In some ways Lost in Linear Valley is a tech-demo gone wonderfully wrong. JJ Stratford’s formal exploration of the LZX Video Synthesizer and the Fairlight Computer Video Instrument (CVI) resulted in a suite of 10 short experimental videos questioning obsolescence and early video aesthetics. At first glance, one could mistakenly take this work to be a study of dead-media fetishism. However, one watches this suite unfold into a delicate investigation of the limits of technology, and the potential those limits enable. Through the use of preset wipes and crude RGB color palettes, Stratford uncovers hidden potential in what otherwise would be considered a long-outmoded device for creative expression. In doing so, the typical subversive gesture of using obsolete technology that occurs within contemporary art is supplanted by an earnest exploration into a crucial link between early video aesthetics and current technologically inflected imagery.
The lives and turbulent adventures of a bunch of fourteen-year-old teenagers, through the eyes of three young girls - Sarah, Jade and Louise - with one last year to go before high school.
When 11-year-old Riley moves to a new city, her Emotions team up to help her through the transition. Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness work together, but when Joy and Sadness get lost, they must journey through unfamiliar places to get back home.
What is art and how does it relate to society? Is its value determined by its popularity or originality? Is the goal profit or expressing one's personal vision? These are some of the questions raised as we follow fiercely independent New York artist Robert Cenedella in his artistic journey through decades of struggling for creative expression.