Aurora Announces New Headquarters

1524 Sul Ross: Aurora's Future Office/Library
Originally uploaded by Aurora Picture Show.

Great News. Aurora announces our new headquarters. Starting December 15th, Aurora Picture Show is moving on down to the Montrose, taking over a house at 1524 Sul Ross, in the heart of the Menil Campus. The new digs will have room to showcase Aurora's video library, and enable us to make it available by appointment for any and all film fans. Just imagine your own private A/V Geeks marathon! Screenings will still be at Aurora, 800 Aurora Street, complete with disco ball and everyone's favorite under-five hosts, Gigi and Lola. Come by and see us next time your at the Menil.

Bill Daniel on CINEMAD

Reading in FUNdamental.

Read an interview with Bill Daniel (at Aurora December 16-17, 2006 with WHO IS BOZO TEXINO), who tells all to CINEMAD:

http://www.iblamesociety.com/cinemad/interviews/billdaniel.html

This excellent interview is conducted by MIKE PLANTE, no relation to Robert.

Aurora eBay Super Seller Sale Sells OUT!

Aurora posted a few must have books, DVDs, and CDs here:

Aurora Holiday Shop

John Edward Ross and Laura Harrison on KUHF 88.7

Planning to come to Elements this weekend at Aurora? Listen to a preview and interview with the two artists on KUHF.

Phantom Captain a Hit

The reviews are in and Phantom Captain is a hit! Andrea Grover's Apexart exhibit showcasing the art world's use of "crowdsourcing" has received notices in Flavorpill, Gothamist, Saatchi Gallery, and now Time Out Magazine. Read the latest from Time Out here...

Mini Fundraiser Fumiko-style

Former Aurora board member and volunteer champion of the world, Fumiko Chino, has surprised us with an eBay on-line auction benefiting Aurora Picture Show. Featured items are anime and manga DVD titles (Orphen, Saint Selva, Sister Princess, Gravion Zwei, Wandaba Style, and more), and a mixed lot of Farscape DVDs! Bid here, bid now, viva Aurora!

Anna Travels 4719 Nautical Miles!

Aurora has a wunderbar new intern, Anna Ballheimer! Anna hails from the idyllic town of Dinkelsbuhel, Germany where she was raised in a family-run youth hostel-- a 500 year old grain storage facility. She has a degree in Cultural Design, which Anna describes as "something between making art and selling art." Besides working in the family business, she also worked in a castle, which gave us slight inferiority complex when she first came to Aurora. Anna is working diligently on the future Aurora public video library. Check back for the grand opening.

Anna illustration by Annika Mayer

Aurora Adds a Guy

Welcome Guy Harrison, Aurora's new Facility Manager! A long-time Volunteer Coordinator for the Aurora, Guy has finally been suckered, I mean hired, as a full fledged Aurora staff member. Besides his time at Aurora, Guy spends his daytime hours working away at School of the Woods Montessori. While he can sometimes be found repairing and building things around the school, his main job consists of waving and greeting all the kids on the playground in response to "Hi, Mr. Guy." At home he hangs out with three dogs (Iggy, Trixie and Buddy) and two cats (Squeaky and Lucy) and a motorcycle (which he hasn't named). He's all giggly with pleasure at being part of the Aurora crew!

Aurora Friend Takes on ANT

Local filmmaker and Aurora friend Laura Harrison has Texas on her side. Harrison just received a grant from the Texas Filmmaker's Production Fund (from Austin Film Society ) to help her complete her documentary ANT, about the 70s art/architecture collective Ant Farm, who were best known for the iconic land-art piece Cadillac Ranch. Harrison has previously received grants for the film from the Graham Foundation and Cultural Arts Council of Houston and is aiming for a finish date of Spring 2007. Also the force behind the films Secret People (2000), Thurmond, W. Va (1995) and more recently, Voting in America, Harrison is well on her way to an ant-tastic production, no doubt! Congrats Laura!

