Educational Media Reviews Online

Arte de las Americas is volume 11 of Aspect Magazine, a biannual DVD publication. Aspect Magazine highlights artists working in experimental media.

Arte de las Americas features nine works of different media artists from Latin America. Each entry is between 6 and 19 minutes long. The audio commentaries are very valuable. Latin America has an impressive history in the production of remarkable films. This is an interesting compilation of shorts that can help to show what kind of work is being done in other countries besides Europe and the United States.

In Search Of the Giant Axolote by Daniel Mendoza (2007). This is not a natural history documentary, but rather explores the different meanings of this small reptile, found in Mexico and the representation of it within the Mexican culture.

Un Chant d'Amour by Silvia Gruner (2004). Video installation of a reinterpretation of Jean Genet's movie of the same title. Gruner re-creates some of the most fundamental scenes of this short film.

Reflection by Raquel Kogan (2006-07). An interactive installation presenting a perception of reality.

Para Verte Mejor by Jessica Lagunas (2003-2006). This work expresses women’s physical conditioning and the obsession with their body image imposed by their society in Guatemala.

The Hand by David Lamelas (1976). A mix of newscast and talk show clips representing various levels of reality and fiction.

Intercities Performance by Arthur Matuck (1988). An interactive telecommunication event connecting a group of Brazilian art researchers in São Palo with American colleagues in Pittsburg.

Super Atari Poetry by Yucef Merhi (2005). Multi-user installation that combines electronic poetry and hyper-text with computer games, considered playable media. It fuses art, literature, and technology and facilitates social networks.

Ring by Sebastian Diaz Morales (2006-07). A multi-channel video installation representing two states of consciousness, the real and the mediated reality.

Numeros by Fernando Ospina (2005). A live multi-media performance following the lyrics of his songs, Fernando finds places that contain the same numbers, between 1 and 100, and takes photographs of them. He later aligns them in a way that can be presented as tales via his musical performances.

The picture and sound quality are good. Some shorts are in Spanish with English subtitles, the audio commentaries are in English. It would be most suitable for film studies, communication & journalism courses.