Make An Ox-Bow Movie
with Scott Reeder
$100 lab fee | June 28–July 4 | Exploratory
In this collaborative, hands-on course, students will write, shoot, and edit short experimental films inspired by the Ox-Bow landscape that explore storytelling through image, movement, and sound. Working individually and in small crews, participants will learn the fundamentals of camera work, lighting, editing, and sound design while embracing the improvisational and resourceful spirit of independent filmmaking. Students may use any type of camera—including phones—and will have access to a studio equipped with free editing software. The class will emphasize play, experimentation, and the power of collaboration—celebrating the DIY energy that defines Ox-Bow’s creative community. We’ll look at a wide range of artists and filmmakers who merge performance, humor, and fantasy to challenge traditional cinematic forms, including Jacolby Satterwhite’s digital dreamscapes, Mika Rottenberg’s absurdist labor worlds, and Shana Moulton’s surreal explorations of self-help and desire. Additional screenings may feature Julio Torres, Miranda July, and Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast), alongside documentaries such as Divine Trash, It Came From Kuchar, and Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis—films that highlight collaborative, low-budget, and experimental approaches to cinema. Assignments will invite students to experiment with form and process. In FOUND, students will create a 1–3 minute video using found footage or audio to generate new meaning from existing materials—exploring remix culture, collage, and the poetics of recontextualization. In ACTION, they’ll make a short video that foregrounds movement through performance, choreography, or dynamic camera work. Finally, in FAKE, students will construct a 1–3 minute film using artificial or handmade elements—painted backdrops, thrifted props, or miniature sets—to build imaginative, performative worlds. The course will culminate in an end-of-session screening where students share their finished films with the Ox-Bow community, celebrating the collective energy of making movies together.
SAIC students: This is a 1.5-credit course; use the course code FILM, VIDEO & NEW MEDIA 612 001.
Scott Reeder (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist who uses deadpan humor and cultural critique to expose the absurdity of life. His newest series draws from the traditions of still-life painting to project emotional affect and social relationships onto inanimate objects. Reeder first became known for his text-based paintings and parodies of process painting, as well as for his feature-length improvised sci-fi film Moon Dust and his possibly ironic art fairs (The Milwaukee International and Dark Fair). Solo and two-person exhibitions include shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York; Luce Gallery, Turin, Italy; and Jack Hanley, San Francisco. A monograph on Reeder’s work titled Ideas (cont.) was published by Mousse in 2019. Reeder is an Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.