University of Maine at Presque Isle Art professor Renee Felini will showcase the next installment of her Art as My Vehicle series at the Railroad Square Cinema – located at 17 Railroad Square in Waterville – on Saturday, April 16, at 11 a.m.
Felini will premiere a short film as the final result of Art as My Vehicle #9: Run a Mile – Climbing My Mount Everest, followed by a question and answer session with the artist. She describes the piece like this: “At age 30, I could not say that I had ever run a full mile. When playing soccer while younger, the running was in spurts. One of the main reasons I quit the volleyball team after junior high was that I could not meet the running requirements levied by the high school coach. I reluctantly admit that I even cheated on the running portion of the Presidential Fitness Test in grade school, skipping laps in the mile. I finally decided it was time I meet this challenge head on. No time requirements were set. I simply had to run a full mile, start to finish. I received motivation from the team of two camera operators and the driver in the car I ran behind. The accomplishment is documented with a video of me running toward the camera for a mile.”
Felini’s Art as My Vehicle series, now in its tenth year, is a “life performance project” that includes 10 pieces so far. The series focuses on actions Felini has taken to change her life circumstance and the art that has emerged from those actions. She has said the series has allowed her to face fears, overcome personal boundaries, and gain new life experience. Her hope is that her artwork inspires others to acknowledge the art present in their own everyday lives.
The timing of Felini’s film premiere was strategically picked to be held the same day as PechaKucha Night Waterville v3, which will take place Saturday, April 16, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Waterville Grand Hotel, 375 Main Street. Alan Sanborn, manager of the Railroad Square Cinema, was initially exposed to Felini’s artwork when she presented at the first PechaKucha Night Waterville in October of 2010 and welcomed her to premiere her art film at the venue. He will provide a brief introduction to the film premiere. Sanborn indicates that the Railroad Square Cinema is “always pleased to support independent film in Maine.” Marty Kelly, a member of the PechaKucha Waterville team of organizers, has teased Felini about the proximity of the two event locations: “We are cross-promoting, not cross-training, luckily. I mentioned to her that the Railroad Square Cinema and the Waterville Grand Hotel are exactly one mile apart, but so far she has not offered to do a live reenactment.”
PechaKucha is a slideshow event that has taken the world by storm. Japanese for chit-chat, PechaKucha was created in 2003 by Tokyo architects Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein. Presenters are allotted 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide, meaning that once 6 minutes and 40 seconds are up, so is their talk. People have embraced this “short slideshow” concept and PechaKucha nights have been held in cities around the world, from Beijing and Paris to San Francisco and Boston.
The April 16th film premiere is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to benefit the PechaKucha Waterville efforts to aid in Japan’s disaster relief during the Global PechaKucha Day – Inspire Japan, which will help to raise funds for Architecture for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts in Japan. See http://global-day.pecha-kucha.org for additional details. For more information about Felini’s artwork, visit www.ReneeFelini.com.
