Building a Home in the Antelope Valley.

Synopsis

"Building a Home in the Antelope Valley. What is Home? Where is Home?" A house is a dwelling with a roof on its top, but sometimes it may step beyond its square footage to define itself as a "home". The Documentary Video of Shoshana Brand tells the stories of people who have come from various locals and backgrounds to build their home in the Antelope Valley, a rural part in Los Angeles County. The piece explores why the individuals in the video chose to make their home there, and how the location impacts their lives and life styles. Two main topics are addressed in the movie: the physical building of a house, and when a house becomes a home.

"Who would ever live here?" chuckled Linda and Rob Pluss, when driving through Antelope Valley, CA on their way to another destination. A few years later they started building their dream house in no other place but the Antelope Valley. Two main topics are addressed in Shoshana Brand's Documentary: the physical building of a house, and when a house becomes a home. "What makes this home so satisfying is that my horse lives in my backyard," reveals Joan Fry. Personal moments in the life of the people who have settled down in the Antelope Valley, are interwoven into the desert landscape, presenting both the community and their habitat as an entity that is constantly changing, and is alive.

This DVD includes a navigation system. If you are an educator, the system will help you in your class presentation. Just click on the Chapters section portrayed in the beginning, and use your remote control to go to certain parts of the movie.
Thank you for choosing to watch the video Building a Home In the Antelope Valley. What Is Home? Where Is Home? By Shoshana Brand.



About the Filmmaker

Shoshana Brand is a visual and media artist. She constantly locates herself in a creative zone, producing sculpture, site specific installation, public art and video art. She grew up in Israel and in 1989 she landed in Los Angeles, fell in love with the city and decided to stay.

Brand has attended academic institutions most of her life, both in Israel and the U.S. She graduated with a BFA degree in Cinema and Television from Tel Aviv University and with a MFA degree in Sculpture from Claremont Graduate University, California. She also enhanced her knowledge of digital video in the Institute of Art and Multimedia in Sylmar, California.

Shoshana Brand has been invited to create her artwork in Canada, Alaska, China, Israel, the Czech Republic; and throughout the U.S including Los Angeles, New York, San Diego and Nebraska City. She has served as a curator to several art shows and founded the VVVF, an international video festival, screened in Los Angeles, New York and throughout China. In 2008, with a grant she received from the state of California, Brand teamed with a group of teens to create a documentary movie titled "Building a Home in the Antelope Valley. What Is Home? Where Is Home?". The movie tells the story of people who built their home in Antelope Valley, a rural area near Los Angeles.


Another endeavor Shoshana recently undertook has been an interventionist website, knockingonbricks.com, that brings together twelve international artists. Discussing bureaucratic systems and corporate organizations in the art world in a non- traditional manner, the site attracted thousands of viewers right in the first days it was launched, and evoked a huge media attention.

In 2009-10 Shoshana created a wall piece at Janco Dada Museum in Ein-Hod, Israel. The artwork was purchased by the Museum.

Currently she lives in Atlanta, the city she loves so much, where she teaches art, and works on her upcoming shows.

The video maker's website: www.shoshanabrand.com