Grover Creates a Phantom

Aurora Founder Andrea Grover (aka boss lady to us) has spread her curating wings to New York and is taking no prisoners as she shows the big apple just how it's done. Grover has created a show for Apexart gallery entitled "Phantom Captain: Art and Crowdsourcing", dealing with the new trend in "user" made art. The show runs Wednesday, October 18 to Saturday, November 25, 2006 and features some names Aurora fans may recognize such as Jeff Howe, Peter Edmunds, Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July, Aaron Koblin, Davy Rothbart and Allison Wiese.

Watch out NYC - Grover can not only tango with the best in media arts, but can balance a two-year old on her shoulder while running a projector, and can take down some talented opponents (or Aurora staff) in a mean pool game too.

For those of you who need more Grover, like everyone does, there is more info on the Phantom Captain exhibit, here.....
www.apexart.org

Aurora Staff Return From Outward Bound Experience Intact

Following the Aurora Staff's return from our retreat with mother nature and fellow media arts enthusiasts (read geeks) which you can read about below, we dove right in with a screening weekend September 15-17 from Brent Hoff of Wholphin, the DVD Magazine from McSweeneys. Friday nights' event was graciously hosted by Domy Bookstore and included highlights from Spike Jonze, Miranda July, and Lisa Chang, among others. The full program (which any good Theorist would require) is listed on the Aurora website under calendar. Here is a shout out to Brent who suffered through Houston humidity with the dignity of any new mixed breed mammal. Thank you Brent.

Aurora Staff Sighting in Oregon

From September 10-14, 2006, the Aurora staff (Melissa, Delicia, and Andrea) went on retreat to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, Oregon. Told through photos on Aurora's Flickr site is the story of their profound bonding experience, plus drinking, pool playing, and WHITE GRAVY. The retreat was conducted by NAMAC and The Learning Commons, and focused on leadership styles/learning styles. If you can guess each of our Learning Styles (Theorist, Pragmatist, Reflector, or Activist) we'll give you a free All Access pass to Aurora for one year (that's free admission to all $5 screenings). First correct reply wins!

Another Aurora Wedding

Andrew Ladd and Fumiko Chino tie the knot at Aurora

Aurora Picture Show has been the home to 15 weddings, and the latest was the marriage of our dear friends Fumiko Chino and Andrew Ladd on September 2, 2006. Fumiko is the former Art Director of ADV Films, and Andrew is a very smart Computer Science Canadian (CSC). Aren't they a lovely couple?

The first couple to be married at Aurora was Bill Davenport and Francesca Fuchs in 1999, followed by Pat Phipps and Claire Chauvin. Other Aurora unions included Scott Calhoun and Lisa Cooley, and Dianna Ray and Kathy Johnston.

A/V Geeks HQ

Last week I infiltrated the high security compound known as the A/V Geeks Headquarters, home of 16mm film collector Skip Elsheimer and Germaine Fodor in Raleigh, NC. Skip and Germaine live in an eight bedroom boarding house with 18,000 films, misc. film strips, a telecine, assorted projectors, and a whole lot of small objects that *could* choke a toddler like the one pictured here (Gigi). Perhaps in retaliation, Gigi inserted an everything bagel into their VCR.

Every good Aurora-ite knows about Skip's ongoing thematic screenings of educational films, which have screened at Aurora every year since 1999. But did you know that Skip is also in the business of film transferring and stock footage licensing? Among his clients are Wonder Showzen, VH1, The History Channel, and other people he asked me not to mention.

The complete A/V Geeks photographs are on the Aurora Flickr site.

The Yes Men in the News

The Yes Men (Mike and Andy) at Aurora December 2005

The Yes Men have successfully pranked again. This time "Andy" posed as a HUD representative in New Orleans.

