The World is !Flat

Rosa Menkman “Dear mr Compression 2″

Chris Coleman, Associate Professor of Emergent Digital Practices at the University of Denver was invited as an artist to curate a Friday Flash program as part of the Denver Digerati, a motion-based program that is part of the Denver Theatre District.

Where I wish there was more variety in the selection of motion-based works, yes, his interest in digital practices is evident, his curatorial method was of interest. “Coleman sought to find emerging artists that he was not already familiar with for the project, rather than rely on associations he’s already built through his professional and teaching network at DU. He used Facebook as the primary source to find the group of curated artists, taking advice and leads from friends within his network to extend his own base of knowledge and reach.”

He invited eight women, Sabine Gruffatt, Sama Alshaibi, Brianna Lowe, Sara Ludy, Rosa Menkman, Brenna Murphy, Katie Torn and Angela Washko, whose exhibition, The World is !Flat, was held Friday, July 12th, 6:30PM at the corner of 14th and Champa Street in downtown Denver. I posted short videos and notes from that event on Friday on my twitter and facebook feed.

I previewed the artists and work and chose Brenna Murphy as personal and crowd favorite. Both the sound and graphics worked very well up on the big, LED screen. Check out her work here- http://bmruernpnhay.com/

Tomutonttu (http://vimeo.com/33953658)

The first work by Rosa Menkman, Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Into the Tulgey Woods) (http://vimeo.com/26156391) was criticized by Professor, Head of Photo & Video Art at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, Gary Emrich as “…moving wall paper. Stephen Beck, Dan Sandin and other early video art pioneers used analog equipment to make happy accident videos in the 70s. I long for content. There have to be bigger questions than what software did you use and how did you make this. That’s like asking Rothko whether he used synthetic or sable brushes.”

Rosa Menkman’s second piece, Dear Mister Compression ( http://vimeo.com/11147006 ), incorporated text similar to other works on her website. The text didn’t read very well on the big screen and should be ramped up if she does a similar large LED screen project but her works on her website are worth checking out.

and- http://artfcity.com/2013/07/09/curatorial-gender-bias-is-still-a-thing/

I’d also strongly encourage all types of motion-based artists to submit to Denver Digerati. Here’s the link with information on how to apply- http://www.denverdigerati.com/get-involved

ps- Chris Coleman’s graphics were a huge addition to this program.