The Darker Side of Black

On the Image Bar, CCIT Building, UTM
18 - 21 April, 2006


Directed by Issac Julien

Gangsta chic, violence and nihilism, the hard edge of Rap and Reggae increasingly dominates the image of black popular culture. This is an intelligent and provocative investigation of the complex issues raised by the genre, such as ritualized machismo, misogyny, homophobia, and gun glorification. Noted experts on black history, such as Cornel West of Princeton University, and Michael Manly, former prime minister of Jamaica, analyze the phenomenon and give insights into its development and meaning.

Filmed in dance halls, hip hop clubs, and using interviews and music video clips, The Darker Side of Black takes us to London, Jamaica and the USA. The film brings together diverse musicians as Buju Banton, Shabba Ranks, and Britain's Moni Love. It is a long overdue examination of the "darker" side of contemporary black music.

20 years old in the Middle East

On the Image Bar, CCIT Building, UTM
10 - 13 April, 2006

Filmed after the fall of Saddam Hussein, 20 YEARS OLD IN THE MIDDLE-EAST traverses the region - from Jordan to Syria, Iran, and Lebanon - to take the pulse of Arab and Iranian youth.

The film offers an opportunity for Western college students to truly understand the lives and attitudes of their Middle Eastern counterparts: how they're different, and how they're the same.
As America becomes more deeply embroiled in the region, 20 YEARS OLD IN THE MIDDLE-EAST offers an indispensable snapshot of the attitudes of a generation that desires liberty over extremism, but at the same time fears that American policies will lead them into ever more warfare, and which - above all - simply wants to pursue their dreams.

"This film should be required viewing for leaders and citizens alike in the Middle East because it not only captures - often with great sadness - the frustration and despair of the Middle East's youth but it also offers solutions to these problems, if we would only listen. It is significant that of all the young people interviewed in the film, it is a young woman who is the most passionate about implementing change. It is not so much an issue of whether she will realize this dream or not. More importantly, she has passion for that dream and she believes she can bring about change." - Arabic Women's eNews

"Recommended. Culled from interviews conducted just two months after the fall of Baghdad in May 2003, TWENTY YEARS OLD... offers a newsworthy picture of a youthful Middle East not all that familiar to Western audiences - and a shame it isn't. More moving than anything is the universal call for more freedom, greater freedom. Thus the effects of oppressive government weigh heavily on the idealistic young; all the more reason to make the film available to often complacent American undergraduates." - Educational Media Reviews Online

Old, incomplete post... its a photo of the image bar!

The Best of Ottawa 2005

On the Image Bar, CCIT building
April 3rd, 2006 - 11-4pm

The Best of Ottawa 2005 is a rare opportunity to see the best of the best in animation from Canada and around the world. The program features an exciting array of animated films from the 2005 Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).

The program showcases animation in a variety of forms consisting of animated short films, TV series and commercials, music videos, internet shorts and more.

The Best of Ottawa 2005 program features:

2005 OIAF Signal Film / Will Krause / USA / 0:50

The Curse of the Voodoo Child / Steven Woloshen / Canada / 3:30

Ichthys / Marek Skrobecki / Poland / 16:41

Phoenix Foundation 'Hitchcock' / Reuben Sutherland / United Kingdom / 3:30

_grau / Robert Seidel / Germany / 10:01

Chestnuts Icelolly / JJ Villard / USA / 7:30

City Paradise / Gaëlle Denis / United Kingdom / 5:58

Overtime / Oury Atlan, Thibault Berland & Damien Ferrié / France / 4:55

Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight / Lauren Indovina & Lindsey
Mayer-Beug / USA / 6:42

Die Toten Hosen 'Walkampf' / Andreas Hykade / Germany / 3:30

Morir de Amor / Gil Alkabetz / Germany / 12:40

At the Quinte Hotel / Bruce Alcock / Canada / 3:38

Blackwood Docs @ Noon

A series of documentaries and thought provoking films
All films are shown on the Image Bar, CCIT ground floor, UTM

