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Also this issue: The Mars Volta Detective Work Early Bookings |
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July 10-16, 2003
mixpicks
Radiohead was only half right. Anyone can play guitar, but it's also true that absolutely any moron can push record on a camera.
"Sometimes people will show up with home videos," says Elyse Gonzales, assistant curator for the Institute of Contemporary Art. "It's not funny ha-ha, but funny that someone would actually want to show something like that in public."
Since 1998, the ICA has supported the good, the bad and the better of Philadelphia filmmaking with its infamous Open Video Call. The way the night works is simple. The first 20 people to sign up 30 minutes before the screening are allowed to show a three-minute video clip. Whether it's worth watching is in the eye of the viewfinder.
"We provide the venue for people to show us their work and it's up to the artist to show up," Gonzales says of their impartial policies. "If the guy with the vacation video comes at 4:30 p.m. because he really wanted to show it, we have to do so. We can't fault him for that."
Fair enough. Still, cinematic gems often lurk among the graininess. Three such videos are chosen to participate in the forthcoming exhibition cycle, which begins Sept. 4. Among those three, many go on to receive greater recognition in other major cities and festivals.
"I get geared up because it's a mystery whether we are going to see Uncle Ted, an artsy video or someone's crazy mini-movie," Gonzales says. Sharing in the mystery entails free movies under the stars, popcorn from Nuts To You and copious amounts of Junior Mints and JuJu Fruits. Try getting that and Ted at the multiplex.
Open Video Call, Wed., July 16, 9 p.m. screening, 8:30 p.m. sign-up, free, Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St., 215-573-9974.
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