A series of short films by local photographer John Gessner has been selected by the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, to be featured during the month of April.

The films can be continually viewed at the Edge Office Lobby Exhibition beginning Wednesday, April 1. An opening reception will be held as part of Raleigh's "First Friday" event Friday, April 3, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The series, titled "Persistence of Vision," contains four short films, dealing with the way we remember images and events, how the mind changes those memories every time the memory is accessed, and how temporary our memories really are.

About his technique, Gessner says, "As a child I would ride my bike to The Museum Village in Monroe, N.Y., where they had several Phenakistoscopes and other early visual amusements. It is this early exposure to visual anomalies that continues to shape my creation of still and moving images."

The opening film in the series, "Hope and Memory," is a 3-minute film made primarily from bits and pieces left over from the editing of Super 8 film.

"I had always wanted to use those pieces that usually get thrown away," says Gessner. "I thought they should have their time in the limelight as well. Once together the bits seemed to have the flow of a dream, one section melting into another."

At one point in the film the viewer observes, in slow motion, the wonderful melting of the celluloid film as it gets stuck in the projector. Various audio samples were used in the production and Gessner's son, Devon, debuts with his first voice-over at the end saying, "You can wake up now."

Three other films, titled "In The Waiting Line," "Trees," and "Spiral," are all made from numerous still images shot in sequence and create a visual phenomenon known as "Persistence of Vision."

"I have been very interested in this phenomenon since I was a child and have made a number of these rapid flicker slide shows over the years," Gessner says. "The advent of digital photography has made it considerably more accessible than using film."

John Gessner has been a commercial and fine art photographer for 20 years. He started his career working for several of the world's top photographers in Manhattan. In 2001 he moved to Pinehurst, where he owns the award-winning Sky Art Gallery and Photo Studio. Gessner was the first photographer in North America to have a photographic image on a snowboard. His infrared photography has received rave reviews from Julieanne Kost, one of the creators of Photoshop.

Visual Art Exchange (VAE) is the oldest private, nonprofit, visual arts organization in Raleigh. It is dedicated to serving emerging artists and enriching the cultural environment.

Edge Office is located at 400 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.

For more information about Visual Art Exchange or Raleigh's First Friday, call (919) 828-7834 or visit the Web site www.visualartexchange.org/firstfriday.

For more information about the artist, or to view Gessner's work, call (910) 638-1687 or visit www.johngessner.com.?