{"id":14310,"date":"2015-03-24T20:25:27","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T00:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/news\/article.php?ArticleID=14310"},"modified":"2015-03-24T20:25:27","modified_gmt":"2015-03-25T00:25:27","slug":"14310_faculty-spotlight-roberta-friedman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/2015\/03\/24\/14310_faculty-spotlight-roberta-friedman\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Spotlight: Roberta Friedman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Associate Professor Roberta Friedman\u2019s upcoming visit to Cuba to showcase her new video installation created in conjunction with her video partner, Dan Loewenthal, <\/span><\/strong>at the sixth annual International Videoart Festival  <\/span>in Camaguey, <\/span><\/strong>is, in filmmaker\u2019s parlance, the \u201cinciting incident\u201d for this story.  <\/span>Friedman, along with another MSU associate professor, Beverly Peterson, are at the leading edge of a d\u00e9tente with the communist nation with their participation in the festival.  <\/span>But, the real story is in the work Friedman will be showcasing \u2013 \u201c49 Waltzes for the Motor City: Detroit.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The biennial video festival and conference <\/span><\/strong>will run from March 31 to April 4, and Friedman\u2019s homage to Detroit is an interactive video installation.  <\/span>She is excited at the prospect of highlighting her work to the international video community. \u201c<\/em>I have wanted to go to Cuba for a long time and this was the perfect opportunity."<\/p>\n

So, w<\/a>hat exactly is a video installation and what is the genesis for the title of Friedman\u2019s work?  <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Wikipedia, a video installation <\/span>is \u201ca contemporary art<\/span><\/a> form [born in the 1970s] that combines video<\/span><\/a> technology with installation art<\/span><\/a>, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience.\u201d  <\/span>Friedman adds, <\/span><\/strong>this installation is a part of \u201c a series of artistic video installation pieces that capture the essence of selected cities.  <\/span>The aim is to encourage people to listen to the sounds of the city and to experience the particular spirit of that place which integrates the populace, architecture, history, culture and the <\/span>sounds inherent in it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c49 Waltzes for the Motor City: DETROIT\u201d implies Friedman has used other locations as her canvas, and, indeed, she has been a world traveler and video installer in such cities as:  <\/span>New York, Cairo, Graz, Beijing, Milan and Detroit.  <\/span>All except the New York piece were produced with Loewenthal, (an MSU Filmmaking adjunct instructor)<\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

How it works<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Video installation art proves  <\/span>art is no longer passive and static.  <\/span>Roberta Friedman\u2019s work requires audience involvement, and it is dynamic and multi-dimensional.<\/span><\/p>\n

The components for Roberta\u2019s  <\/span>49 Waltz series  <\/span>includes a 50 inch high definition monitor with external speakers, which can be mounted on a stand or wall, a 30 inch touch screen , a laptop to run the program, and additional monitors so the piece can be viewed by several people at the same time, although there is only one \u201cdriver.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

\u201c49 Waltzes for the Motor City: DETROIT\u201d <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Detroit, once the most American of cities, was once the engine of the rapid growth of the US industrial might in the twentieth century.  <\/span>It is now a model for a dystopian take on the American dream. It was the change of fortune of the Motor City that was what Friedman and <\/span> <\/span>Loewenthal wanted to explore.  <\/span><\/span>\u201cWhat could we discover about how far we came and where we could go as a society? What did the city look and sound like beyond the destruction porn we see in the media? We also wanted to hear what people had to say about their city:  <\/span>what they remembered and why they feel the city is at this crossroad and could fall further or rise in another form.\u201d<\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n

Friedman and Loewenthal employed the same random method they <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/strong>had used in previous Waltz projects. <\/span> <\/span>They recorded 49 Waltzes, 147 locations, each with a 360 degree shot in Detroit.   <\/span>In this particular case, documentary element was added:  <\/span>If a person was standing on one of the selected corners, they were interviewed, and that was included in the piece.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c49 Waltzes for the Motor City\u201d is a unique vehicle aimed at revealing the many facets of Detroit present and past, and what might be its future as it struggles to emerge in a new form with a sense of its historical significance intact.  <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Explaining 49 Waltzes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The origin of the series title also has a compelling story, and, in a way it\u2019s Friedman\u2019s homage to John Cage.  <\/span><\/strong>In 1977, at the invitation of Rolling Stone <\/em><\/span>magazine, American avant-garde composer John Cage celebrated the sounds of New York City with a graphic music score that invited the listener to experience the specific sounds (the music) of randomly selected places in his beloved city. Using the IChing (an ancient divination text for explaining random selection) as his agent of selection, Cage designated 147 locations from all five boroughs and organized them in sets of three. Lines connected each set of three locations creating 49 triangles.  <\/span>Ergo, his title, \u201c49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs.\u201d  <\/span>Cage instructed the participant to go to the apex of each \u201cangle\u201d and just listen or record the sound of the city.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Cage, \u201cWherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise.  <\/span>When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1992 Roberta was asked by Don Gillespie of Peters Publishing to create a video realization of this work. Cage suggested that this same piece be transcribed for other cities in the world, and here provided a template for subsequent waltz pieces. <\/span><\/p>\n

