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Talk about giving new meaning to the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."

This week, the Arnot Art Museum is hosting an installation called "Fragments."

Artists Michael Chang (Denmark), Marty McCutcheon (Berkeley) and Jan Kather (Here!), have transformed the Falck Gallery into what the museum calls a "creative art incubator," which I think is the exact right term for what I've seen there the past couple of days.

They built a screen out of recycled materials, onto which they are projecting videos made by 30 artists from all over the world. And I mean ALL over the world. Participating artists are from places including Australia, Argentina, Italy, India, Scotland, South Africa, Holland, and Togo?

       I had to look that one up.

The videos are of varying lengths, have wildly different focuses, and can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways.

I visited during the time that an Elmira College class was there, and listened to Michael Chang highlight the benefits of being open to new artistic experiences, as they can potentially enhance your life. Jan Kather indicated the significance of considering electronic images, which are so dominant in society today, in a vastly different context.

 

The coolest part for me was actually getting to interact with the exhibit, which is encouraged. You can step up to the computer and select the artists whose videos you want to view. The videos pop up in boxes on the computer screen, and are in turn projected onto the large recycled screen. You can then move the video boxes around however you'd like, creating your own experience with them.

One video that I clicked on featured a creepy television in a darkened room showing nothing but static, with the static noise as well, which to me was reminicient of something you might see in a horror movie. Michael Chang mentioned the importance of sound for that genre, because once you take that away from those types of movies, they aren't as scary. (I agree. Watch the infamous shower scene from "Psycho" sometime on mute. I think it loses a lot of its impact without all those screeching violins, etc.)

Anyway, that's what a horror fan took away from this exhibit :)

"Fragments" continues Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, there's an Artists' Talk about collaboration at 2 p.m. and an Open House from 3 to 5 p.m.; on Friday, videos will continue to be screened and then the deinstallation will take place.

The entire thing is also being streamed live (and watching is pretty addicting - you've been warned!) at:

http://www.michaelchang.dk/04_words/workwords/fragments_project.html
(There's a live chat happening on the site if you have any questions or comments about what you're seeing.)

Stop by and have a unique interaction with some international art!

The Arnot Art Museum, 235 Lake Street, Elmira, NY 14901

(607) 734-3697, http://www.arnotartmuseum.org/