VideoFest 2009
Last November we drove out to Dallas to watch our short film Picturesque Joel at the Angelika Theater in Dallas, Texas. The film had been selected for the 2008 Dallas Video Festival and was scheduled to screen in the Texas Show, a collection of short films by Texas-based filmmakers that concludes the four day long festival. Seeing our first official selection in a film festival on the big screen was not the only reason we made the five hour drive to Dallas. The moment we read that pioneer documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles was going to be in attendance we booked our hotel. This year our short film Jimmy Kuehnle’s Big Red and Walking Fish was selected for the same festival, now renamed VideoFest and was again scheduled to screen in the Texas Show. We imagined ourselves reliving the same wonderful trip: cool weather, good films, time spent with Albert Maysles, a delicious vegetarian quiche and wonderful art museums.
The drive up this year seemed longer and when we arrived in Dallas the traffic was much worse than we remembered, which we should have interpreted to be some sort of omen. Our hotel was an upgrade from last year’s Sun Suites and was much closer to the Angelika Theater. As we turned the corner to pull into our hotel’s parking lot we were pulled over by Dallas police. Apparently we had driven two hundred and eighty-seven miles with a broken brake light (which is still broken) and only feet from our destination we were stopped, yet another omen. Luckily we were let go with only a warning so we could unpack and get ready to see The Art Guys Retrospective 1984-2008 presentation. The kind faces and warm hugs of Michael and Jack put our hearts at ease as we settled in for an evening of hilarious and clever short videos from their twenty five years of collaborating. Thanks guys for giving us a shout out during your presentation (Watch The Art Guys Marry A Plant)
The Prime Eights and The Art Guys
After The Art Guy’s presentation we watched a program called Odd Stories Worth Staying up For. Our favorite short film in the program was Killer. The film took place in New York City in 1987 and follows seventeen year old Jose Ortiz as he and his group of friends play an an intense and dangerous game by the same name. The film gave us a glimpse into an urban rite of passage defined by all-night stakeouts, the gritty terrain of the city, and the recklessness of adolescence. Killer directed by Adam Leon and Jack Pettibone Riccobono was an inspiring way to end our evening and only made us more excited about meeting Albert Maysles the next night. Last year Albert said to us “Documentary, that’s the way to go”. His sweet smile and openness to anyone who approached him was unexpected and his words became subliminally locked into our minds. This year our short documentary about performance artist Jimmy Kuehnle was going to screen and we could trace our influence straight back to Albert.
The Prime Eights and Albert Maysles, 2008
The next morning we attended the Filmmaker’s Brunch hosted by Dallas Video Association and a number of Texas Film Commissions (including San Antonio). We had a chance to introduce ourselves to other filmmakers whose work was also screening at the festival including Penny Lane and Brian L. Frye, an adorable couple from New York. They were so friendly they invited us to spend our day together looking around Downtown Dallas. We visited the street were JFK was assassinated, found the Quizno’s were the Conspiracy Museum used to be (Thanks anyway Gary!) and spent what felt like days in the Dallas Aquarium.
Angie on Grassy Knoll
Waiting for the snake's feeding time
As we were getting all ready to see Albert for his screening of Muhammad and Larry and Get yer Ya Ya’s Out we learned that he was not going to be able to make it after all. We disappointingly sat in the theater and waited for the films to start, but before they did Bart Weiss, director of the VideoFest introduced Ian Markiewicz, filmmaker and editor of both Muhammad and Larry and Get yer Ya Ya’s Out. The films that followed were completely inspiring. All the beauty and drama that can be created from real life stories and moments can’t be touched in some ways by actors and scripts. Ian also screened Waiting For Something, a short documentary about musician Jay Reatard he and Alex Hammond directed. To us it was a delightful mixture of Jennifer Venditti’s Billy the Kid and Jeff Feuerzeig’s The Devil and Daniel Johnston. That evening at the after party we had a chance to talk more with Ian along with fellow filmmakers Daniel Laabs and Frank Mosley. We all had a really good time just laughing and joking around (mainly harassing Johnny Rutledge, managing director of the festival and all around great guy). At the end of the night they all agreed that evenings like that were what make traveling the festival circuit worth it. We drove Ian back to his hotel and had a chance to talk to him more about what it’s like to work with Albert. We wished that there was more time since we barely scratched the surface, but we were glad to meet him and hope our paths cross again soon.
