{"id":7582,"date":"2014-07-08T13:00:28","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T19:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=7582"},"modified":"2014-10-09T19:44:10","modified_gmt":"2014-10-10T01:44:10","slug":"film-integrated-into-figone-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=7582","title":{"rendered":"Film integrated into FigOne show"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSitting on the Porch, Thinking About Film\u201d<\/strong>
\nOpening up to the community at large, Rehema C. Barber and Figure One set aside a day on The Porch Project for Champaign-Urbana cinema<\/p>\n

by Z<\/em><\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cArt lives. Art isn\u2019t dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Written on the back door of the Art Theater Co-op<\/strong> in faded spray paint, these words can easily be ignored and overlooked as nothing more than average alley graffiti. For some in Champaign-Urbana<\/strong>, though, these words have a much more significant meaning.<\/p>\n

One recent instance of the livelihood of Art in C-U was Heather Hart<\/strong>\u2019s unique experiment<\/span><\/a><\/span>, \u201cSocial Habitat: The Porch Project<\/strong>,\u201d installed at the University of Illinois<\/strong>\u2019 Figure One<\/strong> art gallery<\/span><\/a><\/span>, 116 N. Walnut St., Champaign<\/strong>, from February 21<\/strong> to April 5<\/strong>. \u201cThe Porch Project,\u201d a raised porch-like structure built inside the gallery itself, hosted several events such as \u201cConnect + Create Porch Social,\u201d \u201cPorchapalooza,\u201d \u201cRead-in Wednesdays,\u201d \u201cPoems on the Porch,\u201d and \u201cMovies on the Porch.\u201d Per the official show description, the idea of \u201cThe Porch Project\u201d was to \u201cpresent and bear witness to the shifting identities the porch will inhabit as different programming unfolds within, around, below, and above its surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Each Saturday in March, for instance, Figure One invited the public to be part of the installation by sitting on the Porch, having some popcorn, and watching a film. On one particular Saturday, March 22<\/strong>, local films were showcased both as featured attractions and as the topic of discussion. The line-up included a selection of Pens to Lens<\/strong> shorts as well as two other shorts directed by Thomas Nicol, A BEAR IN THE WOODS<\/strong> and BEDTIME FOR TIMMY<\/strong>, and the documentary SRIRACHA<\/strong> by Bloomington, IL<\/strong>, filmmaker Griffin Hammond<\/strong>. The Danville<\/strong>-made feature HOUSE OF THADDEUS<\/strong> was also screened.<\/p>\n

As mentioned in a previous post<\/span><\/a><\/span>, C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> editor-in-chief, Jason Pankoke<\/strong>, and Eastern Illinois University<\/strong> professor in Communications, David Gracon<\/strong>, were asked to take part in an informal talk on the Porch about their personal connections to local and independent film during this \u201cMovies on the Porch\u201d event. The talk ended up reaching a bit deeper to discuss the community of filmmakers that exists in and around Champaign-Urbana.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gracon and Pankoke took a crooked seat on the partly slanted Porch between the shorts and feature, introduced by Figure One\u2019s visiting coordinator Rehema C. Barber<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>. The two discussed local film and filmmakers, how they influence the filmmaking community, and what it actually means to be a part of it. That idea of community was at the center of \u201cThe Porch Project,\u201d providing a place to encourage interaction and creative dialogue, and while there\u2019s always room to grow in any community, this<\/em> one seems to be on the right track.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scene here is building,\u201d Gracon explained to CUBlog<\/strong> via e-mail. \u201cI think Shatterglass<\/strong> [Studios<\/strong>] does interesting things with their screenings\/critiques, and [the New Art Film Festival<\/strong>] is a great outlet [to see local films].\u201d With programs like the NAFF, which took place not long after \u201cThe Porch Project\u201d concluded, and Pens to Lens, short films developed from original screenplays submitted by area children in grades K-12 that will debut in August at the Virginia Theatre<\/strong>, the community of independent filmmakers in C-U is given a platform, a space to communicate, and even a home.<\/p>\n

\u201cFilmmaking, especially local filmmaking, is important because the moving image is rapidly becoming a widely-used medium within contemporary art,\u201d added Barber, also through e-mail. \u201cFilm is important to local communities because, not only are local residents making or participating in the production of film, but because in some ways a lot of the work is speaking to some of the issues felt within the community itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Rehema is doing an excellent job with initiatives like \u2018The Porch Project,\u2019 which is creating more space for a community dialog\u201d said Gracon, who has since shown his own experimental work at Figure One accompanied by a live music performance. With the success of \u201cSocial Habitat: The Porch Project,\u201d we could hardly disagree!<\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking forward to the future of Figure One and hope you will attend their events, beginning with works displayed by this summer\u2019s artists-in-residence, Jeff Horwat<\/strong> and Melonie-Auburn Mulkey<\/strong>. Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professional and community artists, can all propose exhibitions and programs at Figure One, the off-campus space of the School of Art + Design<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>, part of the College of Fine + Applied Arts<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span> at UIUC; follow this link to learn what is already in the works<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

Z is a fauxtographer, writer, and blood enthusiast who, after having traveled the U.S. in search of the perfect latte, now resides in Champaign, IL.<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Article and photographs \u00a9 2014 Z Snyder. Used with permission.<\/p>\n

CUBlog edits \u00a9 2014 Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n


\n<\/em>
\nBack to the fore, MacDuff\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Visit the Article Index<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Return to Home Page<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Confidential agent Z files the first of several (belated) CUBlog reports examining Champaign-Urbana film events from recent months. In this story, a downtown Champaign gallery goes against type with its programming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,53,16,13],"tags":[1154,1219,331,1218,1217,1216],"class_list":["post-7582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-du-c-u","category-educationclasses","category-jp-confidential","category-public-events","tag-david-gracon","tag-heather-hart","tag-jason-pankoke","tag-rehema-barber","tag-social-habitat-the-porch-project","tag-uiuc-figure-one-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}