PERSONAL CINEMA 6-10 OCTOBER 2000 127 TSIMISKI ST./THESSALONIKI OPENING ON FRIDAY, 6th OCTOBER, AT 9pm. PRESS RELEASE PERSONAL CINEMA If one were to go back to the infancy of the cinema, in the 19th century, one would observe that the new medium satisfied a series of requirements, among which was the need for a massive (and controlled) viewing of artworks. The 'primitive' cinema had no qualms about distinguishing among the many ways of manipulating images or their usually deficient qualities of the sequence. Its importance lay in the manual, painterly processing of images and the spontaneous manipulation, which gave to the end product its poetic aspect even if today this sounds somewhat naive. On the other hand, viewers, for all the awe and wonder the new medium generated, were given the opportunity to take time between consecutive frames and thus actively participate in the unfolding of the story. The subsequent industrialization of cinematography imposed new rules that demanded 'structured stories' at 24 f/sec, and a closely controlled editing which minimized the risk of the hyper-reality of the images collapsing. What gave to 20th-century cinema its exclusivity, as a medium for "realistic recording" was mainly the technical difficulty of modifying images once they had been shot. Although directly descended from animation, the cinema marginalized it throughout the century; now, in its digital form, cinema is just one of its versions. Seen in this light, the frame-by-frame construction of images in digital cinematography constitutes a return to the 19th-century, when animation and image processing were manual work. As cinema goes into the digital era, these techniques make a comeback as the norm in film making. Such PC programs as Quick Time and Real Video seem like modern versions of the early cinematic devices, exactly one century later but more widely accessible and, of course, mass produced. Similarly, desktop programs for editing and producing PC movies provide arguably equivalent opportunities for painterly poetics and audience intervention that were presented to the 19th century cinematographer. "The cinema, now indistinguishable from animation and no longer a leading technological medium, becomes again a sub-genre of painting" (Lev Manovich) Frequently Asked Questions To what extent can today's viewer intervene in the product of the image are define its reality? To what extent can today's viewer convert technological innovation into artistic practices, thus redefining their meaning? New technologies abolish the boundaries between space and time, so that contemporary screens can also host ghosts. What possibilities for distinction do this open? We know that digital technology allows an interactive relationship between viewer and image - but which different kinds of interaction are ultimately accessible? What is the significance of the manual processing of digital images, and how does it connect to traditional painting? As it goes from the controlled public viewing of films to the private space of the home theatre, the cinema is increasingly led towards an individualized relationship between viewer and film (personal cinema). The above questions will be dealt with by the team of artists who organized the VIDEOSHOW in October 1999 - an exhibition presented in the windows of electronic goods shops in Dragatsaniou Street (Klauthmonos Square). The exhibition PERSONAL CINEMA will be held between October 6-10, 2000 at 127 Tsimiski St. in Thessaloniki, on the ground- and 6th floor of the building. The two selected spaces house an architects' firm (2P+E) and a TV and cinema production company (PROSENGHISI), respectively. The participating artists are: F. Êariotaki, D. Dokatzis, Ì. Bontzou, E. Ìarmaras, E. Papaeliakis, A. Deck, M. Papadimitriou, U. Tzaig. Ì. Ganis, Th. Raftopoulos, E. Pega, Y. Ganas, Á. Spyropoulos, S. Ziff, L. Lupu, Y.B. David, P. Vittorakis. Opening: On Friday, 6th October 2000, at 9 o'clock in the evening. Tel: 031 281563, 031 224626 Opening Hours: Sat., Sun., Mon. and Tue. : 6-10pm. PR: Orsia Sofra Tel/fax : 01-7211 787, 0944-797467 E-mail : info@agra.gr, mb@hol.gr, dimdok@otenet.gr,