Riverfront Art Gallery Presents
‘When Color Is Not Enough'
Opening Saturday June 20th 2-5pm
Exhibition Dates: June 20-Sept 26, 2026
Location:
Riverfront Art Gallery
Yonkers Public Library, 1 Larkin Center 4th Floor, Yonkers, NY 10701
914-308-7072 • thegallery@ypl.org • https://www.ypl.org
Excerpt from Incantations - M.Gilliland ©2025 - 3 channel video - 10:00 running time
Incantations is a new three channel video piece (10:00 run time) that makes use of lots of the processed video clips I've been building up in the studio over the last year. In particular, it is based upon my favorite Prayer Wheel footage showing a close up of the rotating mantras on the wheel's surface. The very nature of the prayer wheel when intentionally rotated spreads its mantra (Tibetan glyphs on the wheel itself) outward, envisioned as a spiral flow of blessings into the environment at large. This is the underlying prayer incantation, often accompanied by ritual chanting or music.
A series of visual themes came into focus in roughly three groupings:
Maya - delusions of the world: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Mind
Dharma - path & practice: Ritual, Mantra, Meditation
Karma - cycles of life: Death, Bardo, Rebirth, Redux
As I worked on a range of variations of these themes, I realized what would be really interesting would be to present the footage (set into a vertical aspect ratio as determined by the original prayer wheel footage) on a series of side-by-side vertical monitors. Thus, there could be simultaneous variations and visually repeat rhythms across the channels not possible on a single channel display. The basic presentation configuration is three HD display panels side-by-side, visually mimicking the way multiple prayer wheels are often mounted side-by-side in a temple compound so that a visiting perambulator can walk past the row of prayer wheels and simply activate (turn) each in turn. Although the digital displays don’t offer that level of hands-on interactivity, a complex meditational space can still be achieved.
In order to present the 3 channel video in this online context, I recorded all three simultaneously as one HD program.
This program is too large file-wise and really deserves a higher definition encoding than provided by Blogger. So, please view the complete program on my Vimeo site:
Incantations - https://vimeo.com/1146248666
Another very interesting and powerful tool available on the Mac is PhotoMosh Pro (now called Mosh Pro). While this is not a real time processing app -- i.e.: the work screen shows an approximation of real time effects, but any final patch needs to be 'recorded' (exported) explicitly to create an output file for further use...
What is nice about this app is that it has a huge range of effects (most of which have parameter adjustments that can be controlled manually or by LFOs and such), but presents itself as a stackable array of such processing steps (with processing order able to be swapped as desired). It's really quite powerful as you can see below in a few samples - including a Rutt-Etra like effect.
This new app from Signal Culture allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. In this example, a number of Signal Culture apps were used in tandem: Input Amp -> Proc Amp -> Frame Buffer -> Re:Struktr -> Syphon Recorder. (Turn on audio!)
This new app allows very interesting wave-form driven flicker-based transitions between two channels of video. Very powerful. In this example, sine & triangle wave driven flicker transitions have been increased to a fast rate and keying & color tinting features have been utilized. (Turn on audio!)
Here are some (.gif) samples of the range of video processing that I have been applying to footage of a 'Spirit Bark' assemblage sculpture by the artist team Sylvain and Ghyslaine Staëlens that I recorded at 2022 Outsider Art Fair in NYC.
Eventually, selected segments are destined to be included in my currently under script development multi-part video program entitled 'Crossing the Styx.'
Here are some sample processed frames using a Kali image (the final image below is the input source).
Taking some time to play around with glitch processing via Audacity audio editor, importing .bmp, .jpg, and ,tif files (as raw data), manipulating them with filters, then saving stuff back out (as "raw" data) once again. I find .jpgs are not worth the hassle and really don't achieve much more than linear runs of pixels or complete noise. Of the other two formats, I like the some of the complex RGB spacial layering effects when applied to .tif files that have been saved as planar data (RRRGGGBBB).
Here are two examples of .gif animations built up out of processed frames.
You may download or copy any image file (limit of 3) for use in your website as long as proper credit is provided: "Copyright 2003-2025 by Mark Gilliland - http://www.image-maya.org" This credit tag may be included as a caption, or alternatively within the IMG element's "ALT" attribute. (See details of the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License via link below.)
Please email to notify me about any such use of my art. Thank-you.
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