. Conversations at the Edge (CATE)

On jonCates: 鬼镇 Ghosttown

The influential work of Chicago-based new media artist jonCates mixes the urgency of punk with the poetics of glitch. His latest project is a collaborative, multiplatform critique of the myths and ideology of the American west. Released as a feature film, virtual reality game, soundtrack, and book, 鬼鎮 (Ghosttown) showcases the work of a number […]

Refiguring Binaries

Curator Kelani Nichole in person In recent years, the contours of a new contemporary art movement have begun to emerge, forged in reaction to the ideologies of Silicon Valley, the platforming and globalization of culture, and technologies of power like artificial intelligence, photorealistic computer-generated images, and virtual and augmented reality. These “Simulists” simultaneously embrace and […]

An Interview with Peter Burr

During his visit to SAIC in this week, Peter Burr sat down with CATE Curatorial Assistant Nicky Ni for an interview about his background in painting and drawing, his iconic computer animation style, and his multimedia practice that spans from video, performance, to immersive and interactive game installation. NN: Could you give a brief summary […]

Daniel Eisenberg’s Introduction to Les Messagers

To recapture yesterday’s screening of Les Messagers by French filmmakers Hélène Crouzillat and Laetitia Tura, we are sharing the text of Daniel Eisenberg’s beautiful introduction to the program. Daniel Eisenberg is Professor in Film, Video, New Media, and Animation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has been making films and videos at the edges […]

On Les Messagers

Throughout their individual careers, artists and filmmakers Hélène Crouzillat and Laetitia Tura have produced works about borders and individuals made most vulnerable by them. The two introduce their starkly poetic feature Les Messagers (2014) which presents the harrowing testimonies of migrants traveling from African into Europe. In advance of tomorrow’s program, we repost an interview […]

Oct 18 – Hélène Crouzillat and Laetitia Tura: Les Messagers

Hélène Crouzillat and Laetitia Tura in person Throughout their individual careers, artists and filmmakers Hélène Crouzillat and Laetitia Tura have examined the harrowing histories of borders and the individuals made most vulnerable by them. Their starkly poetic film Les Messagers (2014) focuses on the border at Melilla, a Spanish city at the northern edge of Morocco. Through […]

On Steffani Jemison

Spanning performance, music, video, and installation, the work of Brooklyn-based artist Steffani Jemison draws upon Black vernacular culture to produce new modes of expression. In advance of Jemison’s screening and listening session at Conversations at the Edge tomorrow, which also coincides the artist’s solo exhibition at Iceberg Projects, we have invited Sampada Aranke, Assistant Professor […]

On Margaret Tait

At the shady foot of trees Certain things grow, But at the foot of stone grow the sun-loving             wind–resisting short plants With very small bright flowers And compact, precise leaves. The wind whips the tight stems into a vibration, But they don’t break. — Margaret Tait, excerpt from The […]

An Interview with Camilo Restrepo

Coinciding with Camilo Restrepo’s visit to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, SAIC alum and Gene Siskel Film Center Panorama Latinx Outreach Coordinator Mev Luna exchanged a few questions with the artist about sound, performance, and process. While visiting Chicago, Camilo Restrepo mentioned that “luck is something you push, until it arrives.” Restrepo […]

On Stan VanDerBeek

Conversations at the Edge opens its Fall 2018 season this week with a program surveying the career of pioneering American media artist Stan VanDerBeek. Focusing on VanDerBeek’s computer graphics films, this program also coincides with an exhibition of the artist’s work at DOCUMENT. For this post, we welcome SAIC student Sophie Jenkins (Dual MA, 2020), […]

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