four large-detail stills from "Susan's Red Ears" (2002), Brent Green's 6-minute, 16mm transfer to DVD
SUNDAY has a must-see group show, "Tenderly", which includes work by twelve artists: Erik Bluhm, Martha Colburn, Carl D'Alvia, Edward del Rosario, Echo Eggebrecht, Joel Gibb, Brent Green, Kirk Hayes, Asuka Ohsawa, Ruby Osorio, Hills Snyder and Rachell Sumpter (and almost as many mediums).
The exhibition press release talks about their use of humor, childlike forms and other devices "to soften some of life's more dramatic, and often tragic, moments". It worked for me: A perfect mix for a hot summer day perched in the midst of particularly perilous times.
They're all worth seeing, and I want to go back, but I was totally taken with the video by Brent Green, a young artist not entirely unknown in avant film circles, but whose work I don't think I've come across before. Every frame of this little hand-assembled video is a painting by itself, so it was no problem capturing a few to show here.
Six of his films, including "Susan's Red Ears", are available on YouTube, through links shown on the artist's site.
Green's doing a live show at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles next month, screening all of his films with live narrations and improvised soundtracks by himself and four other artists on July 22. It sounds just too good to pass up, if you're anywhere in the area.