Elro - AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER!!!

Ariel Diaz (in person) - 2009, 3:52, miniDV, San Francisco, CA

A robot finds love through influences and memory of her human past life.

Born in Tijuana, Mexico, then raised in San Diego. Now is a dishwasher in San Francisco.

Questions with Ariel Diaz by Liz Wing

Liz Wing: First off, what is "Elro" -- a name, a place, or maybe an action -- or is Elro the robot girl

Ariel Diaz: Elro is the robot girl

LW: When you make a video, do you work one it in one chunk or do you piece different ideas and errant shots together?

AD: When creating this movie I made sure to hit every key point I was initially aiming for from beginning to end. The concept was to create a bond between man and machine, human emotion and mechanical function; both emoting love on equal levels of stimulation--whether genuine or simulated. Elro is a female android, whose function is to depict images of love as accurately as possible without feeling. In this sterile portrayal of such an emotion as love itself, was I able to achieve a contrasting interpretation of expression, by default versus choice.

LW: What other mediums do you work in besides video?

AD: Paint is my first love. photography is my girlfriend and of course film is that sleaze you can find at the bar waiting for me with the scrabble board.

(c) 2009 Artists' Television Access | www.atasite.org | site design by sgreen

Artists' Television Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all-volunteer, artist-run, experimental media arts gallery that has been in operation since 1984. ATA hosts a series of film and video screenings, exhibitions and performances by emerging and established artists and a weekly cable access television program.