Diane Shamash

Diane Shamash, curator, writer, public art presenter, and founder of Minetta Brook, passed away on Sunday, August 13 at her home in New York. I had the privilege of working with Diane on the Floating Cinema in Houston this past June. Diane was a visionary, affable and elegant woman, whose demeanor earned her the ability to produce some of the most challenging large scale public art works. Among her many accomplishments was bringing to fruition The Floating Island by Robert Smithson, 32 years after his death. Diane also was behind Riverrun-- projections on New York's Holland Tunnel ventilation system (a collaboration between Minetta Brook and the Whitney), The Thames and Hudson River Project (a public art collaboration between New York and London) and many others. For someone who could move mountains in the public art realm, Diane was rarely in the spotlight but the impact of her vision is lasting and beautiful. She will be missed.

Seattle Post Intelligencer obituary here.

Floating Cinema

June 10, 2006, fireworks, fried food, jugglers, CCR, live TV coverage, and then quiet, structuralist landscape films. These are professional photos from the Buffalo Bayou Partnership's grand opening of the Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade in downtown Houston. Andrea Grover of Aurora Picture Show and Diane Shamash of Minetta Brook curated the films, which included Peter Hutton's Two Rivers, James Benning's Ten Skies, and Andy Warhol's Sunset. The floating cinema is the creation of artist Jon Rubin.

As you can see, there were thousands of viewers, and we are now considering contacting Guinness Book to see if we broke the world record for attendees to a structuralist landscape film screening.

Top two photos by Jim Caldwell
Bottem photo by Raymond Groscrand
(Courtesy of Buffalo Bayou Partnership)

Take Me to Monkeytown

The July 27 show at Monkeytown was chest-poundingly good. I screened the Best of Aurora, Volume 3 (Jona Bechtolt, Tommy Becker, Andre Silva, Gerald Straub, Jim Finn, Skip Elsheimer, Eileen Maxson, Jeff Butterworth, Adad Hannah, Arthur Jones, Matt Hulse, Enid Baxter Blader, Bill Daniel, Andy Mann), and got to reconnect with some top Aurora buddies.

The Monkeytown screening room is a theater in the square, with gi-normous screens on all four walls, a killer sound system, and futons with coffee tables for food service. Initially I thought the four screens would be distracting, but not at all. The brain works miracles when given too much information, and settles into plain old stereo vision. Monkeytown started out in the apartment of Montgomery Knott, and was later underwritten by some investors who thought it a pretty good idea. I agree. The current home of Monkeytown is a storefront on 3rd Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's more comfy than Alamo Drafthouse, Austin-- the futons and coffee tables invite people to lounge and hang out. I wonder if Montgomery was influenced by Alamo, as he is a former Austinite.

In attendance at the screenings were your friends and mine: Colleen Burke (We Ragazzi), Mary Ellen Carroll, Nick Hallett, Sara Hines (Apex Art), Arthur Jones, Ryan Junell (Slomo Video), Kyle Lapidus (Lovid), Marisa Olson (Rhizome), Caspar Stracke and Gabriela Monroy (Mostra), and Butcher Walsh. There was also a big group from an design agency called Farenheit 212. I read somewhere that Jonas Mekas once said that advertising professionals were some of the biggest clients for film rentals from Filmmakers' Coop.

Stovepipe and Scanner

And another thing... Our neighbor and long time friend Michael Stovall was an animator on the film "A Scanner Darkly." Mike and his wife Miss Anne (Stovepipe Design) have designed the last three Best of Aurora Picture Show program books. And when we built a wheelchair ramp at Aurora, Mike and Chris Lockwood (Aurora's full time volunteer designer for the last 5 years) poured the cement for the landing. Brawn and brains, all in the family.

Speaking of Best of Aurora, Volume 3 in the series will be at Monkeytown, Brooklyn on July 27, 2006. Free admission if you wear cowboy boots. More on that later.

Movie Graham

Graham Reynolds, the Austin-based virtuoso behind the band Golden Arm Trio and alum of many Aurora programs (he played live scores for three shows and GAT was the official band of Carlos and Andrea's unholy union), created the soundtrack for the soon to be released A SCANNER DARKLY, directed by Richard Linklater. The soundtrack is on sale now, and the movie opens July 7.