Jimmy Kuehnle with his suit Walking Fish in Roswell, NM
Sunday night we finally screened Jimmy Kuehnle’s Big Red and Walking Fish in the Texas Show. It was by far the most popular program, with the theater nearly full of filmmakers, friends and film enthusiasts. It was also (in our opinion) the best collection of work, including films by Ya’ke Smith and Kat Candler. After the screening we had a chance to talk about the film and answer questions from the audience and Bart Weiss. Congrats to Daniel Laabs who won Best Narrative and Comedy Short! The previous night we refused to take Ian’s Maysles Award Statue (he thought he couldn’t take it on the plane) so we should have taken one of Daniel’s awards, but we have confidence that he will make shelves to put them on. In the end we missed Albert Maysles, the veggie quiche and the art museums, but we still had an amazing time and look forward to going again next year.
Vote Now for Jimmy Kuehnle’ Big Red on Babelgum!
http://www.babelgum.com/4006104/jimmy-kuehnles-big-red.html
The Corn Crib
We began working with Ansen Seale in August to document his exhibition The Corn Crib for Glasstire.com. He had been on a short list of recommended artists Kelly Klaasmeyer had given us early this year and his schedule for The Corn Crib exhibition matched ours perfectly. We had been familiar with Ansen’s work from his River of Light exhibition at Luminaria, Arts Night in San Antonio.
Mark Walley documents Ansen Seale
We followed Ansen over a few weeks and documented his process of creating slit-scan photographs of corn and the effort it took to create many aspects of the final exhibition. We were there working right along side him in the hot weather preparing for the exhibit and in the rain at the opening.
Mark inside of The Corn Crib
We were invited by Penelope Boyer to screen our completed short film, The Corn Crib, at The Land Heritage Institute’s Art/Sci Symposium held October 24-25, 2009 at the San Antonio Toyota Manufacturing Plant Visitors Center. We were also hired to document the entire two-day long event for Land Heritage Institute.
Welcome to The Toyota Plant
On Saturday we took a Hayride to visit Ansen’s exhibition on the land, the weather was nice and we were excited to know the symposium’s participants had the chance to view the work before learning more about it in our film which was scheduled to screen the following day. It was really incredible to hear captivating presentations by Lucy Lippard, Joan Jonas, Sandy Stone, Leslie Raymond and Sabra Booth over the two day event. Chris Taylor, director of Land Arts of the American West is running a really amazing program over at Texas Tech University that gives students the chance to live outside of civilization and create work inspired by the land. On Sunday we screened The Corn Crib, and spent the afternoon being given a tour of LHI archaeological sites by Dr. Alston Thoms. Overall it was a really successful event that we were honored to have been a part of. Learn more about the LHI Art/Sci Symposium.
Watch our short film The Corn Crib.
Artpace: Artist Workshop
The Dos and Don’ts of Studio Visits
At the September exhibition opening for Unit B, Gallery Director Kimberly Aubuchon approached us on behalf of Artpace to document their upcoming Artist Workshop: The Dos and Don’ts of Studio Visits. It was a coincidence that Leslie Raymond had also requested we attend the event as part of our Independent Study. Seeing Art San Antonio founder and artist Donna Simon and Artpace Archivist Kimberly Aubuchon shared their experiences with studio visits, provided insight into how to prepare oneself for a studio visit, and answered questions from the audience.
Artpace's Programs Manager Mary Cantú, Seeing Art San Antonio founder and artist Donna Simon and Artpace Archivist Kimberly Aubuchon speak at Artpace's Artist Workshop series on the topic of The Dos and Don't of Studio Visits at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, at Artpace. For more information please visit http://www.artpace.org. Photo by Chris Castillo
Mark Walley documents Artpace's Artist Workshop series on the topic of The Dos and Don't of Studio Visits at Artpace. For more information please visit http://www.artpace.org. Photo by Chris Castillo
Before Your Studio Visit
You can start by researching local curators and galleries. By having a better understanding of who is curating what and where, you can start making connections with how your work may fit in. If galleries (such as Unit B) accept submissions, be sure to follow their guidelines accurately. It’s okay to ask questions before scheduling an appointment with a curator or tour so you’re aware of what’s expected of you.
