Masters of Fine Arts in
Experimental & Documentary Arts
Duke University
Events
March 20 - April 18
F r i d a y, 3 . 2 0
MFA|EDA 2015 Thesis Exhibition Kick Off
POWER PLANT GALLERY & THE BOILER ROOM
Reception // 5pm - 8pm
Aaron Canipe, Windrose Stanback
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Reception // 5pm - 8pm
grant yarolin
THE BOILER ROOM
Reception // 5pm - 8pm
F r i d a y, 3 . 2 7
Tracy Fish
FREDRIC JAMESON GALLERY
Reception // 6pm - 8pm
S a t u r d a y, 3 . 2 8
Anna Kipervaser
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening & Reception // 6pm
Jonna McKone, Alina J. Taalman
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening // 7pm
F r i d a y, 4 . 3
S a t u r d a y, 3 . 2 1
libi rose (striegl)
SPECTRE ARTS
Reception // 7pm - 9pm
Ava Lowrey
THE CARRACK MODERN ART
Screening & Reception // 7pm - 10pm
S a t u r d a y, 4 . 4
Ava Lowrey
THE CARRACK MODERN ART
Artist Brunch // 11am
Mendal Diana Polish
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening // 6pm
Mendal Diana Polish
THE BOILER ROOM
Reception // 7pm - 9pm
We d n e s d a y, 4 . 8
Ava Lowrey
THE CARRACK MODERN ART
Community Screenings // 7pm
S a t u r d a y, 4 . 1 1
Ava Lowrey
THE CARRACK MODERN ART
Encore Screening & Reception // 7pm
S u n d a y, 4 . 1 2
MFA|EDA +
SATELLITE STUDIO
Screening & Party // 9pm
We d n e s d a y, 4 . 1 5
Nicholas Pilarski
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening & Reception // 6pm
We d n e s d a y, 4 . 1 5
Nicholas Pilarski
THE BOILER ROOM
Reception // 7pm - 9pm
F r i d a y, 4 . 1 7
Matthew Cicanese, Aaron Kutnick, Haodong Li
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Reception // 6pm - 9pm
S a t u r d a y, 4 . 1 8
Anna Kipervaser
CARR 103
Screening // 6pm
Alina J. Taalman
SPECTRE ARTS
Reception // 8pm - 10pm
Alina J. Taalman
SPECTRE ARTS
Outdoor Screening // 9pm
Matthew Cicanese
FULL FRAME THEATER
Performance // 5pm
Aaron Kutnick, Haodong Li
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening // 7pm
more information at mfaeda2015.org
Artist Index
Aaron Canipe
Matthew Cicanese
Tr a c y F i s h
Anna Kipervaser
Aaron Kutni ck
Haodong Li
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Exhibition
March 20 - April 1
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Exhibition
April 7 - April 18
FREDRIC JAMESON GALLERY
Exhibition
March 20 - April 17
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening & Reception
Saturday, March 28, 6pm
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Exhibition
April 7 - April 18
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Exhibition
April 7 - April 18
Reception
Friday, March 20, 5pm - 8pm
Reception
Friday, April 17, 6pm - 9pm
Reception
Friday, March 27, 6pm - 8pm
CARR 103
Screening
Saturday, April 18, 6pm
Reception
Friday, April 17, 6pm - 9pm
Reception
Friday, April 17, 6pm - 9pm
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening
Friday, April 17, 7pm
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening
Friday, April 17, 7pm
FULL FRAME THEATER
Performance
Friday, April 17, 5pm
Jonna McKone
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Reception
Friday, March 20, 5pm - 8pm
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening
Friday, March 20, 7pm
Nicholas Pilarski
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening & Reception
Wednesday, April 15, 6pm
Mendal Diana Polish
Windrose Stanback
libi rose (striegl)
A l i n a J . Ta a l m a n
Av a L o w r e y
THE CARRACK MODERN ART
Exhibition
March 31 - April 11
Screening & Reception
Friday, April 3, 7pm - 10pm
Artist Brunch
Saturday, April 4, 11am
Encore Screening & Reception
Saturday, April 11, 7pm
grant yarolin
THE BOILER ROOM
Exhibition
April 3 - April 5
POWER PLANT GALLERY
Exhibition
March 20 - April 1