BHOPAL: THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE
(NFB, 2004, 52 min.)
Directed by Lindalee Tracey
March 31st at 12 noon playing all day

On December 2, 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India leaked poisonous methyl isocyanate gas killing fifteen thousand people. Bhopal was, and remains, the world’s worst chemical industry disaster. Twenty years later, survivors and their families are being re-victimized by the deliberate thwarting of scientific and medical studies concerning the disaster. Beautiful Bhopal, once known as the “City of Mosques” is a sad, disgraceful testament to the absence of environmental and human justice.

Bhopal: The Search for Justice straddles the intersection between science, politics and human rights. Exploring charges of corruption and greed, the film follows Raajkumar Keswani, the local journalist. Set against the rich visual tapestry of India, Keswani travels through the Indian bastiis where the poorest victims live, and to the offices of frustrated doctors and scientists. Finally he makes his first trip to North America in search of answers.

BIODEMOCRACY: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
(2002, 38 min)
Directed by Charles Kassatly
April 13th at 12 noon on repeat until 2pm

Filmed in 2002 at the Biojustice/Biodiversity conference & picnic organized in opposition to the Biotech industry event at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre, this documentary features experts from the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace, the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, Polaris Institute & Gene Action. Keynote Speaker, Dr. David Suzuki headlines the concerns of many attending when he says: "GMO's are everywhere in our food stream already - yet we have never given our consent to this perilous experiment!"

McLUHAN'S WAKE
(NFB, 2002, 94 min)
Directed by Kevin McMahon
April 20th at 12 noon and again at 2pm

Canadian media guru Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), now best remembered for cryptic phrases like "the medium is the message" and "the global village," comes in for a much-needed reassessment in Kevin McMahon's innovative documentary portrait. With narration from Laurie Anderson and contributions from educator Neil Postman and editor Lewis Lapham among others, this dazzling and accessible exploration of the man and his work illustrates why McLuhan's enigmatic and often misunderstood theories remain profoundly relevant in today's wired society.

In Feed @ Blackwood

ha ha ho ho hee hee ... this is pretty funny

come Wednesday, March 22nd 7:15pm

to see work by:

Robert Derr
Krista Davis
Jennifer Matotek
John Forget
Miriam Jordan
Emily Grove & Jyoti Solanki
Alison Kobayashi
Sarah Dicks
Reed Barrow
Benjamin Bellas
Justin Cooper
Clinton King


WHAT: In Feed @ Blackwood: film and video screening
WHEN: 7:15 pm, Wednesday, March 22, 2006
WHERE: Image Bar and MiST room # 0150, CCIT building on the ground floor, University of Toronto at Mississauga
COST: FREE to all with Free parking after 7pm
WHO: Co-presented with the Mississauga Art Council's Community of Young Artists

World in Flux

Films that chronicle the destructive impact of the modern world on the environment

On the Image Bar














In conjunction with the Blackwood Gallery’s exhibition EQUINOX

On view March 20th – April 3rd, 2pm to 12pm the following day, Monday to Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday



TURNING DOWN THE HEAT
Narrated by David Suzuki
The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which warms the atmosphere, leading to increased floods, droughts and hurricanes. Turning Down The Heat addresses the crisis of global warming and offers renewable energy sources and energy conservation as economically viable solutions to climate change.

Two films from the QATSI trilogy: Koyaanisqatsi and Naqoyqatsi
Directed by Godfrey Reggio

KOYAANISQATSI
The title is a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance." Created between 1975 and, the film is an apocalyptic vision of the collision of two different worlds -- urban life and technology versus the environment. The musical score was composed by Philip Glass.

NAQOYQATSI
Naqoyqatsi chronicles the most significant event of the last five thousand years: the transition from the natural milieu, old nature, to the "new" nature, the technological milieu. Technology is the big force and like oxygen it is always there, a necessity that we cannot live without. Because its appetite is seemly infinite, it is consuming the finite world of nature.

