2/26: 100 FOOT RIDE // new works by ALEXANDER STEWART at Happy Collaborationists

2011 February 21

by theacreproject

100 FOOT RIDE
new works by ALEXANDER STEWART
Februrary 26, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, Feb 26, 6-10
Gallery Hours by appointment: Contact
info@happycollaborationists.com

Happy Collaborationists
1254 N Noble

100 FOOT RIDE is a looped 16mm film installation work by Chicago artist Alexander Stewart. Continuing a series of projects that use the 100-foot length of a roll of 16mm film as a formal constraint, 100 Foot Ride combines durational performance art with a Structural-film format. In this piece, the artist constructed a contraption with a loop of wire connecting a stationary bicycle with a 16mm Bolex camera. As the artist pedals the bicycle, the wire turns a handle, which cranks the film through the camera. While 100 feet is not traditionally a challenging distance for a bicyclist, the 100-foot length of the roll of film translates into a difficult task for the artist as he struggles with the physical task of pedaling while battling the entropy of his jury-rigged bike-camera contraption.

ALEXANDER STEWART lives in Chicago, Illinois. Born in Mobile, Alabama, he graduated from the University of Richmond, and received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Alexander teaches animation in the School of Cinema and Interactive Media at DePaul University. He is the co-director of the Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation, and programs a monthly screening series at Roots & Culture gallery.

More information about Alexander Stewart can be found at www.alexanderstewart.org.