Last month I went to New Media Gallery to see their newest exhibit, "Master", which was scheduled…read moreto run from September 14 to December 1, 2024. The exhibit consisted of eight works by six artists, all of which paid tribute to Alfred Hitchcock.
The works on display were:
-Sliced Classics by J Tobias Anderson (2003 - 2024, Sweden)
-De Mortuis by Lee Henderson (2011, Canada)
-Übermensch by Scott Billings (2018, Canada)
-Psychedelic Lock by Daniele Puppi (2016, Italy)
-4 Vertigo by Les LeVeque (2000, USA)
-Prediction by Gregory Chatonsky (2015, Canada/France)
-Vertigo@home by Gregory Chatonsky (2015, Canada/France)
-The Kiss 3: The Recursive Cinema by Gregory Chatonsky (2022, Canada/France)
"Sliced Classics" consisted of eight screens, each screen displaying the sliced edges from various scenes of a Hitchcock movie.
"De Mortuis" were clips from the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" edited so that it appeared as if Alfred Hitchcock were delivering a speech about TV and human mortality. It was shown on an old-fashioned television, but unfortunately I couldn't make out what was being said due to all the sound from the other exhibits.
"Übermensch" was about Hitchcock's movie "Rope" (which I hadn't heard of). The movie takes places in one room, and the room depicted in the movie was made into a mini 3D model which is rotated on a robotic arm and projected onto a screen. The meaning behind this piece was beyond my intellect.
"Psychedelic Lock" consisted of two screens, side by side, showing the movie "Psycho". One screen played the original 1960 version and the other played the 1998 remake. Both films were playing simultaneously and the screens bounced back and forth between each one. The exhibit was near the gallery's emergency exit, and the curator explained that the artist intended it to be near an exit for some reason -- the exit sign and door was part of the art.
"4 Vertigo" were clips from the movie "Vertigo" sped up, flipped around, and superimposed on each other, giving the sense of.... you guessed it, vertigo.
"Prediction" showed scenes from the movie Vertigo, and as the movie played, a computer tried to predict the emotions of the actors on the screen. On the screen were a list of emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happy, sad, surprise, neutral) and in real time a number, indicating the likeliness of that emotion, changed, depending on the actors' expressions.
"Vertigo@home" shows a 2015 Google street view of the route taken in Vertigo. (I haven't seen the film but there is a scene where a man in a car is following a woman.)
"The Kiss 3: The Recursive Cinema" is the film Vertigo being run through AI, with the famous kissing scene being featured.
Unfortunately, on Monday December 2, I received an email from New Media Gallery saying that after ten years, the curators are moving on and the gallery is closing for good. They extended the exhibit until today, Saturday December 7, and from 3 to 6pm they are having a farewell event.
I will be sad to see New Media Gallery close, and I wish Sarah and Gordon, the curators, all the best.
[Yelp collections: Museums and Art Galleries; Cheap Thrills; Being a tourist in my own city]