Wexner Center shows behind the lens

Megan Sonderman
Thu, 29 Oct 2015 02:47:59 +0000
Arts & Life, Events, Fine Arts, Jennifer Lange, Jennifer Reeder, Picture Lock, the wex, the wexner center for the arts

The Wexner Center for the Arts aims to take visitors behind the scenes of films with an upcoming four-day event.

Picture Lock: 25 Years of Film/Video Residencies, taking place from Thursday to Nov. 1, brings in filmmakers and visual artists who will be presenting films, speaking and demonstrating the process behind their creations.

“It gets right to the heart of the mission of the Wexner Center,” said Jennifer Lange, the Film/Video Studio Program Curator. “When this place (film/video studio) first opened, it was about being a laboratory and the focus being as much on creating art as it is presenting art.”

Lange added that the events won’t be traditional.

“Each program will be really different and spontaneous. No other will have the same structure,” she said.

Filmmakers have been paired up and they will work together to present a wide range of films and videos that they have chosen from the Wex’s archive.

“If anyone is interested in art or film, having 13 important filmmakers and visual artists at one time and in conversation with each other is sort of a rare opportunity,” Lange said.

Jennifer Reeder, an Ohio State alumni who is now teaching at the University of Illinois, will be one of the filmmakers at the event.

“It will be an extraordinary thing, since you get to see filmmakers from all over,” Reeder said. “I’m excited to see all of my friends again.”

The Film/Video Studio Program has been a part of the Wexner since it opened in 1989 and has helped hundreds of filmmakers from around the world, Lange said.

“It was a small enough program that allowed us to follow our own vision and be creative with our projects,” Reeder said.

Lange said the post-production studio is unique because filmmakers are provided with one of two editors, Mike Olenick and Paul Hill, who are well-versed in the technology used in the studio. Olenick and Hill can assist the artists so they do not have to focus on anything but their art, she said.

“They can give you advice; they have such a tremendous amount of experience and creativity to offer,” Lange said.

In addition to the films, people who attend will receive another way to look at the history of the program.

“We are also producing a pretty amazing book, about 35 artists contributed to it. It is like an oral history, thoughts and memories of their residencies, funny stories, everything. This book has even more voices and we’re giving them away for free at the program,” Lange said.

Four-day passes for the event are available to students for $25. Students can also purchase individual tickets to specific showings for $6.