During Your Studio Visit
Let your work stand out by displaying it openly, keeping in mind that less is more. Although you want the focus to be on your work, it’s also important that your studio reflect your process. Let your visitor see how you work, they’re not looking for a white cube exhibition space.Be prepared to talk about your work. It could be helpful to revise your current artist statement and to think about technique, medium and process. Our favorite piece of advice was to have a “take away folder” containing your card, CV, recent show postcards, bio and artist statement. It’s a great way for the curator or visitor to remember you by.
After Your Studio Visit
Be sure to keep records of your studio visits for archival purposes. It’s also a good idea to send a “Thank You!” card to your visitor.
Don’ts
Most of the “Don’ts” were almost too obvious for Kimberly and Donna to have to state, but just in case: Don’t gossip, complain, be unprepared, be horribly messy or have distractions (no cell phones!).
Artpace San Antonio
Only since our first trip to Artpace with Jimmy Kuehnle this summer have we realized what an amazing organization Artpace is. We have been able to see first hand all of the wonderful opportunities they give to artists of all levels. We are really looking forward to working with Artpace more in the future. News regarding our latest projects with Artpace will be posted soon!
Glasstire.com
Glasstire.com is best described as an online magazine about visual art in Texas that has been up and running since January 2001. They are a non-profit, supported by the Houston Art Alliance, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the Greater Houston Community Foundation, The Houston Endowment and the Texas Commission for the Arts. Earlier this year we received an email requesting submissions to be a video contributor on their website. We put together a short video about our then professor Stacy Berlfein and were selected to continue creating work for them. Since then we have created short videos about Jimmy Kuehnle, The Art Guys and are currently working on a video about photographer Ansen Seale. It has been a great experience for us as growing film makers and artists and we were honored when they selected us as Featured Video Contributors under their “About Us” page. Check out their website to learn all about the great art happening in Texas and be sure to read Ben Judson’s article for Ansen Seale’s The Corn Crib.
Gary Sweeney’s Nostalgia, Texas
Rainey Knudson, Founder and Executive Director of Glasstire.com recommended us to Gary Sweeney after we had created several short film projects documenting Texas artists for her website. We had heard about Gary’s work from Jimmy Kuehnle, a performance artist we worked with this past summer. Jimmy talked about his pieces at the airport, particularly the one that shows several adults in a classic red convertible and states “Black vinyl car seats? Not a good idea!”
Gary Sweeney's Nostalgia, Texas
Gary Sweeney's Nostalgia, Texas (Closeup)
Gary contacted us in August and invited us to create a short video about his permanent installation at The San Antonio International Airport. We were thrilled to document his work since we really identify with his nostalgic aesthetic. We visited the airport a few times, once to capture Gary’s insightful comments on each piece, again to just document the individual pieces and finally at night to see how beautiful they look with the lamp light on them.
Gary Sweeney's Nostalgia, Texas (night)
Mark was standing up in the back of Gary’s truck with the camera and tripod filming the pieces as we drove past. It was at this point that we were pulled over by the police. Apparently it’s illegal to film the parking garage. Luckily Gary also works as a baggage handler for Continental Airlines so he has proper security clearance.
Gary Sweeney introduces us to his installation Nostalgia, Texas
Watch the completed video online.
Cloud Cinema: Project Proposal
This summer we were given the opportunity to meet a variety of people who work within the San Antonio Art Community; many of whom we were familiar with or are friends of friends. Through our collaborative body of work we made connections with artists and began to create a foundation for our potential growth in the future. This project comes directly from our experiences with these artists and our desire to develop as filmmakers and musicians. Essentially the purpose of this project is to work directly with local artists on a series of short, non-verbal films. The collaboration can be through any means, whether each artist provides a story, acts in the film or a part of what they do is documented in some way. We hope that the unique perspective of each individual we work with will come through in the completed collection of films. The content of each film has no restrictions, nor do we intend to stay within a specific genre. The element that will tie the films together is the intimate nature by which they will be filmed. By capturing real people and portraying true stories we hope to create small windows into real life. This concept will be enhanced through brief interview clips with the subject of each film preceding its presentation. The soundtrack for the films has been composed by Mark and will be performed in sync with the visuals live during the screening. This proposed presentation allows for collaborations between local musicians as well. We hope this will be a very large presentation involving all members of the art community and its supporters. Overall the main goal is to establish connections with artists and open possibilities for future collaborations.
