A new video installation on view at The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Avenue), "Reflections on Place & Culture: Downey, Gower, Kluge," features three short art videos that tackle the genre of documentary film and video through traditional and novel ways. Included in the exhibit are Juan Downey's 1990 "Hard Times and Culture: Part One, Vienna 'fin-de-siecle,'" an exploration of political and cultural upheaval in the Austrian city through the late-19th and early-20th centuries; Terence Gower's 2004 "Ciudad Moderna," which foregrounds the architecture of Mexico City and Acapulco as the stage of culture; and Alexander Kluge's 1988 "Changing Time (Quickly)," a non-linear assessment of German historic events leading up to World War II using news headlines and imagery and classical music.
The show is part of MAG's "Media Arts Watch Program" series curated by John G. Hanhardt, who says the new exhibit's components "critically and creatively reflect on the idea of place and are some of the most influential video artworks to explore how we can represent history and our world today."
"Reflections on Place & Culture" continues through June 18. MAG hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on Thursdays and First Fridays. Admission is $5-$15; free to members, children age 5 and younger, and University of Rochester faculty, staff, and students. Half price admission on Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m. For more info, call 276-8900 or visit mag.rochester.edu.