Jason Bernagozzi’s Dialetic, an experimental Single Channel Video, has been chosen to show at the 2021 Ann Arbor Film Festival this week. The video captures the imagery of the dying American dream and questions the mythology of the post-World War II generation as the greatest generation. By deconstruction the video code, the imagery decays over the course of the video.
“In a space between past and present, nostalgia and jargon, signal and image, Dialectic is an experimental single channel video that explores the conditions of encoded contradiction”, Bernagozzi says of the video on his website, “Set in an old 1950’s gas station museum in rural Missouri, the vintage automobiles and faded mannequins are imbued with the myth of American exceptionalism. As the video moves forward, it also moves back, causing a flickering and breakdown of the video as an electronic material unable to resolve, expressing a kind of computational poetry that finds a new state in between.”
It is a huge honor for Dialetic to be selected to screen, as the festival is the oldest film festival dedicated to experimental work in the United States and is quite competitive. For Bernagozzi, the video’s selection is a way for him to expand his practice.
As Art & Art History Department Chair Ellie Moseman notes, “Experimental video is an important artform in contemporary art. What an honor for Jason’s work to be selected for this high-profile event! Not only is this a feather in his cap, but it is also brings positive visibility to CSU when our faculty attain recognition through achievements such as this.”
In non-pandemic times, the Ann Arbor Film Festival attracts thousands of people. This year, the festival is digital; tickets are available on their website. The festival runs from March 23rd to March 28th.