The Brakhage Center for Media Arts鈥檚 AIR Program, established in 2021, is inspired by the exquisiteness of Stan Brakhage鈥檚 engagement with, and integration of, found footage, including scientific and other archival materials Brakhage Center residents receive a studio at the Brakhage Center, and a stipend, and with both the archival film collections, and the Stan Brakhage Papers, held in Rare and Distinctive Collections. Previous residents include Ashley Manigo (2021), who worked on 鈥淟ines Toward a Definition of Desire;鈥 and Dennis Doyle (2022) with the project 鈥淎ir in Unexpected Places.鈥


Cody Norton

Spring 2023

Norton听will work in collaboration with the Brakhage Center on a project titled 鈥淏irds of Prey.鈥 The installation project will incorporating film clips and stills from the T.D.A. Cockerell Collection, as well as material objects and natural artifacts from听Norton鈥檚 collection.

Cody Norton

Dennis Doyle

Spring 2022

Brimstone: burning rock. This historical name of sulfur pinpoints the flammable nature of the element. The crystalline solid catches fire quickly, burning bright blue as it reacts with oxygen to give off sulfur oxide compounds into the air. Sulfur too burns the back of the throat, lungs, and eyes in the form of gaseous hydrogen sulfide, H2S. Brim-air: H2S quickly goes from smelling of eggs to odorless as increases in concentration, moving from a burning sensation to a lack of consciousness. People suffering from exposure to H2S note moving through the world in a state of fog, a chemical pixelation of their daily life.

鈥嬧婽hrough multi-sensory installations, I am investigating how our sense of self and sense of environment is changed through intimate exchanges with toxic atmospheres. Responding to an archival film on historical sulfur mining, I am exploring the role sulfur plays in air pollution and contemporary petrochemical industries. My current research and community work are centered in Commerce City and North Denver, sites of high levels of atmospheric pollution from many of the refineries located there. Using archival video, scented materials, and coding pollution data obtained from the site, I am creating a series of installations, projections, and site-specific work exploring the role of sulfur pollution in the region.

Dennis Doyle is an interdisciplinary researcher exploring queer ecologies of waste, atmospheric chemistry, and multisensory installation. Their work has been exhibited around the country, including Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Colorado. They have been nationally recognized for their scholarly work, including the听 Beinecke Scholarship and scientific publications such as Nanophotonics and ACS Optics. A Pittsburgh native, they completed a BA in Studio Arts and BS in听Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Sculpture and Post-Studio Practice.

Dennis Doyle

Ashley Manigo

Fall 2021

Ashley Manigo