Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 7:30pm in our NEW SPACE
Only in Darkness Is Your Shadow Clear

A projection performance by Bruce McClure.

“Strobing can be defined as an illusion, or impression, created by a regular relationship between the speed of the subject matter being photographed and the interval between exposures. Wheels that appear to be turning backward, despite the obvious forward motion of the vehicle, offer an excellent example of this kind of illusory effect. Strobing is generally regarded by a cameraman as undesirable and is often minimized by changing the number of spokes on the wheel. Meanwhile, in the repose of the movie house, with photography behind us, it is the phasing of light and sound and its cessation, all according to the constancy of the projector’s action that provides us with an occasion for a desirable mental wandering.

“I prefer the sensational company of nerve fibers provoked in the binary incandescence of the projector to the engraving of light on silver lockets hoarded by the Cyclops in its shady coffer. Light modulated first by the shutter and then by a slip of film over the optical sound system are a speechless caravan gaining entrance by lid and auricular to a watery home.

“This said, I will conclude my descriptive treatment of ‘Only in Darkness Is Your Shadow Clear’ by saying that the audience will witness another resurrection of the incandescent machine age. I will use three modified 16 millimeter projectors, three film foliums, two of which that will be bi-packed with loops, guitar effects pedals and two loudspeakers. I would also like to note that the title for this show comes from a poem by Hart Crane and is a correlate of lyrics taken from Monster Magnet’s ‘Dopes to Infinity’ – "I can see by the hole in your head that you want to be friends you’re the right one baby.” - BM

Followed by a conversation between McClure and Glen Fogel.

Bruce McClure graduated from architectural school in 1985, received his license to practice in 1992 and continues to work in offices in New York City. In 1994 his interests turned from static to moving images and now occupy most of his time when not at work. Originally attracted to abandoned technologies, he began working with effects created by a variety of simple devices such as the phenakistascope (1830). Recombining spinning discs and Edgerton’s xenon flash (1930) gave rise to a mongrelized roto-optics that eventually suggested the movie projector as the best means to wallow in temporal dynamics. His projector performances have been featured internationally at a wide range of venues and events, including two recent Whitney Biennials, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Image Forum (Japan). Since 2002 he has shown annually at Media City, a festival in Windsor, Ontario, where he has premiered many works and won several awards.

Tickets - $7, available at door.