GILLIAN GARCIA
On July 19th the temperature in Paris was 104 degrees. The streets were eerily quiet. At 10AM on the steps outside the François Mitterrand library I saw only one single person, a shirtless man drenching himself with a bottle of water. This was my first real visit to this library and I was surprised at how challenging it was to access. I used my recently expired grad school ID to gain entry to the sub-level, where the Straub-Huillet book I was interested in reading is held. My research pass cost 5 euros and was good for the day. I had my photo taken and was given a badge. I spent my time reading Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub’s writings and slowly touring the cinema section hunched over on the bright red carpet. I took bathroom breaks and walked the long hallways. I had broken conversations with librarians. I bought a bag of potato chips and an orange juice for lunch and people watched in the lounge. I sent my friend a picture of the forest growing outside the window. By closing time I had totally forgotten about the heatwave.
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Gillian Garcia was born in 1984, in Erie, Pennsylvania. She is a California based artist and filmmaker whose background in portrait and documentary photography informs her motion practice. She holds a BFA from New York University and an MFA in Film/Video from The California Institute of the Arts.