by Maggie Ybarra
Daily Lobo
The mechanics of Isaac Julien's mind leave frightening imprints on gallery walls. Julien, along with six artists, chopped up his emotions and mixed them with electronic media to make motion art. This art can be seen flickering on the walls of 516 Arts in an international video art exhibit called "Ghosts in the Machine. "Bryan Kaiser, the educational coordinator for 516 Arts, said using technology to change reality was a key aspect of "Ghosts in the Machine." "You know how, in film, people will sometimes see a ghost, like in 'Three Men and a Baby,' or when people take a picture and say, 'Oh, this one has a ghost in it?'" Kaiser said. "Well, this exhibit is about how technology can latch onto that other plane." And Julien's video exhibit is certainly a haunting experience. Best watched alone and in absolute silence, Julien's film, "True North," is frustratingly creepy. It conveys how he felt after reading a story about Matthew Henson, the African-American manservant who accompanied Robert Peary to the North Pole in 1909 and reached it first, but didn't receive credit because he was only a manservant. Julien's emotions come out in quiet blues and grays that flash across a projection screen and tattoo the room with a disturbing response to the injustice
and inaccuracy of history. It's a long trip through ice-covered mountains intertwined with whispers and whimpers of insightful revelations such as, "Death can come from all different directions at once," and, "They say I am the first man to sit on the top of the world."The other video art projects available for viewing at 516 Arts are visual forms of nightmarish dreams too beautiful to wake up from. Artist Hiraki Sawa has also created a potent cocktail of fantasy and reality with his video art project, "Trail," which is a mesmerizing,
14-minute black-and-white film full of soft music accompanying the footsteps of migrating shadow camels. "Trail" shows the epic journey of a band of shadow camels traveling through a variety of landscapes,
such as radiator grills, faucet handles, bathroom sinks and a Ferris wheel.Also on display is Eve Sussman's 12-minute video creation "89 Seconds at Alcazar," a moving picture based on painter Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas."The original painting is a portrait of the Spanish Royal family that puts the viewer in the position of the king and queen. But on the walls of 516 Arts, the painting is moving with you in it. Conversations held around you in the palace appear deep and sinister. Whispers of betrayal and frantic heartbeats add to the imagery and portray the dramatically difficult life of those who have dared to sit on the Spanish throne.
