Elro

Ariel Diaz - 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.

---

Interview

ATA: 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

ATA: 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.

ATA: 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.

---

Interview by Liz Wing of ATA