Ruskin teams up with Phoenix Cinema
17 Feb 09
The Ruskin and Phoenix Picture House have joined forces for the first time, resulting in a short film event this Friday (20 February) that brings together films from undergraduate students with work from well-established artists.
The 75-minute programme, at the cinema on Walton Street, is a diverse selection of 12 films made by Ruskin students, staff and alumni, and students from the Oxford University Film Aesthetics MSt. The programme was selected by a panel of judges comprising Michael Stanley, the new director of Modern Art Oxford, Dr Andrew Klevan, director of MSt Film Aesthetics at Oxford University and Michelle Deignan, artist and visiting tutor at the University’s Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.
More than 30 films were submitted.The films chosen represent the broad interests and depth of enquiry that characterise art making at the Ruskin. Professor Michelle Deignan said: ‘Selecting films from such an interesting and thought-provoking pool of works was not an easy one. The range of vision reflected in what was submitted was remarkable and it will be very pleasurable to experience the selected films at the cinema.’
Richard Wentworth, Ruskin MasterAn event like this is a pleasure for anybody working with students as interesting as those that come to the Ruskin.
Oliver Beer, 3rd year undergraduate and director of the event, believes the programme’s strength lies in its diversity. He said: ‘The Ruskin has an immensely international and cosmopolitan atmosphere. Entries for this screening came from as far afield as San Francisco and Hong Kong. The diverse concerns of the predominantly young contemporary artists contribute to an eclectic and exciting film program and a representation of the fantastic creativity and depth of enquiry that goes on at the Ruskin from day to day.’
The program includes the ‘spectacularly choreographed’ Birds by artist and Ruskin Senior Tutor, Daria Martin as well as Janet and George, produced and directed by a Ruskin student group, a visually inventive and insightful interview with internationally renowned artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller.
Tender is The Night by Ruskin undergraduate Jasmine Robinson examines the process of watching and making films through an interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of the same name. Film Aesthetics student Robert Rapoport’s Fence presents an unsettling exchange between a man and a woman in the desolate outskirts of East Berlin.
Richard Wentworth, Ruskin Master, who contributed his video Scrape, Scratch, Dig to the programme said: ‘Watching curiosity drive somebody into making artwork is a privilege, and an event like this is a confirming pleasure for anybody working with students as interesting as those that come to the Ruskin. Ruskin Shorts is a must see.’
A 20 page colour publication providing an introduction to the films shown will be released in conjunction with the event.