Though music is not expressly part of our mission, a few interdisciplinary musicians have vibrated the walls of our old church. Who? Calvin Johnson, Khaela Maricich, Phil Elvrum, Jana Hunter, Jody Hughes, Dat Politic, Slump, Childcraft, Loreta Kovacic; and offsite Aurora shows Jona Bechtolt, Extreme Animals, TV Sheriff, My Robot Friend, who am I forgetting? Help?

Delicia Harvey, Come On Down!

No, she's not a contestant on The Price Is Right, she's Aurora's new Associate Director! Aurora is delighted to welcome Delicia Harvey to our staff. Delicia will take her post at Aurora in August 2006. She comes by way of The Alley Theatre, where she was Public Relations Manager, and has formerly worked for Landmark Theatre Corporation and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Film Department. Delicia has an MA in Public Communications from Fordham University, and a BA from University of California, San Diego. Please join us in welcoming her to Aurora.

What Happens at Aurora Stays at Aurora

Aurora spares no expense when it comes to our visiting artists. Here we see Extremely Shorts 9 juror Kevin Jerome Everson receiving a substantial honorarium in $5 bills.

Pictured below are some of the annual picnic attendees, and an unnamed karaoke victim. More pictures can be seen on our Flickr site. Thanks to photographers Marisa Avelar and Steve Patlan!

A Comeback for Allison Wiese

Viewers may remember this former cast member at Aurora, First Mate Allison Wiese. Wiese was the first employee at Aurora beyond Captain Andrea Grover, and was hired in January 2002. Since her departure in 2004, our first mate has been on a Nantucket Sleigh Ride of adventures, with exhibits and artist residencies across the whole US of A!

Hold onto your lifevests, because for a limited two-week engagement, First Mate Wiese will return to the Aurora to batten down the hatches, and work during our 8th Anniversary weekend (Extremely Shorts 9, June 24-25). Come sing some shantees with her at the annual anniverary picnic on Sunday, June 25, 6pm-10pm!

Ethan the Greyhound (1994-2006)

Yesterday, June 1, was Ethan's last day with us. After his companion, Patti, died on May 1, Ethan's health rapidly deteriorated. Like an old married couple, one died right after the other.

Ethan Sleet was his racing name and his racing statistics are still on-line. He was a solid third placer a few times before a hip injury placed him in early retirement--lucky for us, because we adopted Ethan in 1996. Ethan was the first canine resident of Aurora, and is best known for actually being able to say "Aurora." We had visions of Ethan saying Aurora at every screening, but when we actually tried our pet trick before a live audience, Ethan just wandered down the aisle looking for lovin'. Apparently, he didn't like to show off.

Two of the finest pets ever, Ethan and Patti R.I.P.

Miranda July: Aurora Award Honoree 2006

Save the date, friends. On October 5, 2006, Aurora will present the 6th annual Aurora Award to artist Miranda July. The Aurora Award is an honor given to an artist who has exhibited extraordinary originality in the fields of media and multimedia art. Past honorees have been Tony Oursler (2001), William Wegman (2002), Laurie Anderson (2003), Ant Farm (2004), and Isaac Julien (2006).

Miranda July is a filmmaker, performing artist and writer. She grew up in Berkeley, California where she began her career by writing plays and staging them at the local punk club. July's videos, performances, and web-based projects have been presented at sites such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and in the 2002 and 2004 Whitney Biennials. Her short fiction has been published in The Paris Review, The Harvard Review, and Zoetrope All Story, and a collection of stories is forthcoming from Scribner in spring 2007. July created the participatory website learningtoloveyoumore.com with artist Harrell Fletcher and a companion book will be published by Prestel in fall 2007. She wrote, directed and starred in her first feature-length film, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) , which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. July currently live in Los Angeles.

Photo: Todd Warnock

xxoo
aurora

There'sa Tear in My Beer

...But they're not cryin'. We wish an all-to-early farewell to Aurora' Assistant Director, Amy Kweskin Duncan who is moving to London! with her husband Stephen in June. On the other side of the pond Amy will return to management consulting and expand on her Americans for the Arts fellowship with focused research into Leadership Development of staff and boards of arts nonprofits.

