WIU debuts short films
Jennifer Rundell
Issue date: 3/8/02 Section: The Edge
- Page 1 of 1
A new artistic concept introduced itself to students and faculty at the University Art Gallery on Tuesday night.
The idea is to show a film the first Tuesday of every month so the general public can get more involved and learn more about art.
Tuesday night, assistant art professor Susan Czechowski showed three short films to promote the first of the series.
"We are trying to bring more art to campus and we want to focus onfilm either made by artists, independent films and ones that are art-related," Czechowski said.
The first film was by a Hungarian artist, made with 3,000 sketches.
The film took four years of drawing to complete and was about three minutes long. The theme was the life of a fly. The images were amazing and the artist used a fish-eyed lens to show life through the fly's eyes.
Jason Harrington, who is an independent filmmaker living in New York City, created the next two films. He received his master's degree from Syracuse University a year ago.
"Jason Harrington is a good friend of mine, so I decided to start it off by showing two of his short films," Czechowski said.
The first, titled "Origin," explores a program of nothingness through animated drawings and alternative film techniques.
It shows his attempt to find meaning at the junction of science and art.
Throughout the film, the audience saw Harrington's searching and moving about with his hands.
The second five-minute film was titled "Great, Great Grandfather and Me," and it was an experimental film made with found footage.
At first it talked about the life of his great great grandfather, then followed his family lineage until he got to himself and wondered what his life would be like when he grew up. It was very creative; the footage and images made the film extremely interesting.
According to Harrington, the film began as a playful exercise and then he started applying sounds to give the forms shape and meaning.
Harrington's film and video work has been shown in festivals such as the Cork International Film Festival and won honorable mention in the Christopher's Student Film Festival.
Showing films as a part of art is a great way to learn more about it and to become interested in the many different forms of art.
The series of art films were presented by the art gallery and WIU's Student Art League.
The idea is to show a film the first Tuesday of every month so the general public can get more involved and learn more about art.
Tuesday night, assistant art professor Susan Czechowski showed three short films to promote the first of the series.
"We are trying to bring more art to campus and we want to focus onfilm either made by artists, independent films and ones that are art-related," Czechowski said.
The first film was by a Hungarian artist, made with 3,000 sketches.
The film took four years of drawing to complete and was about three minutes long. The theme was the life of a fly. The images were amazing and the artist used a fish-eyed lens to show life through the fly's eyes.
Jason Harrington, who is an independent filmmaker living in New York City, created the next two films. He received his master's degree from Syracuse University a year ago.
"Jason Harrington is a good friend of mine, so I decided to start it off by showing two of his short films," Czechowski said.
The first, titled "Origin," explores a program of nothingness through animated drawings and alternative film techniques.
It shows his attempt to find meaning at the junction of science and art.
Throughout the film, the audience saw Harrington's searching and moving about with his hands.
The second five-minute film was titled "Great, Great Grandfather and Me," and it was an experimental film made with found footage.
At first it talked about the life of his great great grandfather, then followed his family lineage until he got to himself and wondered what his life would be like when he grew up. It was very creative; the footage and images made the film extremely interesting.
According to Harrington, the film began as a playful exercise and then he started applying sounds to give the forms shape and meaning.
Harrington's film and video work has been shown in festivals such as the Cork International Film Festival and won honorable mention in the Christopher's Student Film Festival.
Showing films as a part of art is a great way to learn more about it and to become interested in the many different forms of art.
The series of art films were presented by the art gallery and WIU's Student Art League.