Julie Perini: The Blog

I had some business to take care of back east this summer.  Meanwhile, my collaborators on Tough Stuff from the Buff, a program of film and video work by Buffalo media makers, toured the Pacific Northwest by bike, showing the program to audiences at all kinds of venues throughout the region.  I am jealous!  However,  I will attend two upcoming screenings with Marc Moscato and David Gracon, two of my favorite Buffalonians turned Oregonians.  We will have DVDs for sale, stories to tell, and more.

Sunday, August 2, 7pm, The Waypost, Portland, OR

Tuesday, August 4, 7pm, Ditch Projects, Eugene, OR

The Great Paul Vanouse

On Monday, July 6, University at Buffalo Art Professor Paul Vanouse visited NYSSSA and gave one of the most inspiring artist talks ever delivered to a crowd of high school students.  He is all about “emerging practices,” meaning, he works with new materials and processes not normally considered under the purview of art.  And I don’t mean to say that he uses garbage or other everyday materials; I mean he uses DNA and biological processes usually reserved for scientific inquiries.  Joan Linder, his GF, an outstanding artist who draws and paints, and another old Buffalo chum of mine, was also in town for the night, along with their kid Rafael.

I visited Boston a few months ago and while on the T, I was delighted to see an animated series of images flash by me out the window. There were many painted panels on the wall of the subway and when viewed in succession by a passenger on the train, they created the illusion of movement. I had never thought of this before, this idea to create a moving image experience where the body moves instead of the image. I found it to be just lovely, even if it was an ad for deodorant (or whatever it was). Recently, I learned that Bill Brand is responsible for inventing this process/technique. In 1980, he created the Masstransiscope in New York City. Check out his site for more information.

From Bill Brand's site, an image of the Masstransiscope

That's me in the green, opening up a young mind to the creative and expressive possibilities of computer-based art.

Current location: Oswego, NY for the month of July to teach Computer Art at the New York State Summer School for the Arts.  This is my third year teaching at NYSSSA, a program for New York State high school students who show exceptional promise in the field of media art.