ARTS . Arts Picks

Out of Frame


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Published: Sep 21, 2006

Digital video/gallery

Seriously now, this trippy exhibit is not just for collegiate stoners and people who still have Magic Eye paintings hanging in their living rooms. "Out of Frame" is a complicated but wholly engrossing collection of non-narrative motion art that is the largest of its kind in the U.S. The Philadelphia-based MOBIUS project began in October 2003, when local company Concrete Pictures became the primary supplier of high-definition motion art programming for the Voom HD satellite platform. That popular technology resulted in more than 135 hours of original motion art, produced both in-house at MOBIUS and in collaboration with more than 100 video artists worldwide. Some are of the expected liquid-y, 3-D/2-D variety (Macromedia Flash-based animations by Chad Fahs, Mark Johnson and more; think a next-level version of the "Visualizer" option in iTunes), while others utilize live-action footage (Peter Rose, Kara Combie, Gregory King). According to the MOBIUS manifesto for the project, "the works on view challenge the narrative presuppositions and demands of filmmaking, thus creating an alternative Filmic art, digitally based, but conceptually innovative." In other words, the pieces create an immersive experience rather than a linear storyline you sit back and absorb. To be honest, we kinda just think they look cool, especially the massive full-scale projections of some single pieces. And no, we are not high.

"Out of Frame: Motion Art From MOBIUS," opening reception Thu., Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m., exhibit runs though Dec. 31, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St., 215-545-4302, www.philartalliance.org.