NEWS

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NEW PROJECTS! - November 23rd, 2009

JULY 7 Screening - July 7th, 2009

Earth Craze DVD - January 1st, 2009

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1930-40's RADIO MOD BOXES

Unique Antique Wooden Radios that have been restored, and upgraded into MP3 BOOM-BOXES.
Through the time, care, and craft of Adornatos wood restoration process, he is breathing new life into these truley unique works or art.

Before (left) and After (right)

MARC's NEWEST ACQUISITION

Marc's Christmas gift from Ula, restored by the supreme restorer - Richard Maurice.

MORE PROJECTS ON THE WAY

Over the last few months, Adornato has been collecting peoples techno-junk, stocking up on antique radios, turntables, 8mm cameras, and perfecting his wood refinishing technique for a new body of work. Below is a series of photos of his recent 'in progress' projects

Adornato is taking vintage radios from the 1930's and 40's and re-modding them to become MP3 MOD-BOX's.

Through a painfully long and toxic process, Adornato is gutting, stripping, filleting, and restoring these historic
media machines into new-age boom-boxes, by the dozens!!

Adornato has also developed a bit of fancy for these early 20th century mass-media machines,
and has begun a collection that rivals the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.

Above is a piece of equipment from the 1950's that no longer serves any purpose, but is comprised of
Adornato's art supplies for a different series of antique robots, and artistic machines he's building.

Keep visiting to see the final products!

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JULY 7: A New Kind Of Screening.. AND A HUGE SUCCESS!

Somewhere around 100 people flooded Club SAW on Tuesday July 7th, 2009 to watch the new screening 'July 7'.
The show was a huge hit, and was so well attended that the Club ran out of chairs, leaving loads more people standing by the bar, and out the door in the SAW Gallery!

A big thanks to everyone who made it out.

If you'd like to be notified of the next big event - or have comments about JULY 7 just send an email to: Marc Adornato

 

 

Featuring Short Videos and Films by 11 Ottawans:

Lee Demarbre
Bridget Farr
Roger Wilson
Pixie Cram
Marc Adornato
Ariel Smith
Ryan Stec and Veronique Coulliard
Phil Caron
Megan Turnbull
Miles Finlayson

Watch the JULY 7 Trailer!

Other things screening:

- Julia Dales: Ottawa's Beat-Box Champ Remix

- Old films of downtown Ottawa (pre-1940) with horse-drawn carriages and street cars remixed to music.

- Short videos by Chris Cunningham, Salvador Dali, Matthew Barney, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and other Youtube selections.

'JULY 7' screening soundtrack by Dr. Lee of Ottawa's, DR. LEE'S PERCUSSION AND ELECTRONICS, Girl Talk (Montreal), Scott Joplin (Arkansas), and others.

wht: A screening of short videos and films made by 11 Ottawans.
whr: Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St. (in the basement of the Arts Court bldg.) MAP
whn: Tuesday July 7, 2009. Doors open 7pm. Start time 8pm. Fin 9:30pm.
$$$: free/donation
web: www.july7.ca

Nothing in your education or your experience can prepare you for this event.

'JULY 7' is a new kind of screening featuring the short films and videos of 11 Ottawa film makers and video artists. Unlike traditional video screenings where you would watch video after video bookended by a black screen and silence, this screening will be continuous and engaging.

Between the featured videos and films, Media Artist Marc Adornato has produced numerous interludes of extremely rare historical footage of Ottawa, sprinkled with snapshots and snippets of videos by Salvador Dali, Matthew Barney, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bas Jan Ader and others, remixed with an array of Youtube clips including Ottawa's 17 year old beat-boxing champ, Julia Dales, all smashed together to the electronic beats of Ottawa's own Dr. Lee, Montreal's Girl Talk, Ragtime legend Scott Joplin, and others.

Come out to Club SAW on July 7th and enjoy something totally different.

For more information about the event, contact Marc Adornato

 

 

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THE 'EARTH CRAZE' DVD IS HERE!

Ottawa's prolific artist, Marc Adornato, is pleased to announce the release of his historic compilation Video Art DVD:

Earth Craze

A self-produced/self-published, DVD compilation of 12 short copyright-free art videos created by Marc Adornato between 2000 and 2008 that reflect our culture, depict our modern era, and stylishly addresses the social-historical quagmire of our political and technological times. The short videos address George W Bush and the war on Iraq, climate change, cloning and genetic engineering technologies, military propaganda, and other moral and ethical issues from our turbulent era.