Send Amy (pictured above with Scottish hubbie Stephen) your goodbyes before May 31, or join us for a farewell party on that evening, location posted soon.

xxoo
aurora

She's Baaaaack

Experience Cherry, the Aurora Mobile Microcinemas provided by Scion, at The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art during Shop Talk on Friday, May 12 from 6-9pm and the Art Car Parade awards brunch on Sunday, May 14 in Sam Houston park.

Houston Press Pick for the Prez

Aurora's Board Prez curated this weekend's show, and the press knows what time it is....

(from this week's Houston Press)

Go "Home" Already

---

BY MARY TEMPLETON

What would you do if you found out your entire identity had been fabricated by the CIA? Would you believe it? It happened to one man, and his story is told in It's Not My Memory of It. The short documentary, composed of declassified CIA interviews and footage, will screen as part of the short-film showcase "At Home and Abroad" at Aurora Picture Show. According to curator Mark Yzaguirre, "At Home" will attempt to "capture the diversity of the American experience...from urban to rural and policy to kitsch."

Besides Memory, three other films examine life from sea to shining sea. In Playground, three kids growing up in New York City create a play space from their surrounding concrete jungle. Meanwhile, back in the woods, The Bear Hunter chronicles the story of a man who, following family legacy, has been hunting black bears for 44 years. Finally, The American Nutria reveals the bizarre history of the giant rodent, which populates Houston's own bayous. Factoid: Nutria fur coats were once a sign of prosperity. Ewww. Find out what else you didn't know about our great nation at 3 p.m. today and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 6. Aurora Picture Show, 800 Aurora St. , Houston

xxoo
aurora

Patti the Greyhound (1997-2006)

Those of you who have visited Aurora have probably had the pleasure of meeting our two mascot greyhounds, Patti and Ethan. On May 1, 2006 at 2:15pm Patti quietly passed away. She had been suffering the effects of bone cancer (the most common fatal illness among greyhounds) and became unable to walk on Friday. Patti was a former racer, just like her sidekick Ethan. She was born in July 1997, raced for 2 1/2 years in Corpus Christi, and went up for adoption through Greyhound Pets of America in 2000. At the time, our other greyhound Ethan had been living at Aurora and really needed a pal. We brought Ethan to the Houston GPA kennel and asked him which greyhound would make a good playmate. It was Patti all the way.

Greyhounds make exceptional pets. Contrary to popular belief, they are low maintenance and don't want to run around all day. They prefer to sleep or watch movies. Greyhounds crave affection, are easy to train, and eager to please. Adopting a retired athlete is a good thing to do, and the local chapter of GPA can guide you through the process.

We'll miss our Patti, and hope to have Ethan around for a little while longer.

Photo: Kathy Johnston

Farewell to Envy and Cherry

It was a short but lovely affair with the Mobile Microcinemas. Aurora's Street Team became Skip, Melissa and Germaine during the Media Archeology: Software Cinema festival transporting our VIP artists to/from/to airports, venues and the hotel.

Here's Envy at DiverseWorks for festival finale.

Photo: Lorraine Kweskin

True Love at Aurora

Andrea and Carlos snuggle up at DiverseWorks during Media Archeology: Software Cinema.

Photo: Lorraine Kweskin

Festival Finale Gets Pushy

Images of Madeline Minx presenting her one-woman show for the finale of Media Archeology: Software Cinema at DiverseWorks.

Photo: Lorraine Kweskin

Boyce and Bot

Last night the one and only Orange Show was aglow with the mind-blowing, hypnotic, heavy metal imagery of Nate Boyce, and the pyrotechnics and electronic pop sexiness of My Robot Friend.

Top Nate Boyce Photo by Steve Patlan. My Robot Friend Photos contributed by Mister Chris Lockwood.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediaarch

xxoo
aurora

LoVid and Yacht at Aurora's Media Archeology

April 21, 2006. A starry night at Domy Bookstore, Houston. LoVid broke it down family-style with a wearable a/v synthesizer performance for two, followed by YACHT (Jona Bechtolt). Yacht's show included a rare visit from god, who incidentally has a lisp. Program curated by Lauren Cornell, Executive Director of Rhizome.

