October 2010 – Page 3

The Shadow Knows – Dance Company Pilobolus returns to UCSB’s Arts & Lectures

October 1, 2010June 25, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Though the dance company Pilobolus counts over 100 works in its repertory, the majority of readers will know it from its shadow pieces. Featured in Hyundai ads and on the Oscars, the dancers assemble themselves into organic shapes, from animals to teapots, and the audience sees them only through a screen. But this intersection of “art and athletics,” as The New York Times once wrote, has many more levels, as their return to UCSB’s Arts & Lectures on Thursday demonstrates.

For Renée Jaworski, choreographer and former dancer with the company, Pilobolus is unlike any other organization, and this is from a former member of the equally wacky Momix.

Horror Movie – ‘A Film Unfinished’ unearths a Nazi filmabout the Warsaw Ghetto

October 1, 2010June 25, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

In 'A Film Unfinished,' documentarians from Oscillscope unearthed footage from the Nazi propaganda machine attempting to depict rich Jewish captives as indifferent to the crimes against their fellow Jews during the Holocaust. — In ‘A Film Unfinished,’ documentarians from Oscillscope unearthed footage from the Nazi propaganda machine attempting to depict rich Jewish captives as indifferent to the crimes against their fellow Jews during the Holocaust.

A disturbing Holocaust feature, “A Film Unfinished” brings up many issues about documentaries, propaganda and the invisible lines between the two. Young Israeli filmmaker Yael Hersonski has unearthed a relic of that era and turned a silent film into one that screams to be heard.

In 1942, the walled-off Jewish area of Warsaw contained 440,000 Polish Jews, all crowded into a three-mile area and awaiting “deportation.” Into this cramped, awful space stepped a film crew with less than good intentions.

We Have the Technology – ‘SonicSENSE’ invites the viewer to play with its art

October 1, 2010June 27, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

'SONICSENSE TOUCHSENSE,' (detail) BARNEY HAYNES AND JENNIFER PARKER — ‘SONICSENSE TOUCHSENSE,’ (detail) BARNEY HAYNES AND JENNIFER PARKER

Forget the signs at the museum telling you not to touch the art. When “SonicSENSE” sets up its exhibition for this coming week’s First Thursday Forum Lounge at Contemporary Arts Forum, it wants interaction. Play away — who knows what will happen.

One piece features a small corridor made out of piezo speaker film, a very thin, shiny metal paper. As the viewer walks through this narrow space, the displaced air ruffles the fabric, producing a ghostly sound between a rumble and a breath. Spooky, but intriguing.

Virtual Worlds Upon Worlds – Animator J.Walt creates art live in front of an audience

October 1, 2010July 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Animator and artist J.Walt takes his stage name from Walt Disney, who he counts as a huge influence. But Uncle Walt never could have dreamed of the technology and the hallucinogenic imagination that goes into J. Walt’s work.

Set to show tonight through Sunday at Center Stage Theater, “Spontaneous Fantasia” takes the viewer on a spin through huge virtual worlds that J.Walt creates live using a drawing tablet and a joystick. Its name is just another tribute to his entertainment hero. Years ago, this sort of mind-bending journey would have taken months and months to assemble and process. But with modern processor speed and graphics cards able to crunch numbers at an incredible rate, J.Walt’s movies are now created in the same way that a jazz musician would improvise a melody.