RAINBOW WARRIOR: THE BOAT AND THE BOMB
A documentary that explores the French Government terrorist bombing of the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior.

THE GREAT WARMING: AGE OF UNCERTAINTY
The Age of Uncertainty looks at the legacy of climate change and the consequences of a "business as usual" scenario. In the end, no one knows exactly what The Great Warming will bring in the decades to come -- but it has already delivered a powerful warning - Earth's temperature is rising at the fastest rate in recorded history, and our climate is changing.


The Image Bar is conceived of as an audio-visual venue to raise critical contemporary cultural issues concerning mass media, cultural identity, current affairs, and matters of heart and mind in the context of university life.

Programming is subject to change. For up-to-date info and scheduling contact the Gallery at 905.828.3789

Tests and Precedents: Early Experiments in Film and Emergent Media

On the Image Bar March 13th – 16th, 2006, 2pm - 5pm
The Blackwood presents a selection of compilations that bring together seminal films and media experiments. Includes works by Edison, Porter, the Lumiere brothers, Georges Melies, Emil Cohl, Stuart Blackton, Michael Snow, the Brothers Quay and many other pioneer moving image makers.

SIGN UP NOW! New Media Workshops @ Blackwood

SPECIAL PRICE FOR STUDENTS
- sign yourself up with a friend and pay $30/EACH

The Blackwood Gallery is expanding its programming to include an exciting series of new media workshops in March 2006 at the CCIT building, UTM.

The workshops are aimed at newcomers to new media and those who wish to further their skills in areas such as animation, video recording and editing, audio production and performance art.


MARCH SCHEDULE:

Schedule and Application Form

ANIMATION WORKSHOPS

TITLE: Animate with Digital Software

INSTRUCTOR: Riaz Mehmood

DESCRIPTION: Learn the ins and outs of digital animation using computer software such as Photoshop & Flash. You’ll be introduced to the main terms and technical aspects of the medium in order to create your own masterpiece.

TIME & DATE: Monday, March 13th 10am – 2pm (5 hours)
LOCATION: Room CC 3160 - MAC Lab in CCIT building, University of Toronto at Mississauga
MAX. # OF STUDENTS: 10
FEE: $40


TITLE: Cut Paste Scan Play

INSTRUCTOR: Suvi Kuisma

DESCRIPTION: Create a frame by frame animated collage using a scanner to capture and combine bits and pieces of images, text, textures and small objects. Final projects will be burned to DVD for you to bring home. Please bring interesting or sentimental items to be scanned.

TIME & DATE: Tuesday, March 14th 10am – 3pm (5 hours)
LOCATION: Room CC 3160 - MAC Lab in CCIT building, University of Toronto at Mississauga
MAX. # OF STUDENTS: 10
FEE: $40
STUDENTS SHOULD BRING: Collage materials (magazines, books, images, text, textures, fabric pieces, small objects, etc.)



AUDIO WORKSHOP

TITLE: Sound as art, Art Audio Assembly

INSTRUCTOR: John Kuisma

DESCRIPTION: Using basic audio recording software and editing techniques you will produce short audio art compositions. Your sound creation will be burned on to CD to take home.

DATE & TIME: Friday, March 17th 2006 10am – 3pm (5 hours)
LOCATION: Room CC 2130 - MAC Lab in CCIT building, University of Toronto at Mississauga
MAX. # OF STUDENTS: 10
FEE: $40


PERFORMANCE AND SCULPTURE WORKSHOP

TITLE: Socially Engaged Art: What is it exactly…..?!

INSTRUCTOR: Tej Ajji

DESCRIPTION: Explore new art practices that are based in performance and are socially engaged. You will be introduced to contemporary art and ideas that push the conventional notions of what art is. You will also work with the instructor to create unique and fresh works of art.

