The Pollock Gallery in Hughes-Trigg Student Center will present a new exhibition, “Video Days,” Friday.

The exhibition will feature film and video pieces by six artists, Larry Clark, Florian Drexel, Spike Jonze, Nicolas Provost, Christopher Samuels and Ryan Wolfe.

The works will address issues of social stereotypes, dogma, human conditioning, risk, chance and what it means to live the “American Dream.”

“Freedom, prosperity, opportunity, and success are all hallmarks of the American Dream that can be achieved by hard work, at least, that is what people are led to believe by politicians and mass media,” Guest Curator James Cope said in a Meadows press release.

“In this exhibition, each artist addresses a different motif of what it means to live with the reality of what America has become, a place where people struggle for survival within a broken system that benefits only a select few, the one percent,” Cope said.

The exhibition is centered around the 1991 film, “Video Days.”

American filmmaker Spike Jonze made his directorial debut in the 24-minute film.

Jonze also directed “Being John Malkovich,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Adaptation” and the recently released “Her.”

Originally made for skateboarding company Blind Skateboards, the film is considered one of the most influential skateboarding films of all time.

Other films that will be featured include the 1995 film “Kids” by Larry Clarke.

Fifteen stills from the dark drama will be shown as part of the exhibition.

“Storyteller” by Belgian-born artist Nicolas Provost features aerial shots from the Las Vegas casino skyline.

The film balances images between the figurative and abstract.

Detroit artist Christopher Samuels’ film “Indian Shield” will also be shown.

The film is a five-minute piece about Vin, an alcoholic spiritualist bound by the sun and fueled by beer.

His works “expose the mythologies of comfort and class in the 21st century through the use of handmade and everyday objects as symbolic cues,” Samuels said in an interview.

“Loops” by Ryan Wolfe is short video about the “hand dance” of New York artist and dancer Gabrielle D’Angelo.

Swiss artist Florian Drexel’s “Suffering” will also be featured.

The opening reception of “Video Days” will be held Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Cope will give a gallery talk Wednesday at 7 p.m.

“Video Days” will be at the Pollock Gallery on the first floor of Hughes-Trigg Student Center from Friday through Dec. 13.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 1 p.m to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Admission is free.

Be sure and check out the exhibition before it closes.