Friedman\u2019s Path from \u201cStar Wars\u201d to Video Installation Art<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c49 Waltzes\u2026\u201d seems a far cry from Roberta Friedman\u2019s more conventional roots.  <\/span>She began her career in radio as producer of the KPFK, (Los Angeles Pacifica Station) series, "Richland Woman." From there she segued into creating film titles and opticals, leading to special effects with Lucasfilm on \u201cStar Wars<\/span>\u201d and \u201cThe Empire Strikes Back\u201d \u2013 specializing in sparks, matte work, and swords. <\/span> <\/span>Friedman continued in post-production working on such notable features as \u201cRagtime<\/span>,\u201d \u201cDays of Heaven<\/span>,\u201d and \u201cHair.\u201d <\/span> <\/span>She was also the producer of the feature film \u201cAlphabet City<\/span>,\u201d and co-produced Blockbuster films,  <\/span>\u201cWolves of Wall Street<\/span>,\u201d and  <\/span>\u201cA Good Night To Die,\u201d<\/span>  <\/span>among others. <\/p>\n

In addition, Friedman has extensive production and post-production television credits. She worked with  <\/span>Michael Moore on \u201cThe Awful Truth<\/span>,\u201d  <\/span>his  <\/span>weekly documentary series for Bravo Channel and Britain\u2019s Channel 4 in the U.K.  <\/span>She has worked for HBO, Bravo, A&E, and WNET, to name a few.  <\/span>She was the executive producer of \u201cHERE! Family,\u201d a television series about gay, lesbian and transgender families, that was broadcast on the HERE! Network.  <\/span>She produced the biography of Stockard Channing for Bravo, and produced and developed a one hour weekly series \u201cID: It\u2019s Dance!\u201d an issue based rock and roll weekly dance\/talk show for WWOR. <\/p>\n

Friedman\u2019s documentary credits include a documentary with the director, professor Tony Pemberton, <\/span><\/strong> <\/span>about the rock group Devo, titled, \u201cAre We Not Men?\u201d currently in post production, and  <\/span>\u201cKANDINSKY: Another Look\u201d, which was presented at the Guggenheim Museum in conjunction with the Kandinsky show in 2009 and 2010.  <\/span>She was the Producer\/Post Supervisor of  <\/span>\u201cOne Man\u2019s Greed\u201d,  <\/span>a hard look at corporate greed and the destroying of the Redwoods in Northern California – a high definition documentary feature film , \u201cThe Music In You<\/span>,\u201d for Mattel Entertainment Corp.  <\/span>released  <\/span>worldwide on DVD, \u201cCabinet of Spells,\u201d about Cinderella, women and storytelling, \u201cPearl Harbor: A Time<\/span> to Remember,\u201d<\/span> which aired on PBS and  <\/span>\u201cArt and Remembrance\u201d <\/span> <\/span>for German Television ZDF.   <\/span>This is only a partial list.  <\/p>\n

Recently, her work has been screened at the Oberhausen Film Festival, <\/span><\/strong>Rotterdam International Film Festival, Montreal International Arts Festival, and the Athens International Film Festival among others, and her work was selected as the Director\u2019s Choice Award at the 2011 Black Maria Film Festival. Her experimental work has been restored and is archived by the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences, and her interactive installation, \u201cThe Erl King\u201d is in the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum.  <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Roberta was appointed Assistant Director of Film, for the New York Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting serving during the Koch administration, and was a liaison between the film community and all of New York City.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Roberta Friedman views her 49 Waltz series as reflective of places on the cusp of change, and therein lies another, more compelling reason for her trip.  <\/span>\u201cCuba is definitely in that category – I hope to return to shoot another 49 Waltz piece in Havana,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Beverly Peterson will be accompanying Friedman to Cuba to present her documentary \u201cWhat Killed Kevin,\u201d and she will be highlighted in next month\u2019s newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Associate Professor Roberta Friedman\u2019s upcoming visit to Cuba to showcase her new video installation created in conjunction with her video partner, Dan Loewenthal, at the sixth annual International Videoart Festival  in Camaguey, is, in filmmaker\u2019s parlance, the \u201cinciting incident\u201d for this story.  Friedman, along with another MSU associate professor, Beverly Peterson, are at the leading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":114310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-of-communication-and-media-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}