DATE & TIME: Thursday, Mach 16th 2006 10am – 3pm (5 hours)
LOCATION: Room CC 2130 - MAC Lab in CCIT building, University of Toronto at Mississauga
MAX. # OF STUDENTS: 10
FEE: $40


To apply contact:

Claire Eckert
Program and Outreach Coordinator of Film, Video and New Media
T: 905.828.3789 Fax: 905-569-4262
E: claireeckert@hotmail.com
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/services/gallery/

Natalie of Wood by Shawn Cappelle

Monday, March 13th – Thursday, March 16th, 2006 12 – 2pm
On the Image Bar, CCIT ground floor, UTM

Natalie of Wood
Director: Shawn Chappelle (Canada, 2001, 2 min, video)

A remix of old Hollywood images comments on the film industry's notorious and persistent appetite to stereotype Indian people. Who is speaking for whom in this short work, and what is being said? Are the old images just re-presented or is the artist critically looking at self in the context of whiteness and the subjugation of Indian people?

The Image Bar is conceived of as an audio-visual venue to raise critical contemporary cultural issues concerning mass media, cultural identity, current affairs, and matters of heart and mind in the context of university life.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Blackwood Gallery: 905.828.3789 www.utm.utoronto.ca/services/gallery/

KHALID by Will Kwan and Marcella Rafaniello

as part of Image Bar Rotation

On view on the Image Bar 6-10, March, 2006, 11am – 5pm
CCIT ground floor, University of Toronto at Mississauga


KHALID
By Will Kwan and Marcella Rafaniello

KHALID is a two channel installation focusing on a Moroccan teenager, Khalid and his guitar. The artists met Khalid in the north Italy, where the teenager arrived without documents and is currently living in a detention centre for minors. In the main video, Khalid plays a guitar he made using an old olive oil canister and some scrap wood. The second video displays footage of an interview where the young Moroccan explains the conditions under which he created his instrument. The two videos are excerpts from a larger installation involving footage shot in Sarajevo, Berlin, Los Angeles, Napoli, and Turin, where the artists took Khalid's guitar and asked professional guitarists in these cities to create compositions with the instrument. This "interaction" is meant to highlight the discrepancy between the mobility of objects/culture and the mobility of bodies.

Will Kwan is an artist and writer born in Hong Kong currently residing in Maastricht, Holland. He received his BA from the University of Toronto (Scarborough, 2002) and MFA from Columbia University (2004). He has presented work at the Venice Biennale (2003) and the PS1 in New York (2005). Will is short listed for the 2006 Sobey Prize.For more information: http://www.willkwanprojects.org/

Marcella Rafaniello is an architect from Avellino, Italy currently living and working in Biella, an industrial city near Turin. She is currently developing an exhibition about games and society for Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella.

Will Kwan in conversation with Tej Ajji
Please join us at the Image Bar on Wednesday, March 8th at 12 noon for a public discussion and Q& A. Tej Ajji, a fourth year Art and Art History student, will speak with Will Kwan about his artistic practice.

Image Bar Rotation is an ongoing program of new media artworks by local and international artists. The Image Bar, located in CCIT building ground floor, UTM, is conceived of as an audio-visual venue to raise critical contemporary cultural issues concerning mass media, cultural identity, current affairs, and matters of heart and mind in the context of university life. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Blackwood Gallery: www.utm.utoronto.ca/services/gallery/

(image from artist talk)

Evenings on the Image Bar

March 6th – 10th 5pm to 11am, & 11th -12th all weekend: The Documentary Channel

The DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL is Canada’s television destination for film-lovers, passion-seekers and those hungry for fresh ideas and perspectives. From Academy Award-winning features to cutting-edge independent films, The Documentary Channel is home to the most innovative, engrossing, edgy and entertaining documentaries and films from Canada and around the world. The Documentary Channel is a partnership of Corus Entertainment, the National Film Board and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

For schedule visit: www.documentarychannel.ca