“How To” A Series of Films by Chris Wright Evans, Melissa Gamez-Herrera, and Chris Wicker
The Art Galleries at TCU YouTube and Fort Worth Contemporary Arts Facebook
October 30, 2020 at 7pm CST
The Art Galleries at TCU are pleased to present “How To” featuring a series of films by Chris Wright Evans, Melissa Gamez-Herrera, and Chris Wicker. Join us on the The Art Galleries at TCU YouTube Channel and/or the Fort Worth Contemporary Arts Facebook page on Friday, October 30that 7pm CST for the premiere of “How To”, featuring new films created by Chris Evans, Melissa Gamez-Herrera, and Chris Wicker; and, an interview with the three artists and British artist David Blandy.
“How To” is the first in a series of micro-commissions by the Art Galleries at TCU featuring the work of emerging Texas artists invited to respond to prompts, ideas and challenges facing people during the COVID pandemic.
“How To” is created in response to videos made by artist David Blandy, including “How to Fly” which was released earlier this year and continues his investigation the tension between fantasy and reality in everyday life. Evans, Gamez-Herrera and Wickereach respond to Blandy’s work focusing on topics they are exploring in their own studio practices.
How to Imitate is a short video by Chris Wright Evans. The project uses free augmented reality applications and models to consider how information is transmitted through images and speculates on the paradigm shift augmented reality represents. The commentary contains sections of narration and dialogue borrowed from Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, blended with skepticism in believing what is in front of us.
How to Stop Dreaming is a film by Melissa Gamez-Herrera that is an homage to reality and living, and the unrealness of dreaming. The video considers the bleakness of reality and the imperative of coming to terms with the way things are. Our dreams are challenged, placed below the pedestal. Found footage from sources likeNational Geographic, YouTube, and the “vault” on the FBI website, show documentary and drone footage, which places images of destruction and surveillance, the microscopic and the macroscopic, on top of each other. The footage seems like the stuff of dreams. On Living, a poemby Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, inspires the end of the video which helps us to consider that although dreams fall short, we can still live.
The final film by Chris Wicker, Fast Motion Sequence: How to make a Gross Out Toy, Hot Wheel/RC Car, Action Figure/Doll, Board Game/Multiplayer, Nerf/Super Soaker, “As Seen On TV” Commercial is a video using appropriated media from early 2000s toy commercials. The video takes the formulaic tendencies of the commercials and exploits commonalities in order to demonstrate how a toy commercial in this time period was made. At the same time, the project uses the similarities to create a general brain numbing effect by the conclusion of the video.
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About the artists:
Chris Wright Evans is an artist studying the systems that define our shared perspective using specialized imaging techniques. In the Spring of 2020, Evans received his MFA from the University of North Texas. Evans’ work has been exhibited nationally in exhibition and in print. In 2016, a portfolio of Evans’ work received honorable mention from Juror Mickalene Thomas, at the Baxter Street Camera Club Of New York. In 2018, 2019, and 2020 he was a finalist for the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas Project Fund. In the Spring of 2020, Evans was invited to participate in the Fort Worth Modern’s MODERN BILLINGS public art program curated by Jesse Morgan Barnett and Tiffany Wolf Smith. Evans lives and works in New York City. www.cwrightevans.com// www.chriswrightevans.photo
Melissa Gamez-Herrera is an interdisciplinary artist who works in photography, bookmaking, printmaking, video, and other multimedia practices. She is from San Antonio, TX and has earned a BA in Art and Art History from Colgate University in Hamilton, NY in 2014. She uses photography as a medium, through which to speak on issues of identity, community, and justice. She does this through research of events related to violations of human rights, and grapples with the way art can interpret and create a pathway to collective healing. Melissa has earned her MFA in Studio Art from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX.www.mgamezherrera.com
Chris Wicker is a video and sound artist from Texarkana, TX. and practicing in Fort Worth TX. Chris has recently been working in appropriated media and found footage as a way of looking back on a certain time period while considering how the viewpoint of this footage has changed as opposed to when he first watched it. That relationship then colors his viewing experience and what he pulls from the media sources. Chris received his BFA from Stephen F. Austin State. University in Nacogdoches TX in 2018 and he is currently pursuing his MFA in Studio Art at Texas Christian University.www.picuki.com/profile/chris.m.wicker
David Blandy has established his terrain through a series of investigations into the cultural forces that inform and influence him, ranging from his love of hip hop and soul, to computer games and manga. His works slip between performance and video, reality and construct, using references sampled from the wide, disparate sources that provide his (and our own) individualist sense of self. Blandy has exhibited and performed widely across the UK and internationally, including Tate Britain/Modern, London; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germany; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; The British Film Institute, London; Modern Art Oxford, Oxford; The Wellcome Trust, London; Modern Art Museum of Bahia, Brazil; The Zabludowicz Collection, London; the Bluecoat, Liverpool; Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai. Recent residencies by Blandy include Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle; Praksis, Oslo; Iniva, London; and Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge. Last year Blandy was awarded a Random Acts Commission by Channel 4 for “Tutorial: How to make a short video about ideas.” He is represented by Seventeen Gallery, London and his films are distributed by LUX, London. Blandy completed a BA Hons in Sculpture at Chelsea College of Art and an MA in Fine Art Media at the Slade School of Fine Art (2003). David Blandy lives and works in Brighton and London.www.davidblandy.co.uk
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About The Art Galleries at TCU
The Art Galleries at TCU are a dynamic cultural resource presenting unique exhibitions and projects by inspiring contemporary artists. Through a rigorous curatorial process of research, creative collaboration and interdisciplinary partnerships, the galleries showcase excellent artistic practice and high-quality art, while supporting experimentation and innovation. To support students and faculty, the galleries act as a catalyst for critical dialogue and provide a vital avenue for professional development through investigation of contemporary art practices.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Art Galleries at TCU will remain closed to the public through the Fall 2020 semester. However, we will continue to produce online content and exhibitions, available to the TCU community and our public audience worldwide. For more information about this event, images for press, or details about other activities of The Art Galleries at TCU please visit the Galleries website www.theartgalleries.tcu.edu, email [email protected], or call 817-257-2588.
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