FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CLARK BUCKNER
FRAGMENTS OF A CITYSCAPE
MAY 5 - 27, 2005

What makes San Francisco the city that it is? With this installation Clark explores that question through a variety of media, which emphasize the diversity of perspectives that give shape to city life. He constructs a portrait of San Francisco, rich with textures, sound, light and language that celebrate the city as a locus for social experiments and self-exploration.

In “The Sound of the Street (16th and Mission)” he asks passers-by on the street corner two questions.1-What is the sound of the street? 2-Can you make the sound? With the results he constructs a cacophonous four screen video that lies somewhere between a documentary and a musical. In other videos he studies the movement of people through the cities streets and the appearance of dramatic characters from out of the crowd.

A collage mounted to one wall explores San Francisco’s architecture and history and presents the city as psychological terrain, not unlike that of the set of a western or a film noir that articulates the inner-workings of the mind.

The installation emphasizes the interpersonal dynamics that comprise city life and documents Buckner’s art as an engagement with others in questioning the value judgments that shape the world. The work is also deeply personal and celebrates the home that he has found with his wife Jennifer Perfilio and his evolution as an artist.