By Rose Picon, Staff writer

What do we think of when we see shattered glass? Do we think of broken mirrors and bad luck? Destruction and pain? Or, in a more positive sense, do we think of the renovation of an old building? The beauty of the silver shards? We may interpret broken glass differently, because it acts as both a symbol of destruction and renewal.

The Urban Video Project (UVP), a multi-media public art initiative in Syracuse, invites us to interpret broken glass through Always After, a 9 minute, 42 second film by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle. Manglano-Ovalle is an internationally-recognized artist from Madrid and professor at Northwestern University. His film shows glittering pieces of sharp glass, which are then swept away by a large broom. Ominous, high-pitch sounds of glass scraping the floor accompany the striking images. What caused this glass to break is left for the film’s viewers to determine.

Anneka Herre, UVP’s Technical Producer, explains, “It’s supposed to be ambiguous. Even if you know the truth behind it, the ambiguity is still there because you never see what causes the glass to break in the film.”

The story behind Always After is fascinating, and because prior knowledge of the film doesn’t destroy its suspense, you’ve got to know what’s truly causing the broken glass! In fact, Herre surmises “that knowing [what causes the broken glass] prior to seeing Always After allows people to engage with the imagery in a more complex way.”

So what’s really causing the glass to break in the film?

 Always After is part of a trilogy that Manglano-Ovalle created based on the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a German architect who designed several buildings in Chicago in the modernist style of the 20^th century. The film documents the renovation of the Mies-designed Illinois Institute of Technology’s Crown Hall, where Mies’ own grandson hosted a fundraiser that permitted donors to destroy the Hall’s huge glass windows with brass hammers. All Manglano-Ovalle reveals, however, are images of shattered glass and then well-dressed people exiting an institutional-type of building. The mystery of the story makes it hard for viewers to determine what really is going on.

Manglano-Ovalle started working on Always After in 2000 and finished the film in 2006, a period of time often filled with fear after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Herre comments, “(At the same time that) there was this sense of impending doom, there was this expansion” and architects designed buildings where aesthetics trumped budgetary concerns. This contradicting national mindset influenced Manglano-Ovalle and acted as inspiration during the making of the film.

Always After will be projected through a custom-designed projector onto the Everson Museum of Art, November 3-December 31, from dusk until 11pm. The Everson Museum is located at 401 Harrison St., just steps off the Connective Corridor, a FREE bus service. For more information about Manglano-Ovalle or Always After, check out the UVP’s website.