Studies & Observations no. 2
Transubstantiation: Rituals, Transformations and Appropriations program curated by Marcy Saude and Mark Toscano (in person)
Using varied techniques including optical manipulation, observation and documentation, and appropriation of found footage and materials, the filmmakers in this program work with film as a transformative tool that’s both mystical and mundane. Michael J. Fox is transformed into a totemic stand-in for a woman who survived three shipwrecks. Text and nearly invisible artifacts are transmuted into bleeding abstractions via photocopying. The stuff of a day job at a make-up counter becomes raw material for an exploration of refracted light and color. A ceremony involving the gift of a tuba is recreated; the ritualistic aspects of drug use are explored in order to create alternatives; and Jesus Christ dies, rises, and ascends to heaven.
All films will be projected on 16mm and will include work by Chick Strand, David Lebrun, Peter Rose, Daina Krumins, Alexander Stewart, Courtney Hoskins, Carolyn Faber, Sarah Biagini, and Elwood Decker.
Screening organized by the Studies and Observations Group, co-presented by the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
still from I Swim Now, Sarah Biagini 2010
Marcy Saude 