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January 18, 2008 > Arts & Entertainment > Flicker Fusion exhibit exemplifies good modern art

Flicker Fusion exhibit exemplifies good modern art

By Ingrid Norbergs | For the Thresher

It is easy for most art appreciators to favorably examine the work of the Impressionists, the Surrealists and many of the other “-ists” that have all made it into the voluminous pages of art history textbooks. But as students reach the last centimeter or so of these books, with their photos of signed urinals and wall-sized canvases of paint drops, the number of dubious eyebrow raises seem to increase exponentially. And paint drops seem tediously conservative in comparison to how far the proverbial envelope has been pushed since Jackson Pollack’s heyday.

However, for the art appreciator unfamiliar with the contemporary scene and perhaps reluctant to assign it value, there is something she should know: There is plenty of new work that is accessible and genuinely enjoyable. Last Friday night was the opening of Flicker Fusion, a showing of multiple animated video installations at DiverseWorks, a gallery in the Warehouse District, and the contemporary exhibition was certainly an enjoyable body of work.

The first video of the exhibit is a large projection of fanciful, brightly colored settings featuring cameos of cartoon-like frogs and four-legged octopi (quadropi?). This animation, like some of the pieces in the show, favors imagery over plot. It intersperses scenes with frames of words that, although largely unrelated to the action, lend meaning to the otherwise nonsensical images. Messages like “I have the answer … pretty postcards” and “the eternity of a second” are sometimes whimsical, sometimes poignant, but always simple, sweet and thought provoking.

Continuing through the exhibition, one room features three separate artists’ works, shown in looping succession on the same screen. One is a long, darkly monotone and rather grim claymation piece. Each plotline of the multi-sectioned film is clearly understood from the animation alone and the lack of dialogue and sparse sound effects impart the slightly disturbing action with eerie remoteness. In one segment a Cesarean section is done and redone and in another an older man lies in bed with a prostitute.

Fortunately, the other two films lighten the mood. One crude yet witty piece features three fashion magazines that are flipped through page by page, and drawn on in thick black lines in the satirical fashion of moustaching the Mona Lisa. The other, a rapid action watercolor-looking animation entitled “Meet Me in Wichita” is a political take on The Wizard of Oz, showing Dorothy wandering appalled in a bombed out Baghdad, Osama Bin Laden’s face randomly replacing those of the supporting characters, and oil spouting from the Tin Man’s cap.

One of the most coherent films is an animation of King Kong. While charging through the city, King Kong lugs the Guggenheim Museum with him all the way downtown to Chelsea where he uses it to smash the Gagosian Gallery, perhaps manifesting a grudge of the artist.

While the rest of the videos are interesting, one final video, “Hadacol Christmas” by Brent Green, stands out. During the exhibition opening, Green and his three-piece guitar, fiddle, and drum band performed while “Hadacol Christmas” and his other films played on a screen beside them. While the music played, Green narrated his films in his unique, almost quavering voice.

This live action art piece, combining film, drawing, painting, music, sculpture and poetry, was a singularly unique event, telling of the nature of contemporary art and its collaborative, multimedia spirit. Even though this performance will not be occurring again, the folky film with its shaky, queer figures and hand-drawn backgrounds is captivating enough.

Flicker Fusion, with its incredible variety of animated films, does not seek to create a unified theme; rather, it aptly expresses the near infinite variability and boundless creative energy that makes contemporary art so enriching. If any message were to be taken home from this exhibit, a frame in one of Green’s films would speak appropriately: “There is euphoria all around you. You are swimming in it.”

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