David K. Ross
Positions

From September 10 to November 7, 2015
Opening on September 10 at 7 pm

Positions brings together a selection of three moving-image works and a suite of drawings by artist David K. Ross. Through the use of customized lens-based devices, Ross explores how sight and sound can be manipulated to alter perception of physical space. In each of the works on display, the viewer is placed in a privileged position and is offered specific access to locations and activities that would otherwise remain concealed or out of reach.

Connecting two methods of visual observation and recording—the geodetic and the filmic—Théodolitique (2015) documents the exercises of student surveyors and the spaces in which they work. Reflecting and mimicking the means and methods by which the students practice their craft, Théodolitique captures selected actions of surveyors-in-training as they engage in their own cartographic tasks.

In The European Rooms (2014), an unhurried camera glides by bedrooms, dining rooms, and entrance halls filled with finely crafted furniture and objects. Filmed at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Thorne Miniature Rooms collection, these intimate views of Enlightenment-era architectural interiors display a familiar world of privilege, class, and prestige, but also appear in the film as inescapably uncanny and oneiric.

Borrowing its title from an ancient Greek term referring to a side entrance used by theater actors, Ross’ dual channel film Parodos (2015) reveals the activities of dancers and backstage staff who are members of Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance Company. Unseen actions that occur offstage (waiting, staying warm, drying off, whispering, listening, watching, etc.) are documented in real time, providing an alternate version of that evening’s presentation.

The series of graphite drawings from the series Horologica (1996) depict an object as it spins through various axes. Loosely based on the zoetrope but frequently resembling a stylized telecommunications satellite, the images oscillate with each rotation, providing a view into the past and future of imaging technologies.

David K. Ross produces photographs, films, videos, and curatorial projects. His work is held in major institutions and private collections in North America and Europe, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Most recently, his films and videos were shown at CineMarfa (2012), Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal (2013), the Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (2014), the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (2014) and the Toronto International Film Festival [Wavelengths] (2015).