Roadtrip: Sundance – New Frontiers/New Directions
This is my second time at Sundance, and having been last year there was only one place I wanted to make sure I saw: The New Frontiers section. Yeah yeah, I know, it’s the experimental/art gallery/boring part of the festival right? I mean Sundance is about independent films making it BIG, if you want Art with a capital A, go to the MoMA or the Whitney. But last year I discovered the New Frontiers sort of out of desperation. I was cold and tired and the New Frontiers was this little cave of a place on the bottom floor of a mall, with low lighting, heat, free internet, and bathrooms. And as I enjoyed a little solitude, I noticed another thing – really cool installations.
More and videos after the jump.
The new Director of Sundance, John Cooper, has said that the best part of Sundance are the groups of people talking and arguing about movies, art, ideas, and issues – and there’s no other place at the festival incites as much talk as The New Frontiers section. On the other hand, probably the worst part of Sundance is the exclusivity, the sponsorships, the industry – and in that regard the The New Frontiers is probably the place that has the least of those. “It’s time for a new era,” said Cooper when asked about the new direction he was bringing Sundance. Well, I can’t think of a better place that emulates that than the New Frontiers.
Bordertown
Tracey Snelling puts together a Mixed-Media Sculpture with Video of miniature towns and buildings. I’ve always had an affinity for train sets and Legos, so seeing these miniature worlds was neat. Plus I stuck my Flip Cam down in them and was able to get some cool crane and tracking shots a la “Touch of Evil.” I liked these because you really felt like a voyeur as the people got on with their lives, and there was something very mundane and nostalgic about them too.
The End
Ragnar Kjartansson – That’s Icelandic for sure. I dig anyone who likes to play music outside. As you enjoy the acoustic music you realize just how little the modern man confronts nature – and usually when we do, it’s to dominate it or battle it. On the contrary, here you’ve got some musicians complementing it with art, and Kjartanssoakdsan is able to put you right in the middle of the majesty.
The Earthwalk
Jens Franke and Thomas Glaser. This was absolutely the most toyed with installation. And actually I thought it was the least forward thinking thing there – just a google map projected on the ground so that you can manipulate it with your feet. Felt more like a gadget at a Nerd Conference than art that made you think.
Lobe of Lung (The Saliva Ooze Away to the Underground)
Pipilotti Rist is a pretty well known wonderfully playful multimedia artist. There’s a pig, a boob, and a flower in this one. Oh yeah and you get to lie down while being immersed in a panoramic installation that covers every wall. It’s art that forces you to lie down – literally changes your perspective.
Post Global Warming Survival Kit
Petko Dourmana – I’ll let Lorenzo explain how this one works (watch the video) but essentially this is supposed to give you a sense of the post-apocalyptic state which we’ll be forced to live in should global warming not be addressed. Most people who walked in there were more impressed by the night vision goggles than the art. If you buy into the illusion, it’s a didactic installation that doesn’t provide any answers aside from showing us just how lost in the dark we are about all this. Personally I feel like we’ve acknowledged that and it’s time to move forward.
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