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Black Holes/Heavenly Bodies

Ligorano Reese

1992 00:16:42 United StatesEnglishColorStereo4:3Video
Tags:
Media Analysis, Mental Landscape, Television

Description

"Black Holes/Heavenly Bodies-Hell is a high-tech nightmare about a coming-of-age in America in which violence and mediocrity are the potent background noise." – Steve Seid

Hell portrays post-war suburban family life coasting along retreads of TV sitcoms and newspaper tabloids. The cyclical narrative encapsulates the tedium and terror of a never-ending media-saturated world run amok. Hell is a minimalist sitcom. Its two main characters, Mrs. Jacuzzi and Willie are baby-sitters on a set that evokes the familiar trappings that began with Leave it to Beaver and continue with The Simpsons. Hell is a place where the TV sets don't have "off" buttons.

Black Holes/Heavenly Bodies was shot on blue screen using video and digital graphics to create a 3-dimensional media landscape. Hell is a cyclical sitcom, each part repeating and continuing just a little bit further on its way to an eery resolution.

Producer/Directors: Nora Ligorano & Marshall Reese
Assistant Director: Phil Hopper
Cast: Les Baum, Anne Hering, Jamie Grill, Alastair Kusack, etc...
Script: Nora Ligorano & Marshall Reese
Choreography Candace Langhoff
Camera: Mark Daniels
Audio recording: Dan Walworth
Original music: Herb Robertson - arranger, Mark Feldman, violin, 
Editing: Ligorano/Reese
Sound edit: Jonathon Porath
Online editing Marshall Reese
Postproduction at: EditelNY

Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese have dedicated themselves to the art of collaboration since they first met in Baltimore. Their earliest collaborations began in video art and performance. Over three decades the artists have created hardware and software art, limited edition multiples, videos, sculptures and installations using a range of materials, traditional and digital processes.

In 2008, they began installing temporary public monuments during the political conventions, a series called melted away. These sculptures of words carved in ice are filmed, photographed and streamed as they melt away and disappear. They have presented 7 sculptures in 10 different cities at the conventions in 2008, 2012, and 2016. Ligorano Reese are currently developing an exhibition of new work, including video on the climate crisis.

Articles about their work have been published in the New York Times, Art Forum, Art In America, the Huffington Post, and seen on television and other media. They have received awards and grants including 3 NYFA fellowships as well as a NEA fellowship, two Jerome Foundation Fellowships, a Puffin grant and a number of artists residencies. They are represented by Catharine Clark Gallery and show edition work with Jim Kempner Fine Art.