Angle is a group of Penn students who make films and take photographs that call attention to social issues.
Co–founded by college juniors Chuhang Dai (C'18, W'18) and Olly Liu (C'18), Angle aims to utilize visual power to "convey and propel social activism" as well as to "reveal the truth." Each year, the group organizes a film and photography exhibition that explores different themes, from immigration to gender issues. This year's showcase is in Claudia Cohen's Fox Art Gallery. As the curator of the group Leo Yuan (C'18) describes, "[Angle] provides a platform, a free and creative space for film and photographic project to take place."
Late Fragment, Angle's newest exhibition, takes on a more artistic and creative approach, exploring themes such as self–perception, the human psyche and the visualization of poetics. Filmmaker Greta Lu (C'18) reflects on her practice in writing and directing Intermezzo, the featured film in this exhibition. "For me, film is a powerful representation...[during the creative process], I'm trying to imagine and distill a sort of human psyche and tell a story of some truth...I make films for myself, but, of course, also for people who watch them. Hopefully films will make them feel 'less lonely.'" Intermezzo, featuring a female director–actor duo as protagonists, tells a melancholic story that is "stripped off the performativity of life" and presents a "stark, marginalized psychology," Greta describes.
Another component of Late Fragment is a photography showcase. To Leo, this is a two–part project, a visualization of literary sources and a memorial of a group member. The show's title was taken from Raymond Carver's poetry, which also inspired the freedom and minimalistic content that poetry offers. A series of photographs were shot over time and across multiple locations and turned into a monochromatic palette of black–and–white. Those that are selected for the exhibition "show things not for what they are, but for what else they are," which echoes how poetry doesn't tell the story as it is, but tells about something else, Leo explains.
In addition to the conceptual background of the exhibition, there is a personal motivation as well. "Recently a member of our club, Aran, passed away and I think that has made a personal impact on me because we were working on this project until he left and decided to take a gap year, but we kept in touch until…Part of it is very personal to me...I want to make this exhibition in memory of him," Leo says.
