Rome, Tiber Island, november 2009

Rome is finally giving proper space to contemporary art. Not only between the walls of galleries and other traditional venues, but also in the streets, hosting new buildings (Zaha Hadid’s new MAXXI museum and Odile Decq’s expansion for Macro, to open in spring 2010), performances and open-air installations.

Doug Aitken’s Frontier is the latest evidence of this new deal: a spectacular video work installed on the Isola Tiberina, a natural island located in the very heart of the city, emerging from the river. After the end of the show, the work will be donated to Rome’s contemporary art museum (Macro), where it will be visible next year.

The press releases that accompanied the launch of the event, part of the third edition of Enel Contemporanea curated by Francesco Bonami, emphasized a supposed similarity between Aitken’s video room (which has numerous small windows and no roof) and the Colosseum. But the work doesn’t seem to look for any historical reference; it owes most of its appeal, on the contrary, to the visual clash it engages with the surroundings.

Visitors first see Frontier from above, standing on top of the bridge, then walk down the marble stairs and approach a white, luminous room. The video is projected all over the inner walls, and the light – with its intensity and colour variations – leaks out of the rectangular windows that punctuate the structure. The whole architecture becomes a screen and a framework for the story: a narrative – and somehow circular – journey about memory and time. At the beginning we see the american painter Ed Ruscha sitting in a darkened movie theatre. Then he leaves for an – imaginary? – walkabout through different locations and atmospheres (the video was shot in Rome, Los Angeles, Israel and South Africa). The camera alternates wide, quiet panoramas with intense close-ups of faces and objects; the overall feeling is mystical and romantic. Sometimes the artist just relies on colours, flooding the walls with vibrant textures of pure, liquid light. At last, the protagonist finds himself once again in the same setting – the cinema – where the video began.

In the end, it seems like the story, and even the video itself, doesn’t count as much as the whole, immersive experience. The experience of spending half an hour inside a big screen-bulding, on the tip of an old island (it resembles the tip of a vessel) with only the sky as a roof. The main role of the video is that of being an emotional trigger, gently pushing the spectator towards a dreamlike, contemplative mood.

Valentina Tanni

Valentina Tanni (www.valentinatanni.com) is a contemporary art critic and curator based in Rome, Italy. Her research is mainly focused on new media art and internet culture. She is the founder of Random Magazine (www.random-magazine.net) a digital art bulletin, and co-founder of Exibart.com (www.exibart.com), the most popular online art magazine in Italy.

In May, one of the videos for The UnConvention won a Silver Pencil at the New York Art Directors Club OneShow. The video, “Park,” was one of a series of PSA’s called Make an Effort, a campaign for The UnConvention designed by Campbell Mithun to

encourage Twin Cities residents to find their own unconventional ways to welcome the visitors who will be arriving for the Republican National Convention. The campaign does not ignore the undeniable irony of the Republicans’ choice to hold the convention here in Minnesota, and the entire tone of the campaign captures the unique brand of intelligent, rewarding creativity that Minnesota is justifiably world famous for.

The other two videos in the campain were Pin and Limo, and there is a series of downloadable poster pdfs here, including Yard Ornaments and Wally the Beer Man.

Congratulaations to CampbellMithun and thanks for their participation in The UnConvention. Special thanks to everyone who made the campaign possible including: The UnConvention, LaBreche, Hungry Man Productions, Jonathan Chapman Photography, Unleashed Productions, and Ditch Edit.

The UnConvention

The UnConvention was a non-partisan collaboration of local and national cultural organizations and citizens, initiated by Northern Lights before, during and after the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN, to explore the creative intersection of participatory media and participatory democracy. It existed as a counterpoint to the highly scripted and predetermined nature of the contemporary presidential nomination process and conventions.

ARThouse will be celebrating the holiday decorating season with a series of outdoor video shorts. The projection will be approximately 30 feet wide, the width of “ARThouse”. The Drive-By exhibit will be open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic 5:30-9:30 pm, Dec. 13 – Dec 31.

Holiday theme not required.
Send your video(s) and resume to:
ARThouse 117 1st Ave NE New London, MN 56273.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: November 22, 2008.

Please format your video work to be quicktime compatible, iDVD friendly (AVI, DV, MOV and MP4 video formats.)Include SASE for your work to be returned.
Email submissions will not be accepted.

ARThouse is a residential, phantom exhibition venue specializing in contemporary art and ideas. Through its exhibitions and site specific projects, ARThouse works to nurture and support the creative endeavors of artists and deepen public understanding of contemporary art. For more information visit ARThouse.