Rice Gallery video installation deals in the uncanny
Singing clouds with faces, walking tree women and bowls of pasta that breed reptiles may be the stuff of nightmares, but there is something strangely satisfying about seeing such uncanny images unfold in real time.
Creature Worlds, the latest video installation at RG Cubicle (also known as Rice Gallery video space), is both bizarre and intriguing. It’s the kind of art that makes you question whether or not you need hallucinogens to understand it properly.
Situated to the left of Rice Gallery, RG Cubicle is a converted office space that now operates as a small theater. Eight to 10 gray foam cubes serve as seats for moviegoers, and the screen, which spans an entire wall, fosters an almost 3-D experience.
Creature Worlds is a compilation of six short animated videos from professional working artists. Using simple techniques, such as stop-motion animation, each artist creates a universe full of creatures (both imaginary and recognizable) that move, grow, shrink, morph, disfigure and refigure to form unconventional patterns of evolution.
Produced in black and white, KUNCHI is the shortest of the bunch. It is best described as a procession of biotic blobs, ranging from triangles with eyes to what appear to be walking mushrooms. The musical accompaniment, a series of dissonant xylophone sounds, is both upbeat and disconcerting.
Cloudy, the longest of the six shorts, is also the lightest in tone. Created by FriendsWithYou, it centers on a factory in the sky in which singing clouds and smiling raindrops perform their “daily duties.” Although bizarre in conception, I found this short strangely satisfying. The harmony of tasks and happy music lend the film a productive and fulfilling feeling, like watching a video of Santa’s elves at work.
Ever wonder what happens when you abandon a bowl of noodles for a minute? According to No Noodles, it erupts into a chorus of aquatic and prehistoric creatures. No Noodles is produced using claymation, which allows the animator to transform one creature into another in one fluid motion.
The Leaf Woman and the Centaur serves as an expression of different creationist theories. Set against a black, cosmic backdrop, a mythical leaf woman is the creator whose seeds give birth to life in vibrant colors. Accompanied by a classical soundtrack, The Leaf Woman is both beautiful and expressive.
In Dissimilated Vision, a single pencil line becomes a myriad of human features that morph from faces to hands to eyes to mouths. The takeaway is that the human form can be tactfully reduced to a series of similar and interconnected shapes. With dissonant, soft music, the film becomes eerie, but the sketches are simple yet elegant.
Similar to KUNCHI, USAWALTZ features a parade of creatures in black and white, this time swimming across the scene as if trapped in an aquarium. The soothing, a cappella music is catchy and triumphant without being overwhelming.
What is Creature Worlds but a picture of raw imagination? Although none of the mini-universes converge, they each capture some aspect of life beyond reality, something uniquely envisioned.
When I stepped into the exhibition on a quiet Saturday morning, temporarily frozen by the utter pitch-blackness of the theater, I was at first skeptical. But, overwhelmed by such fantastic images, I had no choice but to dive headfirst into the bizarre and wonderful.
Creature Worlds is on display in RG Cubicle through Nov. 23 during normal Gallery hours.
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