Opening Reception: Saturday, August 2 from 6–9 pm, in conjunction with White Linen Night
Gallery Location: Arthur Roger Gallery Video Room, 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present “I Don’t Understand,” a video installation by Robert Hannant. The exhibition will be on view in the Arthur Roger Gallery video exhibition space, located at 432 Julia Street, from August 2 – August 30, 2014. The gallery will host an opening reception with the artist in attendance, Saturday, August 2 from 6-9 pm in conjunction with White Linen Night.
I Don’t Understand, 2014. Digital video. 12:39.
I Don’t Understand is a digital video installation by multi-media artist Robert Hannant. The single projection made up of multiple videos, each with its own significant soundtrack, symbolizes the fractured environment of a stranger’s mind. A young woman appears at the center of the projection in profile, a personified Rorschach blot that beckons the viewer to lean in, to look closer, to bear witness to her stunted personal narrative. Her questions and statements equally reveal strength, weakness, certainty and doubt. Surrounding her are the fantastical distorted reflections of the complexity of the inner workings of the mind. These are represented by pulsating, amorphous shapes evocative of blood flow and firing neurons; painted faces much like contrasting masked muses; a monochromatic, palliative rain storm; a sensual drift over a woman’s body; a face reflecting a summoning radiant light; galloping horses at a racetrack. Each “window” of this mind laid bare is relatable on some level, forcing viewers to find themselves simultaneously caught in the uncomfortable role of both voyeur and object of scrutiny. The installation invites a personal experience, allowing each viewer to control his/her engagement.
Robert Hannant is originally from Toronto, Canada and has since lived around the world including Nigeria, South Africa, Iran, Austria, England and American cities: Boston, Dallas, New York and Los Angeles. He cites Vienna, Austria as the place where the rich culture, architecture and grand style formed a lot of his visual style and appreciation of the macabre. However, he is drawn to the “combination of influences that make [New Orleans] so visually appealing,” describing it as culturally complex and contradictory with an “overriding aura of mystery.”Hannant has exhibited throughout the South at various galleries including Guthrie Contemporary and McKinney Avenue Contemporary and his films have been included in numerous festivals. He was recognized as a Texas Artist by the Texas Arts Council for his experimental short films and has won many national and international awards over the years as a commercial director. He currently resides in New Orleans.