Burning
Academies, 2005
Two
videos for the side rooms of the Mirror installation at the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts. Each video shows an hour-long drawing of one of
the two previous Academy buildings that then bursts into flame once the
drawing is complete. The paper burns away to reveal a mirror beneath that
reflects the video camera and the roof of the artist’s studio where
the videos were filmed. Text on the walls described the fate of the two
buildings: one destroyed by fire, the other sold and demolished. Cinematography:
Jan Baracz. Video editing: Lauren Petty. Collection of Michael Strauss,
Birmingham, Alabama.