Tag Archive "nadia-hironaka"

The Sky is Falling Down

Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib The Soft Epic or: Savages of the Pacific West (2008) detail of multi-screen video projection; all photos by the author There’s lots of anxiety in art at the moment; we are living in dark times and it shows. Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib have occupied the entire Icebox space at the Crane Building with The Soft Epic or: Savages of the Pacific West, a 120 foot long video projection with a soundtrack by Bird Snow. It depicts the site of an unspecified disaster set in a modern city, locale unidentified. A street sign bears the ... More » »

Video Vox

This month’s Vox exhibit is nearly all video and really all pretty great! It looks like more and more video artists are part of the Vox membership, and this show reflects the shift. The only non-video in the show, a sculpture installation, is by Brent Wahl, who also makes videos. Here’s who and what: Black Hole, a video by Matthew Suib and Nadia Hironaka; I had to play with the image to show anything other than a pure black rectangle, so I’m afraid it’s a bit misleading.The first ever collaboration between married video-makers Matthew Suib and Nadia Hironaka is a ... More » »

Survival plan for First Friday

First Friday was swell, and apparently, it was a good thing we went at 5, because we heard reports later that the galleries and streets of Old City were brimming with art lovers. Here are some pix from what we saw. Joseph Hu used his own hair for the bristles in his replica of his grandfather’s brush for clearing off eraser debris. It was one of a number of wonderful personal items he created for his first solo show at Pentimenti Gallery. Another outstanding piece was a replica of a shirt. But I loved each and every piece. Hu has ... More » »

New video gallery opens, and more

from Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y by Belgian artist Johan Grimonprez, screening at the new SCREENING gallery.Look for Philadelphia’s newest gallery, opening Friday. It’s called SCREENING, run by Matthew Suib and Nadia Hironaka, who say it’s the only gallery dedicated to the exhibition of innovative and challenging works of art on film and video. For its inaugural exhibition, Screening presents Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y by Belgian artist Johan Grimonprez. Produced in 1997, Grimonprez’ comprehensive and prescient chronology of worldwide airline hijackings combines documentary imagery with narration inspired by Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Mao II to “highlight the value of the spectacular in our catastrophe ... More » »

Space is the place at Vox Populi

Beautiful backyard scene in Nadia Hironaka’s Crack. Note the satellite dish, air conditioner, tv antenna (?). The mix of old and new, the voyeuristic view through the window, the snapshot of a time and place that tells nothing. Space — internal, external, fairy tale and architected — is on the table at Vox Populi this month. Looking at the work here, I kept feeling like Marty McFly in Back the the Future when Doc would explain the space/time continuum. Sure, Doc, whatever. Let’s just get this jalopy moving. It’s apt that space is an issue though since Vox the gallery ... More » »

Weekly Update (Part 2) – Spring round-up

In the Weekly‘s Spring Guide issue is my round-up of shows I’m excited about this Spring. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive list, just a smidgen of what’s good out there. Here’s the link to the story and below is the copy with some pictures. Planet RockIce sheets, volcanoes, crickets, waterfalls and garden motifs make their way into spring’s art offerings. Artists are always itching to connect with nature, so it’s no surprise that this spring you’ll see lots of earth, wind, water, animals and plants in the area’s art galleries and museums. No antihistamines or sunscreen required, and ... More » »

The Late Show back story

The Late Show video still In conjunction with The Late Show, Nadia Hironaka’s nostalgic video installation at the Morris Gallery at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, she gave a talk last week on some of her past work and the thoughts behind the videos she makes (here’s a post from Roberta on Hironaka’s installation). She said she was interested in the roles space and place play together in video. 21 days 70° She talked about how as a graduate student, she became interested in how, at the invisible point where an edit takes place, an idea is formed. ... More » »

A night in the woods with Nadia

DSCN0843.jpgOriginally uploaded by sokref1.Nadia Hironaka’s installation The Late Show at PAFA. Click image to see it bigger. Cold and windy outside but warm and summery inside. That was Friday night at PAFA where Nadia Hironaka‘s “The Late Show” debuted in the Morris Gallery. Hironaka’s non-narrative multi-channel video installation includes a two screen projection and a third visual element, a monitor on the wall. With its ramped up audio, it makes for an immersion in what might be out-takes from the cult flick of a few years back, The Blair Witch Project. Filmed at a drive-in surrounded by the woods, the ... More » »