Remember last week when we told you to mark your calendar for this evening? Force yourself away from the One Tree Hill season premiere and head down to the Corcoran Hammer Auditorium for Night 1 of the second Experimental Media Series. Presented by the Washington Project for the ArtsCorcoran, tonight promises Cowboys, Clichés, Codes, and Conspiracies.

In this show curated by Peggy Parsons, the Head of the Department of Film at the National Gallery of Art, the work of thirteen artists will be featured, each of which examines:

Formal and narrative strategies in experimental and digital media — recycling old formats, borrowing styles and symbols, mixing fact and fiction, playing off old and new storytelling devices, merging collage and animation, and augmenting texture and color.

Video artist Ben Cooley will start off the evening with four pieces. Though it’s disconcerting to hear that his work includes a live Power Point presentation, we’re pretty sure this isn’t your boss’ annual financial audit review. In fact, we hear 3D glasses and ponies might be part of the show. But whether or not clip-art is involved is just a risk you’ll have to take.

Other artists include Rob Parrish, who’s started his own vlog (yes, that’s “video log”) with his work. His ironic commercial Oil: You Can Depend On It will jump from the web to the big screen tonight. Lilly McElroy, who seems to have been a bird in a former life judging by all the flying she does on her Web site, presents Pushing Cowboys, which is a little more self-explanatory than you’re probably willing to believe.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art Armand Hammer Auditorium is located at 500 17th Street, NW (New York Avenue entrance) and the free show is from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight.