December 29 – January 2, 2010
Video and Audio Installations
In the gallery halls
Anna Frants is a multimedia artist living in New York. Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, she graduated from the Mukhina Academy of Arts in 1989, receiving a solid classical education. She then expanded her range of interests by mastering new areas such as computer imaging and animation.
Her achievements reflect the wide spectrum of the artist’s interests. Anna has already received several top awards for the best three-dimensional computer animation at prestigious computer graphics competitions, such as the AutoDesk Planet Studio Award. She has participated in and curated numerous art exhibitions in the USA and Russia, taught media disciplines and animation for several years, and has published articles on art. Her works can be found in the Museum of Contemporary Art Kyoseino Sato (Japan) and in private collections.
The exhibition we present to your attention is a continuation of the already well-known project, demonstrated with great success in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The 4 halls of the gallery, dedicated to 4 installations, create an exciting creative space that leaves no viewer indifferent.
“Polar bear fodder”
North Pole – New York 2009
In this audio-video installation, the sights and sounds of the “wild north” and modern technologies are combined. It consists of five old tin cans and a large screen. When the viewer touches the cans, each of them triggers a video made beyond the Arctic Circle, accompanied by the songs of the northern peoples – mournful yet very rhythmic. Judging by the visual context, the artist wants to remain a neutral observer. Thus, the viewer gains a unique control and some food (or feed) for thought – about the future of the North Pole and the relationship between artist and viewer in contemporary art.
“Jumping jacks”
From the series “Made in Ancient Greece”
New York 2009
We are accustomed to seeing images of running or jumping athletes on Greek vases. On the five amphorae in this installation, the same theme is depicted, except that, instead of the familiar black or red figures, we see videos based on Muybridge’s series of photographs “The Human Body in Motion,” taken just about a century ago. This 21st-century work can be called “post-post-modernist,” as it proves that the new is a well (or very-very well) forgotten old.
“∞”
New York 2009
This installation is extremely simple: a life-sized figure is sculpting… something. The identity of the creator and the result of their creation remains unknown to the viewers, reminding them that just a few centuries ago, artists did not sign their works, and sometimes it took several generations of Chinese masters to complete a single piece of art. However, viewers at this installation will have the opportunity to observe the creative process, which is as mysterious as it is infinite.