The Memorette

A Collaboration

The Memorette is a custom film playing device made by artist, designer, and architect Jonathan Odom. The Memorette takes interchangible film cassettes that produce short film loops, 15-30 seconds long. The cassettes contain music boxes that function like a player piano: holes punched in the film strip trigger tines that make the music box sound.

On one hand the purpose of the Memorette is to produce audio and video. As an object, it's purpose is also makes the viewer aware of the object and its inner workings.

Jonathan Odom, Memorette Player with "Agoraphobe" Cassette, 2013, laser cut acrylic, gears, motors, mirrors, music box, contact microphone, and inkjet printed film, 11 x 10 x 7 inches — Jonathan Odom, *Memorette Player with "Agoraphobe" Cassette,* 2013, laser cut acrylic, gears, motors, mirrors, music box, contact microphone, and inkjet printed film, 11 x 10 x 7 inches

I created paintings and painting-animations for the Memorette that suggest the video content within each cassette, much like a package would. The painting-animations in particular give insight to the process of animation, and in doing so, also suggest the layering process of painting. Unlike traditional animations made from hundreds of separate frames, I made the painting-animations by photographing subtle changes within a single painting.

The paintings and painting-animations give a permanence to the otherwise fleeting medium of video. They're also a nod to the physical artwork and objects that encase the media formats such as DVD and Blu-ray now being replaced by digital downloads and streaming.

Affinity Cocktail, three person exhibit, a.Muse Gallery, San Francisco, 2014. Works in this view by Genessa Kealoha and Jonathan Odom. — *Affinity Cocktail*, three person exhibit, a.Muse Gallery, San Francisco, 2014. Works in this view by Genessa Kealoha and Jonathan Odom.

*Click image above to show video*

Genessa Kealoha, Agoraphobe, 2013, painted stop-motion animation, 1:01

Music by All My Pretty Ones

Genessa Kealoha, Agoraphobe, 2013, oil on wood panel, 24 x 36 inches — Genessa Kealoha, *Agoraphobe,* 2013, oil on wood panel, 24 x 36 inches

*Click image above to show video*

Jonathan Odom, God Side of the Coin for Memorette, 2013, video, 1:07

Film by Jonathan Odom

Source material from the Prelinger Archive

Music by Adam La Clave

Genessa Kealoha, Degas 2013, 2013, oil on wood panel, 18 x 24 inches — Genessa Kealoha, *Degas 2013,* 2013, oil on wood panel, 18 x 24 inches

*Click image above to show video*

Genessa Kealoha, Out of Dreams, 2012, audio and video, 1:25