With his 'no rules and no copyright' philosophy, Adornato steps out of the box to produce videos that tackle complex socio-political situations with simplicity, passion, and style. He addresses some of our era’s greatest challenges and problems in a way that only an artist can portray, and keep viewers energized and engaged.

 

............................................""This is Art worth watching!"

“..in Marc Adornato’s propaganda videos … the truth behind the war recruiting programs is revealed in all its brutal honesty..”
- Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Radio, March 2006

Earth Craze DVD cover and stills from the videos • click on thumbnails for larger images

This 'limited edition' compilation of artistic productions features some of Adornato's award winning, grant funded, and previously unreleased material including 'Apocalypse Necropsy' available for the first time since its premiere at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa in 2007. Also included on this DVD is "Army Commercial PS2" as seen in the 'Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War' Canadian War Museum show in 2006.

Often remixing appropriated sound and video like a collage for your TV screen, Adornato's videos are exciting, flashy, fast, and designed to be palatable for the average Joe/Jane (as oppose to current trends in Canadian Art = 'Art that is only understood by Artists'). Adornato also designed, and created all the packaging artwork, DVD menu programming, and each DVD insert is signed and numbered with a limited edition print count.

Adornato has been called a Visionary, Activist, Futurist, "the Jon Stewart of the Art world", and has also been compared to pop-culture figures such as Michael Moore, David Lynch, and Andy Warhol.

You may have already seen his videos and artwork on TV, on Youtube, in the Canadian War Museum and in other venues around North America, or maybe you haven’t yet..

Well this is your chance to own a piece of Modern Art that's worth watching, discussing, showing to your friends, and collecting for the future! And only 100 copies of this disc exist!

For $15 - You simply can't go wrong!

This limited edition Art DVD is a testament to our time and culture, and with only 100 copies created - a true collectors item.

This compilation DVD features 12 videos created by Marc Adornato from 2000-2008. Often remixing appropriated sound and video like a collage for your TV screen, Adornato also designed, and created all the packaging artwork, DVD menu, and each copy is signed and numbered with a limited edition print count.

From the revered "State of the Union" remix (2002) a critical look at George W Bush, to his most recent video work tackling subjects such as the Iraq war, Torture, Evolutionary sciences, and the chaos of Earths current affairs, 'Earth Craze' is a "MUST SEE" for any Artist, Art collector, Educator, or Arts Enthusiast.

WATCH THE EARTH CRAZE TRAILER!

 

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The 12 videos on Earth Craze are:

Apocalypse Necropsy (2007 - 10:57 mins)

"With 'Apocalypse Necropsy'...video artist Marc Adornato steps into early David Lynch territory with a disturbing gander at mankind's treatment of living organisms. "
- John Sekerka, Ottawa Xpress, 2007

While staying true to his technique of combining original and appropriated media content, Adornato takes a step away from his usual glossy pop-culture rhythmic montage videos, and instead creates a darker, melancholic masterpiece. Infused with horrific scenes of life at the cusp of death, and sprinkled with still frames of internationally acclaimed modern art, this video addresses some of the most moral and ethical topics of modern society including: euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic engineering, the treatment of animals for mass consumption and testing, and more. Shot in Belize, Guatemala, Halifax, and Mont Tremblant Quebec.

In God We Trust (2007 - 10:22 mins)

Using an assortment of remixed audio samples and appropriated visuals from television news broadcasts and the Internet, Adornato creates a rhythmic and searing montage about George W Bush's war on Iraq. This controversial video addresses the war, religion, human suffering, and death (including footage of Saddam Hussein’s execution) in a very blunt and straight forward way. This video contains scenes of extreme violence, death, and other graphic imagery that is not suitable for younger or sensitive audiences.

Army Commercial PS2 (2006 - 1:09 mins)

After spending a year and a half producing Canadian Army propaganda videos for DND under the command of General Rick Hillier, Adornato left the position and began to create a series of anti-recruiting propaganda videos that were later shown in the Canadian War Museum's unprecedented exhibit: Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War. In this mock-recruiting commercial, Adornato adds his own voice-over, and plays a video game (poorly) in a satirical yet poignant request for kids to join the army.

