Blog Post # 5: Ideas for my final project

Since I already have a clear direction for my second video art assignment, I am using this blog post to explore ideas for my future final project.  Below are some images taken from art videos that i found especially intriguing.


This is from an exhibition by Tat Marina called "Finding Face".  Particularly ironic in this scene since everything but the face is visible, I particularly like the tricks the artist plays on the audience.  The scene appears to be underwater, but the subject is wearing jeans and something about the image makes it seems as though the subject isn't really in water up to his neck, but instead that the photographer is manipulating the audience in some way.



This image taken from one of David Hall's galleries is also slightly confusing, but in a completely different mood.  The twilight zone impression given off by the neon lights coming from behind a mysterious door leave much up to the viewer's imagination.  The circle in the middle of the door is also curious. I couldn't find a high enough resolution image in order to tell what that circle is depicting, but this may add even more mystery to the piece.


This installation by Amy Youngs is by far my favorite.  It includes a fish bowl filled with artificial plastic decorations and live crickets.  A microphone at the top of the fish bowl amplifies the crickets' sound and the video projection of grass at the back of the fish bowl makes that set up seem almost four demential.  I love this piece because it is such a creative way to make a clear commentary on the state of nature in our current society.  Here she has used ALL man made objects to represent a "fake" sense of nature to which she has subjected these poor crickets.  Although we would not think of this twice if this fish bowl was filled with water, a mini castle, and some fish, taken out of the standard fishbowl context, the viewer is faced with the reality of how idiotic humans can be to place nature in a bowl...literally.  Although this would be out of the range of acceptable final projects since it is an installation and not an actual video, I will not be able to use it for my final project, but I do like the idea of using nature and man for my final video project.

The Importance of Sound

I have been looking at a lot of the video artists on the UBU website and have been intrigued and surprised by many.  One of the cleverest videos that I came across was titled "Getting In" by Shelly Silver that she made in 1989.  Here is the link to the 2 minutes and 50 second video if you would like to watch it.

http://www.ubu.com/film/silver_getting.html

Her use of sound in this piece transforms the entire video into a completely different meaning, which is something that I would like my second project to be able to do.  At first, her silent images of building doors seems like a simple montage of "getting in" to the building, or maybe even "getting in" to society if a larger meaning were derived.  However, intermittent sound begins to pop up at every door shown and it quickly becomes clear that what the viewer is listening to is the love making sounds of multiple people orgasming.  This gives the video and its title a completely different meaning than it originally portrayed!  Now, the video seems like an invasion of privacy, spying into people's private homes and listening to what they do behind closed doors.

I love how her use of sound was able to transform her video entirely and I would like to be able to do that in my final project if possible.  Keeping in mind that silence is a sound in and of itself, I will look to incorporate both sound and silence in my two pieces to create completely separate emotions from the viewer.

Reading Response # 3

A significant portion of the reading this week focused on “Feminist Actionism” as coined by Valie EXPORT.  It was discussed how, throughout history, women have been suppressed by men in every industry, including art.  “The history of woman is the history of man, for man has determined the image of woman for men and women” (EXPORT in Video Art by Michael Rush, 94).  EXPORT is just one of many examples of women artists who have gone to the extreme in order to get the world to notice her.  She was driven by the need to interrupt this male dominated society and prove that her worth as an artist was equal to, if not greater, than that of any male artist.  However, instead of condemning society for putting women under the rug for so long, should we be thanking it?  Without that male social suppression, I’d be willing to bet that a majority of these phenomenal women artists would not have felt the need to express themselves so strongly, and thus would have never had a reason to create art in the first place!  Some of the greatest ideas, inventions, and endeavors have been undertaken to challenge a social norm.  With nothing to challenge, their work would have no purpose for existing.  

In looking forward to our future art assignment, I noticed that it is suppose to evoke an emotion from the view.  After my last art assignment #1 had an eerie disposition, I think I want to strive to make the viewer feel uncomfortable in my next piece.  I want them to feel so uncomfortable that it will be a struggle for them to watch the video until the end, and yet they won't be able to take their eyes away from the screen: hypnotized by the uncomfortableness.  Below are some images taken from video art that made me personally feel uncomfortable and I may include their ideas in my final video.  

I particularly like this image from the video artist Jonathan Jones because I find a close up of the human eye rather disturbing.  The lack of any visible eye lashes also makes this eye seem awkwardly naked. 

This image also by Jonathan Jones is from one of his exhibits.  Besides the scary looking white eye-less face in the back left corner, the giant foot up close and to the right makes this whole exhibit very uncomfortable.  Unsure of the exact theme of this artwork, I find all of these randomly placed objects very uncomfortable and yet, I can't stop staring at the perfectly textured foot in the foreground.  

This third video art image from Jonathan Jones is more towards the feeling of ridiculous randomeness rather than uncomfortable awkwardness.  The smiling man on the right paired with the odd expression of the cartoon on the left and the cut out of the dinosaur in the background provokes no other emotion other than wonderment and confusion.  This is the type of artwork that I want to try to prevent myself from slipping into.  There is a fine line between uncomfortable and ridiculous.  

Thoughts on Assignment #1

In thinking about the subject matter of my first assignment piece, I am inspired by this work from Amy that I posted about last week.  It is an image of herself behind a metallic screen.  The colors in the photo is light reflecting off of the metal.  I really liked the duel relationship between man and nature in this piece.  The rainbow of colors look very natural despite having been made from an inorganic material and the repetitive circles look organic and processed at the same time.



For my Assignment 1 I would like to do a compilation of videos involving man's relationship with nature.  Perhaps how nature is shaped and changed by man.  As a science major, I am constantly manipulating nature for my own benefits in the laboratory, sometimes taking for granted all that I can do with the natural resources at my disposal.  

The following link is to a video of a sand art performance that I found to be VERY inspirational!  It portrays how caught up humanity is in their daily life and the monotonous work they are required to do rather than appreciating living to its fullest extent by appreciating nature.  I am not yet sure in which way my assignment #1 will represent the connection between nature and man, but I know that I would like that link to be the main theme connecting my four pieces.  

Here is the link to the sand art performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEgSoTCgvgA

Reading Response 2

        Video “art” is made for many reasons by all types of people with a wide variety of backgrounds ranging from philosophical to political to personal.  The second half of chapter one in Video Art by Michael Rush gives a compilation of many different notable video artists who have a multitude of reasons for making their art.  I think we can all agree that the intent of the artist in making a piece heavily influences how that piece is perceived, whether or not the artist’s intent is successfully portrayed. It is stated in Chapter 2 that the artists who saw video as an extension of their own artistic practices are the ones who really expanded the meaning of videos into the respectable art form it is today. 

        This brings me to the following question: does the reason for making art, specifically video art, chance the importance of the artwork?  For example, is art made with a political message intended for the masses more important than art made for personal reasons intimate to the maker but not shared by the public?  Depending on one’s answer to this question, the meaning of video art can change dramatically.  Videos are used worldwide for many purposes other than art, such as for advertising entertainment, or memories. If the maker of these works intended their pieces to be art and their videos were installed in a museum, would their worth deteriorate or expand to become something more than just their subject matter?