Cloud Cinema: Mono Painting
The Prime Eights are working on creating a series of collaborative short films for a new performance project. The project is based on a collection of original compositions Mark has written over the past year. Short films for this collection of tracks will screen behind us as we perform the songs live. Our main goal for this project is to collaborate with other artists in the community; so far it’s been inspiring.
Jeremiah Teutsch during filming
Our most recent film was a collaboration with Chad Dawkins and Jeremiah Teutsch, local artists and former art collaborative MONO. The film was based on an anecdote Jeremiah told us about a painting created under their alias for which he received all the recognition. We decided to produce a dramatized version of Jeremiah’s story.
Chad recreates the MONO painting with a little help from Jeremiah
Chad recreated the original MONO painting at a much larger scale with Jeremiah tied to the canvas, symbolizing his connection to the painting. This restrictive position still allowed him to paint the red “MONO” letters (shown) staying true to the original story. We re-wrote the ending so that Chad would receive all the recognition he originally deserved for his painting. Artist and Palo Alto Professor Mark Hogenson did the honor of presenting Chad with his giant golden key and Thomas Cummings joined in the fun by snapping some photographs. A huge thanks goes out to Nate Cassie and Mark Hogenson for letting us use their studio space.
Watch the completed film online.
Closing Reception at Stella Haus
We will be having a closing reception for our first solo-exhibition “Journey of the Opportunist” Thursday July 30th. The reception is scheduled from 5PM-8PM at Stella Haus Art Space in the Blue Star Arts Complex.
Journey of the Opportunist presents an optimistic way of perceiving the mundane, universal things all humans experience. Our impulse to move towards knowledge, success and the search for love will be represented by a digital video projection, glowing photo light boxes and picturesque postcards.
Postcards will be on sale for $1. Posters and DVD copies of the film are available upon request.
"The Path Towards Love May Surprise You"
Light boxes and Postcards
The Death of Contemporary Art Month Parade
The Prime Eights documented San Antonio’s Death of Contemporary Art Month Parade for Glasstire.com.
The event occurred Sunday, July 26, 2009 along the San Antonio River.
We met up at Potter Belmar Labs to capture costume preparation for the parade.
Mimi Kato tries on her costume for the parade
This was the last year San Antonio’s Contemporary Art Month reigned in July so we were celebrating the Death of CAM so that it will have a beautiful rebirth in March, 2010.
Jason Jay Stevens organizes the march
Everyone wore their finest funeral attire as we marched along the Riverwalk towards The San Antonio Museum of Art. When we arrived we were given free water as symbolic apology from the museum. The history goes back over twenty years when SAMA canceled a exhibition for local artists leading them to establish this DIY event we call Contemporary Art Month.
The march towards SAMA
We left SAMA and continued our noisy, enthusiastic march until we reached El Tropicano Hotel for the after party.
The sun set as the Parade came to an end
In the end we were exhausted from running around documenting the parade in the heat, but it was well worth it.
Watch the completed film online: http://www.vimeo.com/5905024
The Colloquium II
Col⋅lo⋅qui⋅um
A conference at which scholars or other experts present papers on, analyze, and discuss a specific topic
The Prime Eights presented at The Colloquium II, an event hosted by Potter Belmar Labs. We attended the first Colloquium and really enjoyed learning more about local artists and their work. We presented a history of our collaborative work together with screenings of our most recent films, “Jimmy Kuehnle’s Big Red and Walking Fish” and “The Art Guys Marry A Plant”. We also screened a short reel of our early film work and a preview of our upcoming collaborative film project.
The Prime Eights' Colloquium Presentation
Angie and Mark (The Prime Eights)
Photos by Mimi Kato
Other presenters included: Margaret Craig, Hills Snyder, Chuck Ramirez, Chris Sauter and Gary Schott.
It was really a great experience and we look forward to future Colloquiums. If you missed out on this presentation just visit our website to watch our most recent films.
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