Review by Tindara Sidoti

REVIEW: 5+5=5 by Tindara Sidoti: 5 short movies by 5 film makers about 5 networked art projects exploring critical approaches to social engagement.

Some of my earliest memories involve flashes of evocative cinematic imagery, Gene Kelly dancing athletically across a small screen or Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers squabbling. While studying art, this fascination with film coexisted, but the two arts were never really connected for me until I became more familiar with video and media art, later doing research on the influence of cinema on artistsÂ’ film.

5+5=5 is an experiment on the boundary of media, art and film; a cross-pollination that uses a variety of cultural influences from cinema and the Internet, to provide an access point to networked art and the artists groupsÂ’ selected projects. Furtherfield have commissioned these five short movies that feature conversations between artists, audiences and film-makers. 5+5=5 manages to tap into the current fluidity of the boundaries that exist, between genre and media; a space between art, film and technology that has resulted in artists like Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno releasing Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006) in cinemas. Though interpretive, these films are more contextually assertive than Turner Prize nominee style documentaries and betray a more inter-disciplinary function. The movies are an example of how the relationship between art and film can work effectively; not only do they hook you, making you curious about the projects themselves but each one is an engaging film. Continue reading at New Media Fix.