“Split Diopter 2" is a documentary centered on the exhibition curated by Jan Tumlir and Reza Monahan, presented at the SCI-Arc Gallery in the summer of 2025. A sequel to “Split Diopter,” this iteration takes as its point of departure the cinematic device known as the split diopter, akin to bifocal glasses for the camera, in which a supplementary half-lens allows one side of the image to focus on a nearby object while the other is trained on something farther away, producing an image that is simultaneously shallow and deep, often marked by a visible seam.

Originally developed to maintain sharpness across varying depths, the split diopter now serves as a conceptual lens through which the exhibition reflects on the flattening of vision in an era of total image clarity, where its former limitations become a poetic means to reconsider resolution and what may be lost within today’s fully visible fields.

The documentary explores the relationship between fine art and cinema through the structure of the exhibition, which disassembles the cinematic apparatus of the “waking dream” into component parts: still frame, action sequence, mise-en-scène, soundtrack, film reel, promotional poster. Each element is assigned to an individual work, and as the camera moves through the gallery, these fragments are reassembled into a continuous cinematic experience.

Works by Uta Barth, Matthew Brannon, John Divola, Alex Israel, William E. Jones, and Hedi El Kholti form the core of the exhibition, accompanied by a commissioned soundtrack by Eyvind Kang. The exhibition also incorporates a dance work shot with a split diopter lens, choreographed by Brian Golden and performed by Jas Lin, Madison Ostrach, and Euseon Song, as well as a film featuring contributions from Stan Douglas, Lynne Marsh, Patti Podesta, Jeffrey Stuker, and Liam Young.

Jan Tumlir is an art writer, educator, and curator whose work has shaped critical discourse around contemporary art through decades of writing, teaching, and publishing. Reza Monahan is an artist and filmmaker whose practice spans hundreds of films and installations, exploring the intersection of language and cinema through time-and-space–based projects, in collaboration with leading cultural institutions across art, architecture, and experimental film.

Together, their curatorial approach frames the exhibition as a distributed cinematic system, which the documentary gathers into a singular, immersive experience.

Crew Credits –

Production:
SCI-Arc Channel Executive Producers - Winka Dubbeldam/Reza Monahan
SCI-Arc Channel Creative Director - William Virgil
Director of Photography - H. Walker Sayen
B Cameras - Tyler Denering / Carlos Bonachea
Swing Techs - Manush Koshy / Sharath Senthil

Post-Production:
Editors - Cal Crawford/Reza Monahan

Soundtrack by Eyvind Kang

Additional Video and Images Provided by Jan Tumlir and Reza Monahan

"Untitled (Marienbad 2)" by Hedi El Kholti

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