HEKS/SMUK

HEKS/SMUK is a two-part show  at The Front by Michael Arcos and Ryn Wilson with the connecting element being a sound collaboration titled Gentle Touch. This show runs from August 13 - September 4th, 2016. Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays 12-5pm.

HEKS (by Ryn Wilson) is a meditation on invented myth, magic and ritual through photography, video and sound collage. This work considers both a conflicted human reverence and persecution towards that which is not understood. 
HEKS was born out of an observation of the way that the term “witch” has evolved in recent popular culture. A word, which in the past was used to accuse women of dissent and evil that would send them towards horrific fates, has become something that describes feminine power now in a more positive light. 
These works utilize a cinematic style combining landscape, geometry and symbolism to evoke a sense of mysticism and the supernatural with a strong, female protagonist at the helm. 

SMUK (by Michael Arcos)
The first of the "Instagram Doom Wave" genre. SMUK is a video triptych viewed through photon rejuvenation masks. The installation gives the viewer a chance to act as voyeur to the humor, sadness, fear, pain, love, lust, obsession, addiction and confusion expressed through one man's Instagram account. 

“Gentle Touch, a limited edition of 13 cassette tapes, accompanies the exhibition. A subdued explosion of synth, drum machine, and sampling, Michael and Ryn create an atmospheric, auditory experience to complement the works on view. In a handsome, ethereal, 32 minute special bundle of repurposed white plastic church cassette tapes, Gentle Touch will reach you in unexpected ways.” -PH 

“Gentle Touch is a must see and hear” -Robert Englund

Listen to and download Gentle Touch or buy the cassette tape while supplies last.
https://fleariddenkitten.bandcamp.com/album/gentle-touch

Ryn Wilson is a multi-media artist living and working in New Orleans. She works in photography and video, often incorporating other techniques such as collage, sewing, painting, drawing and installation. Her themes revolve around human/nature in conflict with social constructs.
She received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her MFA from the University of New Orleans.
Ryn is a costume designer and has been a member of the artist run gallery, The Front, since 2014 where she exhibits, curates and co-founded an annual shorts film festival.
rynwilson.com

Michael Arcos, raised in Miami, FL, began his film career editing on VHS and has been working in film and video for over a decade.
His films have screened at: Calgary Underground Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Cucalorus Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Glasgow Short Film Festival, Gasparilla Film Festival, Borscht Film Festival and others.
Arcos most recently wrote, directed, edited and created the sound design for his narrative short Dream Throat. He was commissioned to create live performance installations for site-specific screenings of this film at Prospect 3 New Orleans at The Hotel Monteleone 2014, The Cucalorus Film Festival 2015 and The Standard Hotel in New York City 2016.
Arcos currently lives and works in New Orleans where he formed Dream Throat Productions and S.L.I. Films LLC. He continues to focus on creating new work through film, sound design and animation.

Artist Statement: https://vimeo.com/michaelarcos/myartiststatement
www.sexlabinc.com
www.dreamthroat.com

Great Wall of Oakland Screening

My film Parallel Realms was projected on a 100ft outdoor screen during Oakland's monthly art walk. Here is a shot of it on the big (huge) screen. 

Digital Networks Film Fest

This Saturday we will be hosting a shorts film festival at The Front.

Theme:

We live in a contemporary sphere where many people are connected through social networks, and a person’s identity can be traced through their virtual trail of web-surfing breadcrumbs. These films express the aesthetics of social media webs, the entanglement of internet content, and the non-linear properties of hypermedia.

Columns by Justin Lincoln

Sharing Lazy Gains by Mores McWreath

Egress: Google Rhapsody by Billy Sims

We will announce the best in show selection on the night of the screening. The winner will receive a $200 prize.
Featuring work by:
Alex Anikina

Shimul Chowdhury

Dylan Cruz Azaceta

Nance Davies

Clint Enns

David Hassell

Heejin Jang

Justin Lincoln

Mores McWreath

Eden Mitsenmacher

Heather Murphy

Billy Sims

Eric Souther

Jurors:
Kevin Baer
Vanessa Centeno
Cristina MolinaRyn Wilson

http://www.nolafront.org/shows/2016-06-07-98

Website Up

My new website is up and running! I will be tweaking things and adding more work soon.

Website Down

My website is currently down due to hacking. It is in the process of being completely revamped, so stay tuned for a new and improved rynwilson.com!

The Front Collective - Three Group Exhibitions

This January I had work in three group shows with The Front. The first, "Carry On", was a two part exhibition in Mexico city. This show was part of an exchange we did with Feral, a Mexico City based collective who came to New Orleans to do a show at The Front last July.

The first part, where Front members showed individual works, was held at Galeria Breve in the Centro Histórico from January 7th-23rd.

Talking with Jorge, the owner of Galeria Breve.

A shot of my video, Lost Archives, through the window.

The second part was at Galeria Feral from January 9th-28th. In this show, we each created an 11x17" work on paper representing our interpretation of an altar. We also projected a group video project where we walked in a processional of costumes along the Levee in New Orleans. 

Altar Drawing, Ryn Wilson, 11x17", 2015

Processional Video, The Front, 2015

The third show was a new and old member show at the Front from January 9th-February 7th. 

SHIFTCHANGE featured the work of our talented new members; Kevin Baer, Vanessa Centeno, Patrick Coll, Kelly Mueller, Cynthia Scott, Patch Somerville and Madeine Wieand,

as well as our returning old members; Lee Deigaard, Imen Djouini, John Isiah Walton, Cristina Molina, Brooke Pickett, Alex Podesta, Claire Rau, Jamie Solock, Jonathan Traviesa, Jessie Vogel, Ryn Wilson

I had a two channel video on display, which is the beginning of a larger project I will exhibit this August. The work investigates witch hunts, past and present. In this piece I take devices used against the "witches", rotten eggs and fire, and put them into the hands of the accused.

Means, Motive, Opportunity a PhotoNOLA exhibition

I had work in a group photo show last month coinciding with PhotoNola.

Means, Motive, Opportunity
 

A four-room photography show group-curated by The Front artist collective features works by Justin Baker, Angela Berry, Carlos Jimnez Cahua, Lee Deigaard, Sam Feather-Garner, Edna Lanieri, Jennifer McClure, Cristina Molina, Alex Podesta, Akasha Rabut, Claire Rau, Erik Schubert, Matt Shain, Mitchell Soileau, Jonathan Traviesa, John Isiah Walton, and Ryn Wilson.

Detective, culprit, innocent bystander, false witness. Opportunist, victim of misadventure, lucky guesser. Inciter, corrupter, seeker. Artists with cameras pursue the red herring, concoct alibis, and find incriminating clues. 

 

The show "Discipline", that I collaborated on with Peter Hoffman in February, made it on the best exhibitions of 2015 list by Rebecca Reynolds for Burnaway.org

Read more here:

Feature : BURNAWAY’s Best of 2015: Exhibitions