Freewaves first presented Civic Statues Unfrozen for One Hour: Clothed Women and Unarmed Men in Los Angeles in 2009, and over the years it has also screened in Moscow, Buenos Aires, and New Orleans. The program is a 60 minute loop of two channels of 15 international artists’ short videos selected by Freewaves director Anne Bray from work that appeared in Hollywould, our 11th festival, which happened in 2008. The two-channel presentation allows the different pieces to be in dialogue with each other, creating new connections and contrasts in a conversation about public space, memory, safety, and gender.
The program notes read, “From quiet inquiries to over-the-top intensities, these works look at our communal activities from numerous angles, beholding the public conditions surrounding us: Living sculpture – Swapping semiotics – Historical roots – Dog catching – Working simultaneously on desktop and in Dubai – Subway reveries – Surveillance overkill – Slo mo martyrdom – Digital Graffiti – and Boarder Guardian. Public reconvenes with private.”
Freewaves is currently deepening and reorganizing our archive of 35 years of public art in Los Angeles. Check back in 2025 to explore more of our history.
