Below is some information on an upcoming screening I put together for a seminar in Chisinau, Moldova. Its been a while since I put together a video program but this experience really reminded me how much I really love watching and curating short video. The program is really international and represents a range of aesthetics.
Public/Private Parties: Proposals for Reactivating Public Spaces
May 19th, 2010 8-10pm at Flat Space, Chişinău (Moldova)
Curated by Daniel Tucker
As part of the week long seminar “Notes for a People’s Atlas of Public Space in Chişinău”
http://atlasofchisinau.wordpress.com
A weeklong seminar organized by Vladimir US (Oberliht), Natasa BODROZIC (Slobodne veze), Vadim TIGANAS (Oberliht), Dave PABELLON (AREA Chicago), and Daniel TUCKER (AREA Chicago)
program, May 6 – 23, 2010
For more information see Moldova Young Artists Association – Oberliht (http://www.oberliht.org.md)
Statement:
These 7 videos show people engaging with public spaces in the United States, Sweden, Mexico, and Italy. They do not have a shared definition of what public space is versus private space, but viewed together they provide a sense that what is “public” is open to be defined by many and therefor related to notions of Democracy, while what is “private” can be defined and controlled by a few with an unbalanced distribution of power. Some subjects take critical approaches to contested history, police brutality, media monopolies, or surveillance while others take productive approaches like art making, and dancing, but both approaches actually involve pro-active engagement and demonstrate the ways that people make the places they live in everyday. “We are the city!” the people seem to cry! As opposed to the common understanding that these places we inhabit are simply imposed upon us, predetermined or out of our control.
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The Program:
Public Discourse (38:00) 2003
by Brad Downey, Tim Hansberry, and Quenell Jones
Used with permission from the maker
An overview of current and historical street-art and graffiti with a strong focus on New York City and the contested terrain of public space.
Surveillance Report (5:00) 2004
by 4n6
Used with permission from the maker
The Surveillance Camera Players lead a walking tour of surveillance cameras in Manhattan following 9/11/2001. See: http://www.notbored.org/the-scp.html
United Victorian Workers (4:00), 2006
by Dara Greenwald with Josh MacPhee and Bettina Escauriza
Used with permission from the maker
An annual event celebrating the “victorian heritage” in the small post-industrial town of Troy New York is disrupted by labor activists and artists attempting to insert labor history into the public sphere. Organized by Bettina Escauriza, Dara Greenwald, Ryan Jenkins. Josh MacPhee, Amy Scarfone, and Marshall Tramell). See: http://www.daragreenwald.com
El Zócalo (28:25) 2002
Gustavo Vazquez and Chip Lord
Used with permission from the Video Data Bank
An observational portrait of Mexico City’s central Plaza across one day in August. Soldiers, Aztec Dancers, clowns, food vendors, protestors, rain, dogs tourists, kites, balloons, and dignitaries all meet in the public space of the Zøcalo. See: http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/lord/
StreetTv2, Sky0 (6:30) 2003
by SpendnilaTv – TurnOff Tv, Teleaut, AntTv, OrfeoTv, and Guerriglia Markating
From p2p Fightsharing DVD on “Reality Hacking”
Following the repression of a guerrilla/pirate tv project in Senigallia (Italy), an alliance of “telestreet” groups in Rome launch an action against Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia cable Tv company by re-transmiting a Juventas v. Roma football game free to the local community in rome. See: http://www.zcommunications.org/telestreet-rome-by-hamster5
Copwatch (8:00) 2002
by Guerilla News Network
From the Select Magazine #5 DVD
A brief introduction to the original Copwatch organization in Oakland, California. The group is dedicated to ‘policing the police’ and attempt to bring attention to police brutality as well as citizen’s right to observe and document police activity. See: http://www.copwatch.org/
A Place Like Any Other (21:00) 2001
by Pia Rönicke
Used with permission from the maker
Interviews with residents from the Bredang area of Stockholm (Sweden) which was conceived as part of the Million Program by Swedish Social Democrats in the late 1960s to provide affordable housing for everyone in Sweden. See: http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/the_concrete_jungle/
TRT: 112 min
Daniel Tucker 