“..in Marc Adornato’s propaganda videos … the truth behind the war recruiting programs is revealed in all its brutal honesty..”
- Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Radio, March 2006

KFC Commercial (2001 - 1:27 mins)

Using found footage, and a remix of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's song 'Sweet Pain', Adornato depicts the mass production and ethically debatable processing of chickens for mass consumption. With thousands of views on Youtube, and dozen of viewer comments, this engaging anti-KFC commercial is a staple of Marc's polished, rhythmic, video remix style.

The Fish (2007 - 2:10 mins)

Adornato documents a metaphor for the dilemmas of modern times in relation to pollution and irreversible environmental damage, by setting 'Big Mouth Billy Bass the singing fish', on fire.

Thanks Michel (2001 - 4:21 mins)

Using found footage and some rapid firing beats, Adornato creates a rhythmic pop-culture montage showing the modern day realities of science fiction becoming science fact. From robotic limbs, human arms transplants, a human ear being grown on a mouse, to the cloning of human beings, Adornato strings together real footage from some of our modern era medicinal miracles.

New Evolution (2001 - 9:05 mins)

With the saying 'History repeats itself' in mind, Adornato whips up a fast and furious rhythmic montage that depicts his theosophy of universal repetition. Starting in the heavens of space, Adornato shows the timeline of Earths existence, following the progression from dinosaurs to humans, and ending in modern times, with the exploration and return to Outer Space and a genetically manipulated new Human Evolution.

State of the Union (2002 - 10:32 mins)

On September 20th, 2001, nine days after the infamous 9-11, the controversially elected and doubtfully qualified new President of the United States gave the 'State of the Union' speech to the world. It was in this speech that George Bush Jr. outlined the 'Axis of Evil' (Iraq, Iran, and North Korea), announced the new long term war against terrorism, and gave every nation in every region an Ultimatum: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." His 35 minute speech was interrupted 27 times by thunderous standing ovations from a united congress. In this interpretation, the speech has been widdled down to 10 minutes, and highlights the most important points.

This video has been re-edited, manipulated, and intentionally distorted to portray a critical and satirical perception of this event as it was perceived by the artist 1 year after it aired.

Smash (2007 - 2:45 mins)

Adornato documents his metaphor for the violence and social anxiety felt in North Americas modern times by taking an organ, usually associated with music, religion, spirituality, or the arts, and smashes it to pieces wearing a business suit and gasmask.

2005:Free Art Experiment (2005 - 7:32 mins)

After a new years eve party, Marc is hit with an epiphany on how to get his art work into the hands of interested viewers. He'd simply ask them if they wanted a DVD! Before he knew it, using email newsletters and bulletin boards, he had asked over 3000 people if they wanted his free DVD. And they replies started rolling in! This is a short documentary of how the artist financially shot himself in the foot.

Mabus Trailer (2002 - 4:02 mins)

This is a movie style trailer featuring dozens of clips from Adornato's ongoing performance series 'Mabus: Tales for the Future'. This documentary stars Marc Adornato as the fascist pro-cloning modern dictator, Mabus, and his adventures with tend to be guerrilla style performances in public spaces across Canada. From Hijacking a protest march in Ottawa (seen in G8?), to running for Prime Minister in the 2000 elections in Halifax, Adornato fearlessly throws himself into unscripted situations and delivers some entertaining results! Shot in Ottawa Ontario, Halifax Nova Scotia, Victoria BC, and Mont Tremblant Quebec.

G8? (from Clone TV - 2003 - 5:32 mins)

This is a excerpt from Adornato's ongoing performance series 'Mabus: Tales for the Future' - and his 2003 DVD release 'Clone TV'. In 'G8?' Adornato and counter-part Dave Wilkson throw themselves into the chaos and frenzy of an Anti-G8 protest rally in Canada's capital city Ottawa to try to raise awareness on a more important long-term issue; Human Cloning. This video documents how they hijacked the protest, lead the crowd through the streets, and ended up on the 6 o'clock news with a bigger story about them, than the G8 protest itself!

Remix (2002 - 2:30 mins)

On July 27, 2002, 15 video artists from Ottawa were asked to produce a short video using only a 1 hour broadcast of CBC News Television as source material. The event, called 'REMIX' was curated by Ryan Stec and Anne Clarke, and took place at SAW video co-op. The judges were the public, and the winner was Marc Adornato. Be sure to check out this hilarious dig at America's patriotism and American pride.