THE PRESENCE OF ABSENCE
Commissioned by the Whitney Museum
of American Art for its Artport website
In Peter Horvath's films for the web a multi screened, quasi-narrative
unfolds with the participation of the viewer. Many of his pieces examine family histories, the city as organism, matters of the heart and the complexities of connection or disconnection with others. His audiovisual reveries share some of the open-ended qualities of the films of Chris Marker, Jonas Mekas and Tarkovsky's The Mirror. With The Presence Of Absence the iconic face, etched with opaque information, is the key to navigating the site, just as we often read into the face of others for signs of recognition. - Clint Roenisch