Van McElwee and Scott Stark in Person

Don't look for dazzling special effects in the videos of Van McElwee. But once you settle into the works' contemplative, finely attenuated spaces, you may find yourself dazzled nonetheless. McElwee takes the ordinary public moments of life-a parade, a bicycle ride through a public park, the gentle wheeling of a carnival ride against the night sky-and, through a process of layering, repetition, shifting textures, and gentle slippages, compresses a multiplicity of instants into a single cinematic space. The result is a meditative, sensual, and visually compelling assemblage, one that allows the viewer to locate a deep–seated, organic, almost metaphysical resonance within the shifting overlays of a phosphorescent canvas.

For this program I've chosen five works made over the last decade and two from an earlier phase in Van's career: Waveform Modulation (2000, 7:35 mins). Radio Island (1997, 11:40 mins). Confluence (1999, 14 mins). Split/Flow (1979, 9 mins). Refraction (1990, 5:40 mins). Procession (2000, 23 mins). Heliogos (1977, 11 mins).