Machinama Makes Its Debut in Kingston

By Linda Marston-Reid
Linda Marston-Reid is an artist, writer, and executive director of Arts Mid-Hudson.

This month during 1st Saturday Kingston don’t miss the fresh exhibit at the Lace Mill Gallery featuring the artwork of resident Frank Waters. His exhibit, “Bluu Motion: The world of machinima and animation,” will kick off Black History Month at the Lace Mill. Waters has been instrumental in planning a series of events throughout the City of Kingston to celebrate Black History Month.

As a child growing up in the South Bronx, Waters was exposed to graffiti art and acknowledged that “this was the closest form of art to me at the time.” Once he entered high school, he was introduced to traditional fine arts and began to paint landscapes. In college Waters learned about graphic art and was able to take his ideas and create his own world using graphic design.

Waters stated that the Bluu Motion exhibit “is based on work that I created three years ago which filled a website channel focused strictly on machinima content.” For those not familiar with the term “machinima,” these are movies made with video game assets. The term was first used to refer to the combining of the words and meanings of machine with cinema.

Waters has a wide range of styles exhibited in the eight collections on exhibit including architecture and interior design videos, movies, motion graphics, and several variations of Sims-related creations. In the image “Digital SUBA,” visitors can see an action packed scene; two high-performance motorcycles speed across the foreground image framed by mysterious cloud formations in the sky. A closer examination of the racers show that they are stylishly dressed women wearing skin-tight suits and exotic footwear.

“Rebel Without a Pause,” illustrates Water’s stylistic rendering of the female warrior goddess with a riveting direct gaze and beauty. This stylistic approach is also seen in “SOB Beauty and Fantasy,” where the subject matter is the female gaze.

Waters is also exhibiting his “Tale Movie Series,” all new material created in the Grand Theft Auto video game platform. The creative artwork includes five new episodes with touchscreens, videos, and headsets for visitors to experience the action.

 

 

 

 

Planning your visit:
“Bluu Motion: The world of machinima and animation” opens at the Lace Mill, 165 Cornell Street, Kingston, NY
Saturday, February 3, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Other events include:

• The Poetry Corner: Youth are reciting a variety of poems from black poets from the 1800’s – 1900’s.
• Special African Dance Performance
• CCE’s Energy Dance Company

For more details on Black History Month Kingston: www.BlackHistoryMonthKingston.org
For more information on First Saturdays in Kingston go to: https://kingstonhappenings.org/events/first-saturday-celebrations-2018-02-03/

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