Yacht photos contributed by Mister Steve Patlan. Nate Boyce in blue satin jacket on right.

Anyone have any LoVid photos to contribute?

xxoo
Aurora

Post-Share Group Hug

You could feel the love last night as Share faciliated a group a/v jam. The participants at Aurora included local musicians Pizo Meyer and Carlos Pozo, A/V Geek Skip Elsheimer, Aurora's Barna Kantor, and many other innovative folks.

Who were you and how can we meet again?

Image courtesy of Chika Iijima, Share, NYC. Pictured left at laptop is Share member Elsa Vieira.

We'll upload photos of the festival daily on our Flckr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediaarch

xxoo
aurora

Pew, What's That Smell?

It's the fragrance of change! The pews at Aurora have been moved around for the first time in 75 years. It's all thanks to Share, appearing tonight at Aurora.

I Have Something to Share With You...

Share is an open jam for audio/video artists with portable gear and kicks off Aurora's Media Archeology: Software Cinema festival. Come to ye olde Aurora Picture Show on Wed. April 19, 8pm, and feel free to walk around the room and observe, or have a seat and enjoy a unique multichannel audio/video improvisation. Plug-in or trip-out.

Participants can download a PDF with technical specs and suggested jam etiquette, or learn how to Share in this week's Houston Press (Diggin' Digital by Mary Templeton.)

Photo by ENUM.

xxoo
aurora

Sampling the Mobile Microcinemas

Have you seen Cherry and Envy, Aurora's Mobile Microcinemas, roaming the streets of Houston? Check out these locations to meet our Street Team and to experience a taste of Aurora. In the spirit of renegade art these visits are unofficial so we'll be there as long as we can - see us in the parking lots.

Added bonus, since I know you like deals as much as I do, get a $2 off coupon for Media Archeology from the Street Team. Taste, experience, enjoy, indulge some more.

xoxo Team Captain Aurora

Friday, April 14
8pm
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center
University of Houston Dudley Recital Hall
UH Fine Arts Bldg, ground floor - Entrance 16 off of Cullen Blvd

Saturday, April 15
9pm
THE NEW HOPE TOUR
Warehouse Live
813 St. Emmanuel Street

Sunday, April 16
8pm
Shade Restaurant
250 West 19th St.

Mobile Microcinemas

Thanks to Scion Aurora has two mobile microcinemas roaming Houston run by our Street Team. Here's your chance to preview the Media Archeology: Software Cinema artists. Equipt with multiple interior screens and projected video on the back window the xB is the ultimate mobile microcinema.

Street Team: Andrea Grover, Guy Harrison, Carlos Lama, Barna Kantor, Amy Kweskin, Melissa Sonzala, Skip Elsheimer, Germaine Fodor, and Jessica and Doyle Odom. Aurora gives a shout out to the promotion team - Melissa and Matt Sonzala of Houston So Real, Chris Lockwood of Lockwood Costa Studios, and Amy Kweskin of The Kweskin Report.

Check this blog regularly for the Mobile Microcinema Street Team locations, out and about April 8-24.

xoxo Aurora

Aunt Aurora Wants You!

All able bodied, stable minded (defined loosely) loyal folks, Aurora Wants You to volunteer! Positions available for Media Archeology: Software Cinema April 19-23, 2006.

Ask not what Aurora can do for you, but what you can do for Aurora. Give us a few hours of your time and we’ll give you Fame, Fortune and Free passes to Media Archeology: Software Cinema and… recognition on the Aurora website and…invitation to our volunteer appreciation event!

Sign now with Aurora’s recruiter Volunteer Coordinator Guy Harrison Harrison@aurorapictureshow.org www.aurorapicturesow.org.

