by Onajídé Shabaka - 28 July, 2007

   It's in your Optic Nerve IX

    by Onajídé Shabaka

Optic Nerve IX was be presented at MOCA on Thursday, July 26, at 7 and 9 pm with a reception with the artists at 8 pm. The 17 films incorporated a wide range of narrative and non-narrative film and animation techniques, ranging from 50 seconds to six minutes in length. Optic Nerve IX finalists were selected by a panel comprised of Gean Moreno, a noted Miami artist, critic and curator, Patrick de Bokay, director of the Miami International Film Festival and Bonnie Clearwater, Executive Director and Chief Curator of MOCA.

OPTIC NERVE IX FILMS:

Guy Bourraine Jr., Sweet Robber. This film, created by seven computer animation students at the Miami International University of Art and Design, tells the story of a grandmothers’ surprise visit with her grandson.

Comments: One of the most professionally done pieces of the festival including, perfectly timed within the guidelines. We could definitely watch more from this group.

Clifton Childree, She Sank on Shallow Bank. Miami artist and filmmaker Clifton Childree collaborated with performance artist Nikki Rollason, in this dreamlike story of a girl who washes up on a beach, and engages in a bizarre dance with the flotsam along the shoreline.

Comments: Beginning with a dreamlike opening, the work develops into a strange bit of acting that, even though restricted by the guidelines, could also use a bit more time to develop into an even more well crafted work.

Robert Dionne, Footsteps. Miami filmmaker Robert Dionne follows three friends who investigate an abandoned hospital rumored to be haunted, and never return.

Comments: Kind of a faux horror piece but, actually done very well. To be really effective, timing is everything. Unfortunately, time was limited but, they pulled it off without a major hitch. Great lighting too.

Phillip Estlund, Crossing the Equator. This film, containing footage originally shot in 8 mm in 1968, portrays a U.S. Navy ritual in which young men are transformed by engaging in a series of humiliating tasks. Phillip Estlund in an artist and filmmaker residing in West Palm Beach.

Comments: Chosen for purchase award and part of the MoCA collection, Crossing the Equator brought us forward in time from 1968 to 2007 on an aircraft carrier with sailors going through some rituals as a group before going off the Vietnam. The soundtrack, with its religious significance, overshadows the events we can see and, recontextualized the entire event as something more than what it, in reality, is.

Andy Garcia, Juiced. Miami film and television director Andy Garcia creates a tale of a modern day Prometheus.

Comments: Although there were chuckles as this piece developed, I didn't think it was funny. It was kind of cute in a strange way but, funny it wasn't.

Javier Gonzales, Trike. Miami artist Javier Gonzales uses animated drawings to recall a childhood memory of his young cousin.

Comments: Cute, well made, and well rendered.

Javier Gonzales, The Source. South Florida’s water cycle, from the rains to the aquifers, is explored in this animated work by Miami artist Javier Gonzales.

Comments: This animation done with drawings was one of my favorites even if the subject wasn't all that exciting. It was really well done.

Kenneth Greenbaum, Hello my name is Bob. Lake Worth artist, filmmaker and performer Kenneth Greenbaum presents an excerpt from his documentary “ghosts strippers and rubber spiders” to tell the story of a drifter whose spirit inhabits the historic Desert Inn roadhouse.

Comments: "Bob" seems to want more time and space to get its message across. It was, however, executed in way that brought a certain amount of clarity to the character. We want more.

Jane Hsu, People Were Made to Disappear: A Tangible Primer. Video artist Jane Hsu, who lives in Homestead, has created an ironic how-to primer about ceasing the existence of another human being.

Comments: Perhaps the object of the piece was a bit more obscure than we would like although, there were many powerful and beautiful scenes.

Susan Lee-Chun, Will You Tell Me All Your Ancient Chinese Secrets?. Performance-based Miami artist Susan Lee Chun revisits actual questions posed to her which initially appear humorous and silly, yet quickly cross the threshold to painful and humiliating.

Comments: This piece had us captivated, at first with laughter then, with pain and unease. The timing was about right for the audience as well. Do we dare ask her a question?

Los Guerrilleros de Miami, Juiced. This collaborative effort by a group of Miami artists tells the tale of a modern day Prometheus.

Venessa Monokian, Draw. Miami artist Venessa Monokian uses stop-motion animation to depict the transformation of crumpled paper, pencil stubs and bent paper clips into new insectoid microcosms.

Comments: Any artist that works with pencils and paper knows how it can be when one hits the wall of "artist block." During that phase, one creates all kinds of things with their tools. Ms. Monokian takes us beyond that creative moment and on into another world.

Gustavo Oviedo, Invisible sights. Miami artist Gustavo Oviedo depicts an abstract study of unseen elements.

Camilo Palomeq, Croquis (Blueprint). Miami filmmaker Camilo Palmeq uses suggestive imagery to contrast the real and the synthetic, emphasizing the value of personal expression.

Nicholas C. Raftis III, Internal Reflection. This abstract work of Miami musician and video artist Nicholas Raftis explores the inner workings of the mind.

Comments: Prismatic patterning, textural, vibratory, constantly changing are the make up of Internal Reflection. Although reminiscent of the psychedelic era, this piece looks computer generated. It would nice to see and experience it in an environment and context that enhances it to its fullest. We just saw it in an auditorium, although nothing is wrong with that, but it was look great sited in a better place for it.

Kyle Trowbridge, Wishing Well. This video by Miami artist and University of Miami professor Kyle Trowbridge explores the duality of fragility and innocence, with the aggression and malevolence of children.

Comments: Kyle Trowbridge again used repetition and, a sculpting of visual space to create a work that is haunting yet violent. This work looked more like my dreams than any other works shown. The soft-focus black-and-white images and, slightly slowed down motion titillate the eyes with strange memories yet to be made.

Richard Walker, Successive Inconceivable Events. British video artist Richard Walker’s work portrays man’s futile attempt to fully comprehend nature.

Comments: We have to put ourselves in the shoes of others at times but, this work had dialogue that was a bit too obvious however, not clichéd. Perhaps the personal needs of the viewer might interfere with the result more than they should.

Agustina Woodgate, How To Knit A Scarf. With her own hair spun into wool, Miami artist Agustina Woodgate shows the process in which a wearable accessory is made.

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