The Bigger Picture National Commissions

The Bigger Picture presents four major new commissions of exceptional public realm work from international artists, pushing the boundaries in the use of public space, audience participation and interaction. Artists: Perry Bard, Juneau Projects, susan pui san lok and Esther Johnson in association with the Cornerhouse, Enter_, Lumen and Site Gallery.

Presented on the BBC Big Screen in Millennium Square, the four new commissions will open with a special afternoon screening at 2pm on 17 November, and will then play at a set time each day for the following week.

The special screening event will feature the full-length version of '2008: Man with a Movie Camera', a project which combines Vertov's hugely influential original with a unique approach to modern filmmaking. Individuals are invited to upload shots and scenes based on scenes from the original film, creating a database which then streams as a film. As a collection of personal visions this montage is in Vertov's terms "a continuous exchange of visible fact". Uploads to the site will take place continuously: the nature of the database is infinite.

Vertov's concern for aesthetics, the complex structure of the film (which contains a film within the film), his experimental editing techniques, and the rhythm of the shots give the film a very contemporary feel. Vertov's work was barely appreciated during his lifetime; unable to get his films into theatres, he showed them in public spaces such as worker's recreation alls. The public context of Big Screens couldn't be a more appropriate venue to pay homage to his work.

For further information on the event and the commissioned works, please visit: www.biggerpictureuk.net. Funded by Arts Council England and supported by the BBC.

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