Samantha DiRosa's video art piece premieres at UNCG

A video art work of appropriated Meg Ryan romantic comedy film moments, commissioned by saxophonist Steven Stusek and composer Wei Dai, will premiere at a UNCG concert on April 15, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. in the School of Music's recital hall.

The piece is an extension of DiRosa’s larger body of work titled “Mapping Meg Ryan,” which reveals and comments on the formulas behind Ryan’s romantic film comedies. This video in particular focuses on “in between” and unresolved moments: bodies are fragmented and the fluidity of shots are interrupted to counter happily-ever-after formulas and idealized notions of love.  

In DiRosa’s video a state of tension is created, to speak more to the reality of ambiguity, longing, loss, and conflict within relationships. 

The video accompanies and reacts to the text of Emily Dickinson’s poem “If I’m Lost…Now”, which Dai incorporates into her musical composition of the same name.