Now It's Dark: Reflections

Last night was the first in a series of experimental film/video and improvised music concerts that I am producing at Green Lantern Gallery. We screened a selection of works by six film and video makers, five from Chicago and one from New York. An ensemble of six players, positioned throughout the room on the periphery of the audience, interpreted the films, in small and large group configurations.

The performance was interesting on several levels. It was fascinating to hear each musician negotiate their own interpretation of the projections with the interpretations of others. And equally so to watch the movies re-imagined in real time, acquiring additional layers of meaning through the spontaneous soundtracks. As curator of the event, one of the six performers, and a contributing moviemaker, some questions that arose for me were: Is everybody playing in service to the movies? To each other? Or are the movies being screened in service to the music? To the performers? This ambiguity was in part the intent of this first performance, and reflects a central issue in improvised music, and one that comes up less in traditional filmmaking: how do we judge the success of a collaborative piece? The answer, of course, will vary depending on which collaborator you ask. But for me, as the curator, the answer might be posed as another question: was it interesting?

YES.

The broader idea behind these productions is to bring experimental moviemakers together with experimental music makers in Chicago and . . . see what happens. As someone with a great interest in both areas, but far more professional experience in music, there is a selfish aspect to this series as well -- I want more filmmaker friends!