UMS

Gabriel Clermont Andrea Crowley-Hughes Alexandra Garza Wei Lee Devin Dowling

Site Specificity in the Digital Age

Immersive installations that combine music, visual art, and video are not out of the ordinary in today’s gallery scene, but in the mid to late 1960s, such installations were part of the forward-thinking movement known as “expanded cinema.” Andrew Uroskie, Associate Professor of Modern Art History and Criticism at SUNY Stonybrook, explored “Selma Last Year,” a 1966 collaboration between “happenings” artist Ken Dewey, civil rights photographer Bruce Davidson and minimalist composer Terry Riley, in an Understanding Media Studies lecture on November 10, 2014.

Rachael Bongiorno Stephanie Ronchi Frances Underhill Shoshana Greenspan

We have made a video response to Andrew Uroskie’s talk by creating a version of ‘Selma Last Year’ for the recent protests in Ferguson, Missouri. ‘Selma Last Year’ was a multimedia installation created by Ken Dewey, Bruce Davidson, and Terry Riley, which juxtaposed projected images, audio collage, small photographic prints and16mm documentary film, with a delayed video feedback loop. The intention was to create a series of intentionally disjunctive environments for the audience.

Asma Negash Stefan Melichar Robert Fazio Cristina Gonzalez-Delgado Alanna Caplin

A Discussion on Andrew Uroskie’s Presentation on Selma Last Year

Robert: Initial reactions to Andrew Uroskie’s presentation on Selma Last Year were varied. Heading into this presentation, I had many questions: why is there going to be a presentation on something that was neglected by the art community and ultimately forgotten? How am I supposed to understand this complex and emotionally exhausting exhibit by listening to someone describe it?