes the individual and collective culture of a (particular) people. At least that’s one definition. Memory, time and gossip should also be considered. Sexual innuendo and political disaster, cascades of humour and a frantic winter wonderland these are the treasures of our particular Centre For Art Tapes’ (CFAT) archive now held in the University of Dalhousie’s archives. With hundreds of tapes in the CFAT archive, both video and audio, and the many variants of tape stock, the archive is always in a state of expectancy. Over time I’ve seen many works for various projects and I viewed over forty items for this particular project; obviously I could have curated another two or three excellent programs. I can only hope there will be times that future curators will delve into this remarkable archive collection and will have the profound and fun experience that I had in hinging together this evening’s 35th Anniversary Screening.

- James MacSwain ABOUT THE CURATOR: James MacSwain, born in Nova Scotia, received a B.A. in English from Mount Allison University and studied theatre arts at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. In 1973 he settled in Halifax where he began a career in theatre and arts administration. Since 1980 he has been working in film and video, receiving Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Arts Nova Scotia grants as a media artist. He has been a former board member of the Nova Scotia Arts Council, the Independent Film and Video Alliance and the Canadian Conference of the Arts. Four years ago he retired from his employment as the Director of Programming for the Centre For Art Tapes. MacSwain was the recipient of the 2011 Portia White Prize.

ABOUT CENTRE FOR ART TAPES Located in Halifax’s north-end where culture, diversity and creativity thrive, CFAT is an artist-run media centre that enables emerging and established artists to achieve creative and social goals. Mentorship, collaboration and innovation are its focus.

CFAT contributes to the advancement of media arts, providing multiple entry points into its discourse and practice for diverse communities. The Centre fosters innovation, experimentation and collaboration. CFAT supports artists working with media technology by ensuring public access to professional equipment, facilities, educational resources and mentorship. www.cfat.ca

SCREENING PROGRAM

Dub Poets Clifton Joseph (1984, 6min.)

Dub poetry is a form of performance poetry of West Indies origin, which evolved out of dub music consisting of spoken word over reggae rhythms in Jamaica in the 1970s.

Dub poetry is predominantly concerned with politics and local justice, commonly voiced through a commentary on current events. Clifton Joseph was invited by Cathy Quinn, then CFAT Director, and the CFAT Programming Committee to perform in Halifax in 1984. He was a founding member of Dub poetry in Toronto that established a Dub Poets Collective in 2003. Toronto has the second highest concentration of Dub poets, preceded by Jamaica, and followed by England.

Girls Just Want to Have Funds Cathy Busby & Melodie Calvert (1988, 11min.)

A humorous video that reveals the somewhat lonely and dismal existence of an underpaid art gallery coordinator. In contrast, clips of Joan Crawford from the film Johnny Guitar suggest that ideally the strong woman can prevail in the face of adversity, or that the wheel of fortune may somehow bring luck to relieve this situation.

Cheyenne; A Romance Liz MacDougall & Andy Dowden (1986, 4min.)

This experimental audio/video collaboration came about after the audiotape Cheyenne had been produced. The sound track is a jazz-rock tune with rhythmic inserts of voiceover from a woman reading a Harlequin Romance and a man speaking of love and life.

The video, though based on the audio, has a life of its own. The imagery is of dominant males as portrayed by the media. Combined, audio and video suggest humourous, sometimes ironic puns on male sexual aggression and on the dominant roles of men in the media.

Award: Atlantic Festival Atlantique, Award of Merit for Concept and Production, 1986.

Uganda 1972 Farhad Dastur (1999, 12min.)

The systematic expulsion of a group of people from their homeland seems the fated blight of the human race. With this piece, artist Farhad Dastur, now a psychologist, fills in the gaps of his memory of his family’s exile from their home in Uganda through personal interviews, historical documents and representation. As a child of the expulsion, he has no memory of the political and social repression of Asian Ugandans. While not slick, this video feels honest and offers a glimpse into the mixed emotions of fear, great sadness, and relief, while being forced to leave the place you love and know best. It’s also a quiet homage to Canada, the refuge of opportunity for the formation of a new identity.

Maigre Dog Donna James (1990, 10min.)

This video documents expressions, sayings, and unusual metaphors from the Jamaican vernacular. The sound track is a group of Jamaican women describing the expressions, giving humourous examples of their use, sharing stories. Images complement the women’s conversations.

6 Works for Radio, Rollins/ Migone Christof Migone (2012, 2min.)

This excerpt from Christof Migone’s ‘6 Works for Radio’ is a short audio piece that should leave you smiling, if not laughing out loud. Gives new meaning to Shakespeare’s, “What’s in a name?”

Lily and Christian “Dish” Renee Penney & Michael Weir (1992, 17min.)

Two characters, Lily and Christian, explore sexual taboos. Sultry dinner table conversation drifts into intimate fantasies of sex with the family dog and the tyranny of peel-on and -off Haute Couture jeans. Humour is the key to topics of puberty, sexual preference and our images of our bodies. Dish: a dinner? A sexy babe? A misspelling of fish? Make your reservation.

‘Tropical’ by the band Plumtree Music video directed by Walter Forsythe (1997, 3:14min.)

Plumtree was formed in Halifax in 1993 and disbanded in the year 2000. This allfemale band, at the time of Walter Forsythe’s music video, were Lynette Gillis, Carla Gillis, Amanda Braden and Nina Martin. The song, although called ‘Tropical’, takes place in the winter, both in Halifax and Sydney, Cape Breton. Sledding is the prominent feature of winter fun. At the end summery stills create a montage of possibilities.

The Water’s Tale Revisioned Ann Verrall (1996/2014, 5min.)

A five-minute, multi-screened projection. Twenty years ago I began production of what was to become The Water’s Tale - a 45 minute experimental fairy tale. It was shot on Hi-8 tape over a two year period by Chuck Clark and Sandra Kipis. To mark the 20th anniversary of this epic piece, I am resurrecting and reworking the footage beginning with the underwater performance I did Thanksgiving weekend in 1995.

Charlie’s Prospect Ariella Pahlke (1997, 10min.)

An allegorical video fable set to an original choral composition and based on a true story told by folk artist Charlie Norris, a neighbour in the small fishing village where I live. Norris has built a replica of the village of Lower Prospect on his front lawn. The story unfolds as a wealthy young family drives by and wants to buy the entire model village. The artist is faced with a dilemma about the value of what he has created and the meaning of community - a dilemma mirrored in the lives of many fishing families in Atlantic Canada’s coastal communities.

ABOUT FRESH SHORT SHORTS EMMEDIA is proud to present a summer series of free outdoor screenings at the relaxing Broken City Patio, showcasing works from different media art centres coast to coast. Starting with the east coast of Halifax and ending in the west coast of Vancouver, experience a unique collection of Canadian video art from across Canada. Join us on a warm summer night as we survey contemporary and historical media artworks that experiment with the medium of video, while enjoying a refreshing pint!

ABOUT EMMEDIA GALLERY & PRODUCTION SOCIETY EMMEDIA Gallery & Production Society is a non-profit media arts organization that supports both the production and presentation of media arts. EMMEDIA offers affordable access to media art production tools, services, technical and educational support, and an array of year round public exhibition programs including screenings, installations and performances. Our programs strive to foster artistic dialogue and engagement through complementary activities such as artist talks, panel discussions, publications, workshops, artist residencies, production awards and scholarships.

For more information, go to www.emmedia.ca

SCHEDULE OF SCREENINGS