SPECTRE ARTS
Exhibition
March 21 - April 1
SPECTRE ARTS
Exhibition
April 6 - April 18
THE BOILER ROOM
Exhibition
March 20 - March 30
Reception
Saturday, April 4, 7pm - 9pm
Reception
Friday, March 20, 5pm - 8pm
Reception
Saturday, March 21, 7pm - 9pm
Screening & Reception
Saturday, April 18, 8pm
Reception
Friday, March 20, 5pm - 8pm
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening
Saturday, April 4, 6pm
FULL FRAME THEATER
Screening
Friday, March 20, 7pm
M FA m i c r o C I N E M A
SATELLITE STUDIO
Screening & Party
Sunday, April 12, 9pm
1 Carr 103
Duke University, East Campus
2 Fredric Jameson Gallery
Duke University, East Campus
3 The Boiler Room
American Tobacco Campus, 318 Blackwell St
3 Power Plant Gallery
American Tobacco Campus, 318 Blackwell St
3 Full Frame Theater
American Tobacco Campus, 318 Blackwell St
4 The Carrack Modern Art
111 W. Parrish St
5 Satellite Studio
105 Hood St, Studio #4
6 SPECTRE Arts
1004 Morning Glory Ave
Redemption is never permanent.
—
tom rankin
Director, MFA|EDA
the class of 2015
Aaron Canipe
Matthew Cicanese
Tracy Fish
Anna Kipervaser
Aaron Kutnick
Haodong Li
Ava Lowrey
Jonna McKone
Nicholas Pilarski
Mendal Diana Polish
Windrose Stanback
libi rose (striegl)
Alina J. Taalman
grant yarolin
Aaron Canipe
Every summer on family beach trips, I could watch
the foothills undulate slowly into itself and form
a long plateau down to the North Carolina coast
out a dusty minivan window. For me, the piedmont
existed only to get to someplace else, on the way
to the Crystal Coast or Blue Ridge. I’m getting to
know what’s in between, how red earth shows up as
mounds near new highways and new graves, how
a creek can flow like pines grazed in copper light.
Plateau is an exploration that goes local distances
across North Carolina counties.
on view
reception
Power Plant Gallery
Plateau
March 20 - April 1
Power Plant Gallery
Friday, March 20
5pm - 8pm
Matthew Cicanese
Join Matthew Cicanese on a unique sensory
expedition into the natural world of macro. Travel
with Matthew across time and experience personal
journey, the progression of exploration, and the
importance of conserving the Earth’s biodiversity
through documentary storytelling. From his
survival of a deadly illness as an infant, to successful
endeavors in science and exploration, The Evolution
of Wonder invites you to experience the natural
world in ways you’ve never seen it before.
A dichotomy of forms and unity of themes, this
journey consists of a live performance involving
audience participation, live-narration, and
mixed media presentation. Following the theater
expedition, travel into a gallery containing a nexus
of media that transcends traditional boundaries of
art and science, and awakens childhood curiosity.
on view
performance
reception
Power Plant Gallery
The Evolution of Wonder
April 7 - April 18
Full Frame Theater
Friday, April 17
5pm
Power Plant Gallery
Friday, April 17
6pm - 9pm
Tracy Fish
Autogeography is a personal observation that
suggests both the ambiguity of place and
interchangeability of landscape. Through my travels
I have found myself in familiar visual environments
across the country– like reoccurring memories.
I often contradicted my own generalizations,
creating new signifiers that could be representative
for multiple regions. These spaces of stillness
become revealed in an unexpected and unifying
blend of landscapes through out the United States.
on view
reception
Fredric Jameson Gallery
Autogeography
March 20 - April 17
Fredric Jameson Gallery
Friday, March 27
6pm - 8pm
Anna Kipervaser
A deer hunt and no mistake is a program of short
digital videos that build a space composed of
mythologies, invented and historical, utilizing
intuition and dream logic as guiding principles.
