Thursday, November 5, 2015 (7PM)
MESS WITH TEXAS
Co-presented by Aurora Picture Show and Texas Archive of the Moving Image
Curator: Peter Lucas
Aurora Members Free with RSVP, Non-members $10
Behind the Screens member reception at 6pm

Guest curator Peter Lucas has asked a number of Texas artists to create new video works using source footage from the movies, newsreels, homemade films, and television shows collected by the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. These re-workings are creative intersections of past and present, bringing new life and new perspectives to regional media memory. Join us for the premieres of new found-footage pieces by The Art Guys, Robert Pruitt, Prince Varughese Thomas, Jennifer Lane, Scott Stark, Krista Steinke, Dave Merson Hess, and Nick Bontrager. Many of the participating artists will be in attendance for a Q&A immediately following the screening.

Comments from the Curator:
I'm very happy to be the instigator and organizer of Mess With Texas, a regional media experiment connecting artists with archive - and colliding past with present. We asked 8 Texas artists (from Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth) to create new video works using as source material various regional films collected by the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI). The Art Guys, Robert Pruitt, Prince Varughese Thomas, Jennifer Lane, Scott Stark, Krista Steinke, Nick Bontrager, and Dave Merson Hess dug through the archive, selected their own sources, and created original assemblage works especially for this project. Given complete freedom, each took vastly different approaches in selecting and reworking these bits of regional media memory. The resulting program is a fascinating layering of histories and alternate realities. I hope you'll join me and participating artists for the world premiere screening this Thursday evening. The screening will be followed by a brief Q&A with the artists. Many thanks to the Aurora and TAMI for their enthusiastic support of the program, and all the artists for their creative leaps.
Peter Lucas
Curator, Mess With Texas