University of North Texas

@ UNT on the Square: 109 N Elm

The Narrative Arc
curated by Jenny Vogel

Opening Reception: Tuesday Nov 2, 5-7PM

Patryce Bak, Ofri Cnaani, Ellie Ga, Sven Johne, Ezra Johnson, Selena Kimball, Ellie Krakow, Dave Mishalanie, Joshua Sanchez, Julie West and UNT New Media Art students.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=291488&id=599735311&l=f82bdce7f4

It's a lucky man who can say "when," "before" and "after."
- Robert Musil "Man Without Qualities," 1930

Narratives are based on a sequence of events, no matter how improbable, "as long as it sets off an emotional tick, to which subsequent episode can provide an answering tock." * This suggests that narratives not only rely on sequencing or stringing together cause and effect, but also on our perception or misperception of relationships or dependencies within the episodes. How can this understanding of sequences and a continuation of plot through textual strings be translated into images and objects? What kind of structures can replace the words, sentences and paragraphs to experience narration in a visual context?

The moving image, the graphic novel, or digital art might be the most obvious media where both text and image collide, providing a bridge between the two disciplines. But if narratives are also established through our ability to read dependencies between two or more parts, then stories can emerge from spatial relationships, complex layering of material and meaning, or the artistic process itself.

The artists in this exhibition address the questions raised above, while challenging the conventions of visualizing story.

* J. David Velleman, "Narrative Explanation," Philosophical Review 112 (2003): 1-25.

Events related to the exhibition:

Tuesday, November 2nd, 5-7PM
Opening Reception

Friday, November 5th, 5-9PM-
First Friday Denton Gallery event with live-cinema projections by UNT New Media Art students

Thursday November 11th, 7-9PM
Exhibition artist Ellie Ga will perform The Fortune Tellers, a performative lecture about her experiences on board the Tara, a sailboat drifting in the frozen pack ice in the Arctic Ocean.

Friday November 12th, 5-6:30PM
Readings by UNT Creative Writing students

UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St, Denton, TX 76201
Hours: Mon -Wed 9-5; Thurs 9-8, Fri 9-5, Sat 11-3 (closed for lunch from 12-1)