Art: Film Lingual II and Coming Into Focus

Two complementary exhibits featuring film and photographic artworks open in downtown St. Petersburg this weekend -- and each offers a different viewpoint from the same curator. At C. Emerson Fine Arts, gallery owner Lori Johns dons her experimental hat, unveiling Film Lingual II, a showcase of video projections and mixed media installations that aim to reprise the success of a similar show last year. At Nova 535 Art Lounge, where Johns acts as guest curator, Coming Into Focus takes a back-to-basics approach with photographic still lifes, landscapes and portraits where composition and attention to detail are emphasized over edgy effects. Nova follows up with a series of film screenings featuring established and emerging local and national artists through July and August. The first one, set to occur Mon., July 21, at 7:30 p.m., is hosted by filmmaker/new media artist/UT associate professor Dana Plays, who presents several of her own works, like the Archival Extract Series (2008) and Nuclear Family (2002), as well as segments of early films and current works-in-process. Plays' students also screen works and they include Shook by Necat Akman, Chrysalis by Kenisha Walsh, loneliness (girl) by Allison Koehler, and The Note by Kathleen Hoffheimer. Film Lingual II, through Aug. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat., C. Emerson Fine Arts 909 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-898-6068, c-emersonfinearts.com; and Coming Into Focus, through Sept. 6, open Mondays and by appointment only, Nova 535 Art Lounge, 535 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-821-6682, nova535.com.