December, 23 2008 – January, 3 2009
BOREY ART CENTER
58 Liteyni Ave, Saint-Petersburg, 191104 Russia
«VISIONARY DREAMS #3245-3351»
Video Installations by Anna Frants in the gallery halls
The exhibition we present to you is a continuation of a well-known project successfully displayed in 2006 and 2007. Four gallery spaces dedicated to four video installations provide an immersive creative environment that leaves no viewer indifferent.
1. “Pigeons”
The pigeons that scavenged for food in the cold snow of St. Petersburg last winter have flown across the Atlantic to New York by spring. Anna Frants’ multimedia installations featuring hungry Russian street pigeons landed in two New York locations: the display window of the Brooklyn-based Dam Stuhltrager Gallery and the Chelsea Museum in Manhattan. Indifferent to the hustle and bustle of the streets, the feathered urbanites in Frants’ work continued their routine. Now, they have returned to their hometown and are presented in the Borey Gallery.
2. “Made in Ancient Greece, 1928”
This piece is the second in a series of freestanding video sculptures that represent an incredible (from a conservative perspective) yet ideal union of traditional art forms and moving images in the style of Hollywood. This style was later transformed into the aesthetics of Soviet Stalin-era cinema.
3. “On the Run”
Slide projectors, sound system, slides.
What would happen if we didn’t see 30 frames per second (thanks to the Lumière Brothers) but instead captured only images worthy of attention? What if we learned to filter out visual noise? The installation On the Run employs the now-antique technology of slide projectors. As often happens with past objects in art, these projectors convey the idea better than the latest devices.
4. “North-West”
Interactive video installation.
Can one move a cloud by oneself? This concept distorts the established logic of perceiving ordinary phenomena, such as clouds drifting in sunlight. By turning the handle of the mechanism, the viewer can move a cloud—or rather, the shadow of a cloud—throughout the room.
Video and sound are used to manipulate light, contrast, touch, and “reversibility” within the installation, creating an atmosphere where the rationality of natural perception no longer applies. Stepping into the frame of projected light, the viewer participates in the creation of the image, transported on an associative level to the world offered by the artwork.
Anna Frants — Multimedia Artist
Anna Frants is a multimedia artist based in New York. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, she graduated from the Mukhina Academy of Art in 1989, receiving a solid classical education. She later broadened her horizons, mastering new fields such as computer graphics and animation.
Her accomplishments reflect a wide range of artistic interests. Anna has received several prestigious awards for best 3D computer animation in notable competitions, including the AutoDesk Planet Studio Award. She has participated in and curated numerous art exhibitions in the United States and Russia, taught media disciplines and animation for several years, and published articles on art. Her works are featured in the Kyoseino Sato Museum of Contemporary Art (Japan) and private collections.