The Order of Revelation lives as a long form 16mm
black and white silent film, dealing with language
and the medium of film acting as translator.
reception
screening of digital works
screening of 16mm work
The Boiler Room
Saturday, March 28
6pm
Full Frame Theater
A deer hunt and no mistake
Saturday, March 28
7pm
Carr 103
The Order of Revelation
Saturday, April 18
6pm
Aaron Kutnick
Docu{rithm} is a series of interactive cameras
that explores the implications of algorithmic
narration of human experience. These works
invite participants to survey the emerging
algorithmic landscape enveloping and reorienting
the relationship between producer, subject, and
consumer of digital media - to consider a world
where humans are fleshy nodes within larger fields
of algorithmic curation.
Human Empathy Lab is a short film that explores
how empathic responses become acknowledged
and perceived within human consciousness.
on view
reception
screening
Power Plant Gallery
Docu{rithm}
April 7 - April 18
Power Plant Gallery
Friday, April 17
6pm - 9pm
Full Frame Theater
Human Empathy Lab
Friday, April 17
7pm
Haodong Li
What would you bring with you if you are studying
abroad for a few years? Featured in the photo series,
As a matter of things, international students at the
triangle area present their own answers.
Days of No Significance is a film that focuses on
the everyday life of Inner Mongolia, the days of no
significance from an observational point of view.
on view
reception
screening
Power Plant Gallery
As a matter of things
April 7 - April 18
Power Plant Gallery
Friday, April 17
6pm - 9pm
Full Frame Theater
Days of No Significance
Friday, April 17
7pm
Ava Lowrey
Alabama is known as being one of the most
conservative states in the south. It is also known
as a hub for southern culture and art. Just by
the nature of their womanhood, women artists
in the state are subverting the norm and paving
new ways for an emerging artistic community. In
addition, many struggle to balance motherhood
and other expectations of womanhood with their
artistic careers. Director Ava Lowrey explores this
community and their shared struggles and triumphs,
while also taking a more critical lens to look at the
sacrifices that her own artistic mother made.
on view
reception & screening
artist brunch
encore screening & reception
The Carrack Modern Art
Mothers and Daughter
March 31 - April 11
The Carrack Modern Art
Friday, April 3
7pm - 10pm
The Carrack Modern Art
Saturday, April 4
11am
The Carrack Modern Art
Saturday, April 11
7pm - 9pm
Jonna McKone
It was the untimely death of my father that brought two
distinct works together. The moment of impact and then, the
ensuing ineffability of loss. To borrow Giuliana Bruno’s words:
“one lives a film as one lives the space that one inhabits, as an
everyday passage, tangibly.”
Yields meditates on deterioration and loss through short
vignettes that aggregate to express how absurdly intertwined a
place can become with what it produces.
For the Time Being finds its structure through explorations of
places and materials significant in my own familial memory
and history, as I linger on my father’s lessons and the dreamlike nature of memories.
reception
screening
Power Plant Gallery
Friday, March 20
5pm - 8pm
Full Frame Theater
Yields
For the Time Being
Friday, March 20
7pm
Nicholas Pilarski
I, Destini is a poignant and imaginative
documentary that illustrates a youth’s perspective
on the effects of having an incarcerated loved
one. Made in collaboration with Destini Riley,
the animated film was developed through a series
of creative workshops over a two year span with
Destini and her family.
screening
reception
Full Frame Theater
I, Destiny
Wednesday, April 15
6pm
The Boiler Room
Wednesday, April 15
7pm - 9pm
Mendal Diana Polish
Queer Home is a photographic series, charting a
hand-made path that foregrounds the intentional
building of inter-generational queer family.
Queer Rites of Passage is a compilation of shorts
by various filmmakers that marks significant
milestones in our lives that vary from the heteropatriarchal rites we’re taught to grow into.
Letters to Joseph is a short film about my relationship
to my former student, Joseph, now serving life after
a successful reentry experience following a 25 years
sentence. I continue to struggle making sense of
the violence he perpetrated, and grapple with
questions of healing and forgiveness through our
exchange of letters.
on view
screening
reception
The Boiler Room
Queer Home
April 3 - April 5
Full Frame Theater
Letters to Joseph
Queer Rites of Passage
Saturday, April 4
6pm
The Boiler Room
Saturday, April 4
7pm - 9pm
Windrose Stanback
Windrose Stanback draws from the enigmatic mist of
personal memory to reimagine a fractured childhood.