High Level Access Only

Shhh. I have a secret Flickr site. Whatever you do, don't click on this link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediaarch/sets/302932/

xxoo aurora

Hosts with the Most

Aurora takes the Show on the Road this spring as we depart from our Dean’s and Clark’s Monday night series. Over the past several years we have been fortunate to have Eileen Maxson, Vinod Hopson and Camille Breaux for our Monday Downtown adventures. Their commitment to Aurora, our artists and audiences has been a cornerstone of our programming and an asset to the organization. Plus, they're fun to drink with.

A round of applause as we raise our glasses to toast the hosts with the most.

Where did I put my glasses?

All my love, Aurora

Kevin Everson to Jury Extremely Shorts 9

Artist and filmmaker Kevin Everson has signed on as the Juror for Aurora's Extremely Shorts 9. Described by Variety as being “Unique among African-American filmmakers as a chronicler-poet of black folk and their everyday lives” Everson’s second feature length film, Cinnamon, screened at the 2006 Sundance and the New York Underground Film Festivals.

Submit your mini masterpiece. Details and entry form online at www.aurorapictureshow.org. Entires of films and videos three minutes or less will be selected by Everson for screening at June 24 & 25, 2006 at Aurora.

Can you believe we're into our nines already? Number Nine. Number Nine.

xoxo Aurora



Photo: A Week in the Hole (2001) film still

Visit My Space

Want to be friends? Visit www.myspace.com/aurorapictureshow and be part of my extended network.

xxoo Aurora

Meet My Robot Friend

My Robot Friend, one of this year’s featured artists in Aurora’s Media Archeology: Software Cinema, April 19-23, takes moving image art personally. In fact, he wears the technology, transforming his body into an blinking marquee.

Hear My Robot friend on http://www.myspace.com/myrobotfriend.
xoxo Aurora

P.S. My Robot Friend you can be my friend anytime.

Photo of My Robot Friend by Alex Wright.

Sleeping Angels at Aurora

At the inaugural Video Feedback session this weekend photographer and video maker Nathalie Latham shared her work with Aurora. In town as an exhibiting FotoFest artist, Nathalie is an Australian living in France. Ever the host, Vinod guided her to Aurora.

Nathalie’s piece Sleeping Angels is a study of residents of Beijing who catch gentle naps during their train commute to and from work. As the sleeping city passes in the background the viewer wonders if these are really the dreams of the sleeping riders. The trance is broken when one woman opens her eyes. Thankfully she falls back to sleep so that the voyeuristic viewer can again watch the Sleeping Angels.

Image from Sleeping Angels, Nathalie Latham

More of Us to Love

Aurora is delighted to welcome Barna Kantor to our growing team. A renowned moving image artist and the founder of several arts nonprofits, Barna is taking on the facility and technology management role at Aurora.

Terra Cognita Cinematexas 10 describes Barna’s work… “Kantor integrates found objects into installations that have the slick feel we’ve come to expect from digital art, but with a difference. Kantor isn’t interested solely in the projected image that is shackled to cinematic media, but also in the machine that makes the projection possible. For the past two years, Kantor has been building projectors. His machines are drawn in part from the history of cinema.”

Meet Barna at Aurora’s Media Archeology: Software Cinema , April 19-23. Details on the website calendar at.

Images of Barna Kantor's work:
Construction Site
Festival 2004

xxoo Aurora

Whose the Houstinist?

Houstonist is a website about Houston, makes sense. Jim Parson posted on March 6 "The best things in life are cheap" and listed Aurora!

We love you too, but darling, I'm expensive, very expensive.

xoxo Aurora

Astria's Mind is on Sex

At last night's premiere of Quantum Leaps at Clark's Astria asked audience members to take a survey. The simple question, "What is sex". Stunned, we had two minutes to write down our response, no name attached. Thank goodness since ol'Aurora gets out there and has some pretty strong feelings about the topic and I wouldn't want to shock anyone into awe.

Astria's compiling the responses on her website. Guess which one's mine.

xoxo Aurora

Image Credit: “I am a Conjuror,” Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby, 8:30, 2004.