Ward Shelley
	Cube interactive installation and video project: a sculptural environment for recording video-action portraits 7 september - 8 october 2001     video still, ada, 2001         cube, installation view, 2001   ___________________________________ press release Pierogi is very pleased to present an interactive installation by Ward Shelley. This exhibition is a collection of video and digital photo portraits and the machine that makes them, the Cube. The subjects (the people) are portrayed in action as they travel through a maze of confining dimensions, assuming contorted positions, negotiating twists and turns, and overcoming obstacles. All the action is recorded by 15 video cameras. As often depicted in compelling moments by sports and news photography, what emerges in these video portraits is a record of how the people manage these difficulties, their physical and mental strategies, and their emotional responses to demanding and unusual situations. While the demands of the Cube require the full attention and interaction of the participants, around each corner it also provides changing visual environments and points of view for the viewers. Also, the corridor of the maze forms a physical analog to the rectangular constraints of the 2 dimensional picture plane typical to television, and forces the participants to remain in the frame and deal with those dimensional restrictions. The video portraits are completed in real time and are ready for viewing a minute after the subject emerges from the Cube. All videos are added to the exhibition library, available to visitors. Genesis of the Cube In March, 2000, Ward Shelley and a team of workers tunneled through the La Friche Arts Center in Marseilles, France. Shelley lived and worked on the continuance of this tunnel for 21 days. For the benefit of gallery visitors, the tunnel was full of video cameras which fed images of the interior activities down to monitors in the gallery exhibit. Shelley became interested in the video footage after the exhibition, developing portraits of the termite workers from the project. The Cube will be operating during the run of the show making portraits by appointment. The portrait project library of video portraits and playback monitors to view them is open to gallery visitors, and new digital still image portraits will continue to be posted during the exhibition, both on the walls and the Pierogi website. If you are interested in having your portrait made or doing the Cube, contact the artist or gallery. joe@pierogi2000.com / Pierogi Tel. 718.599.2144 wardshell@aol.com / Ward Shelley Tel. 718.384.5459   see Ward Shelley's We have mice installation click here to see more of Ward Shelley's work (external link)
	P   I   E   R   O   G   I 177 north 9th street brooklyn, ny 11211 718.599.2144 noon to 6p thursday through monday and by appointment pierogi is an innovative art gallery in williamsburg, brooklyn, new york