Centered in the dynamic realm of place and family, she uses
photography to create a nurturing landscape in which to
remember and reinvent the past.
on view
reception
Power Plant Gallery
Tracing Sycamore
March 20 - April 1
Power Plant Gallery
Friday, March 20
5pm - 8pm
libi rose (striegl)
Thoroughly Known is a parallel series of responsive
and generative works engaging speculatively with
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Fifth Edition, and with the semiotics of
psychiatric diagnosis.
Note: This diagnosis should be made.
Some signs of the disorder. Signs of the disorder. Once
initiated, the symptoms.
on view
reception
SPECTRE Arts
Thoroughly Known
March 21 - April 1
SPECTRE Arts
Saturday, March 21
7pm - 9pm
Alina J. Taalman
Quiet Title
A certain tract or parcel of land, with all buildings
thereon, situated Southerly of the Cemetery Road, in
the town of Scotland...
When multiple parties claim ownership of land or
property, it is said there are “clouds” on the title
of the deed. Like clouds on a title, our memories
are full of ambiguities and lingering attachments.
The legal process for clearing clouds is referred
to as a quiet title action. During this process, the
disputes of all the former inhabitants need to be
voiced and addressed:
To all the people to whom these Presents shall
come, Greeting.
screening
on view
reception
outdoor screening
Full Frame Theater
Friday, March 20
7pm
SPECTRE Arts
Quiet Title
April 7 - April 18
SPECTRE Arts
Saturday, April 18
8pm - 10pm
SPECTRE Arts
Saturday, April 18
9pm
grant yarolin
Since Walter Benjamin’s claim that photography has no
aura due to its inherent property of infinite reproduction,
the photographic medium has come full circle. A
photograph is now understood to have presence,
especially when it exhibits discrete qualities like the
patina of a vintage print or the polish of a digital image. In
I know a form that knows its way around, the photograph
is pushed to reveal its idiosyncrasy, its dual-nature as
both the means of description and the thing described,
suggesting a more expansive view of the medium than its
popular conception as a window onto the world.
on view
reception
The Boiler Room
I know a form that knows its way around
March 2 - March 30
The Boiler Room
Friday, March 20
5pm - 8pm
MFA|EDA 2015 is supported by the Center for Documentary Studies, Department of Art, Art History and Visual Studies, the Program in the Arts of the
Moving Image, the Kenan Institute for Ethics, the Office of the Vice Provost for the Arts at Duke University, The Carrack Modern Art and SPECTRE Arts.
A unique initiative, the MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts (MFA|EDA) at Duke University couples experimental visual practice with the documentary
arts in a rigorous two-year program. For more than three decades, Duke has demonstrated leadership in documentary arts, film and video, and visual studies.
Drawing upon this commitment to the arts, as well as the university’s existing strengths in historical, theoretical and technological scholarship, the MFA|EDA
offers a distinct learning environment that sees interdisciplinary education as a benchmark for significant innovation. More information on the program,
faculty, curriculum and application guidelines is available on the MFA|EDA website at mfaeda.duke.edu. Additional inquiries may be sent to [email protected].
Contact
artists
Aaron Canipe aaroncanipe.com Matthew Cicanese
matthewcicanese.com / [email protected]
Tracy Fish tsfishphotography.com
Anna Kipervaser
[email protected]
Aaron Kutnick
aaronkutnick.com
Haodong Li [email protected]
Ava Lowrey mothers.springchickenproductions.com / [email protected]
Jonna McKone
jonnamckone.com
Nicholas Pilarski nlcp.info
Mendal Diana Polish [email protected]
Windrose Stanback
windrosestanback.com
libi rose (striegl) libirose.com
Alina J. Taalman
[email protected]
grant yarolin grantyarolin.com
our support
The Center for Documentary Studies
documentarystudies.duke.edu
Arts of the Moving Image
ami.duke.edu
Deptartment of Art, Art History, & Visual Studies aahvs.duke.edu
Duke Arts arts.duke.edu
The Power Plant Gallery powerplantgallery.com
The Kenan Institute for Ethics kenan.ethics.duke.edu
SPECTRE Arts spectrearts.org
The Carrack Modern thecarrack.org