Artist:
Terence Gower (born 1965 in British Columbia, Canada; lives and works in New York City, USA).

Materials:
Digital video; 6 min 20 sec.

Description:
“The video Ciudad Moderna is a composite of clips taken from the popular Mexican film Despedida de Casada, released in 1966. The source film is treated as a document of the contemporary city, and is re-edited to show off the modern architecture of Mexico, such as the Museum of Anthropology, the apartment buildings of Avenida de la Reforma, and the Hotel Presidente in Acapulco. Clips from the original film dissolve into single frames that capture the architecture in pristine black and white, or show perspective renderings like illustrations from an architectural monograph.”
—Itala Schmelz, “Ciudad Moderna,” website of Terence Gower.

“Shown as a digital video projection, Ciudad Moderna was a composite of clips taken from a popular Mexican film released in 1966. Each film fragment contained images of 1950s and 60s Mexican Modernist architecture—either interiors, façades, or streetscapes. The source film, Despedida de Casada (Dir. Juan de Orduña), was treated as a document of the contemporary city and re-edited to highlight the architecture of Mexico… Ciudad Moderna sought to untangle the architecture from the narrative thread of the original film and recompose a story of the city as a built environment.”
—”Terence Gower,” Storefront for Art and Architecture website.