Fact Is Stranger Than Fiction

This is an intriguing mix of materials drawn from Video Data Bank’s What Does She Want series, which centers on art by women. Julie Dash’s Illusions, the only full-size film (as opposed to video) in the bunch, is an effective narrative about racism in 1942 Hollywood. The videos include Cecilia Condit’s nightmarish fairy tale fantasy Possibly in Michigan, Max Almy’s SF fever dream with fancy graphics Leaving the 20th Century, and Martha Rosler’s rather humorless Semiotics of the Kitchen. Rounding out the program are a TV ad for Kleenex and a promotional short for General Motors, both from the 1950s, and Carole Ann Klonarides and Michael Owen’s deadpan parody John Torreano: Art World Wizard, which incorporates some jazzy special effects. This is a mixed bag, like many such collections, but one that jingles. (Film Center, Art Institute, Columbus Drive at Jackson, Wednesday, June 8, 6:00, 443-3793)

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