SAIC Camera Arts 2012: Day 7 - Argos & Constant

It's officially the one-week mark and we've already seen and done a ton of stuff. There's still much more on the menu, so why should today be any different than the last six? It's go go go and those two letters are even in the title of the first place we'll see today; Argos. Later, we'll be visiting a place called Constant, which specializes in contemporary digital multi-media and more specifically with open source software and coding used by artists.
Argos is an internationally renown contemporary art institution here in Brussels whose primary focus is in the audiovisual and visual arts. The have an immense library that can be used for artists or other institution to research art theory, artistic practices and methodologies, and of course various disciplines throughout the twentieth and current centuries. It's almost worth the trip to check out the library alone. I found it hard to pull myself away from the bookshelves, so if you're interested in anything since around DaDa, you'll be smitten as a kitten. They also are a space for exhibitions, performances and installations. According to their website: "The essence of the operation consists of an audiovisual collection, supported, completed and contextualised by a full-fledged functioning as centre for the arts and area of expertise."

While there, we had the great experience of viewing a trio of wonderful videos from the Argos collection. The first was an experimental documentary type film which was simply in progress drawings of Palestinian camps near Jerusalem with voice overs of residents and their experiences in what were once simple camps and became full fledged neighborhoods controlled by the Israeli state. The stories were poignant and enlightening as children, teenagers, and elderly "inhabitants" relay their experiences.

The second video tugged a little on the heartstrings in a very unexpected way. A home for the elderly in Roundhay, England has been visited by a donkey on loan from Leeds's Elisabeth Svendsen Donkey Centre as a morale boosting effort. Reports show that the results are extremely encouraging and the video provides direct evidence as we view an old man with a condition that makes him unable to move and use his mouth. The two just seem to get each other as they interact on screen and there's a moment where the relationship is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. An article published in 2007 on the piece in the Yorkshire Evening Post recalls, "It's quite a surreal thing seeing a donkey getting led in and backed out
of all the rooms, but I think it's a great idea. Simon is quite a star here and they love him to bits."

We screened work by Shelly Silver entitled 5 Lessons and 9 Questions about Chinatown. Silver's experimental style is at once invigorating, informative and humorous while generating thought-provoking dialogue free of judgement or criticism. It's a little hard to explain it in depth, but you can see some of it HERE. It definitely makes one want to learn more about Silver and her ground-breaking methods.

Lastly, we were treated to a home slide show of sorts by Herman Daled, a great friend (and collector) of artist and experimental filmmaker Marcel Broodthaers. Broodthaers' work fits perfectly in with our trip and several of his works are actually on display at the Art Institute of Chicago right now in an exhibit on conceptual photography entitled Light Years: Conceptual Art and The Photograph, 1964-1977. If you have the time and means, I highly recommend this show. It will make you think of photography and art in
general in a whole new light. Pun Intended!

Stay tuned for information on our visit today to Constant!