Introduction to Video and Sound: 2014-10-19

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

"Fantasy Beyond Control" and "Art as a Performative Act"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zSA9Rm2PZA Both articles required for class reading today contribute a unique perspective to performative video pieces. "Fantasy Beyond Control" spends time discussing how these kinds performances do not interact with the viewer but are a one-way mirror, but then suggests there are certain ways that video can interact with its viewers in non-conventional forms. "Art as a Performative Act" focuses on the movement that makes up performance pieces. The link at the top is to Martha Rosler's 1975 short film "Semiotics of the Kitchen," which demonstrates several of the aspects of performance art touched upon in these articles. The movement in this case is not the camera movement or movement within the frame, but movement of the individual. Martha's movements are not extreme but they are powerful in their subtlety: the film demonstrates her containment, within the frame, within the walls of the kitchen, and abstractly within the boundaries of a woman's role in society. Her movements are small enough to not push these bounds, but they are swift and full of an anger which becomes more and more apparent as the film continues. This film also challenges our ideas of how a viewer can interact with the subject: at first glance, the performance seems to be Martha showing us around her kitchen, naming the different parts, but we can relate to her suffering, on a physical and a social level. She constantly breaks the fourth wall, looking straight and defiantly at the viewer, which makes us realize that what we are watching is not a one-way mirror after all, but a dynamic critique of society.

art as a performative act

Lynn Herchann’s article opens a new way of seeing the interaction between audience and art and art performer. It reminds me of an article—I forget about the name— that I have read written by psychologist William James, saying that thought is continuos within personal consciousness which transcends time and space. Therefore, conscious is something purely subjective, which is taken advantage by the artist in the creation, and after reading Herchann’s argument, also used by art itself during the performative presence. I guess some reason why courant de conscience becomes so popolar now. Those art is itself a conscious communication between artist and the viewer, maybe even between the art and the viewer. There is no right or wrong in these kind of art. The conscious becomes some medium that makes the art penetrate into people’s mind and subconscious. Usually viewers themselves become fellow travellers with conscious flowing together.

Those arts has no right or wrong. Corresponding to Lynn Herchann’s argument, “the viewer has no choice but to construct meanings on his or her own out of the interactions in consciousness between different elements; there are no given meaning”. Everything depends on viewer’s point of view and feeling. With different individuals, the perceptions diverse.

There is a film that I would relate to the above point of view— Paranoid Park. The director Gus Van Sant is doing so gorgeous in picturing a video art that communicates with audience in conscious level. Gus Van Sant does not want to reveal any sad reflection in society through a teenager’s accidental crime. I don’t even think the director expect the audience to involve in the depressed mood. There is no “what is what ” in his film, nor is there any determined or expected value. Paranoid Park is just a film that uses fancy art techniques of filming to tell a teenager’s story and tells some unknown truth. Any other meaning has to be constructed by the viewers themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7V0sQ-Tac

Performance Art Performed by Who?

Both what we have read and our class discussions of specific pieces of performance art have dealt predominantly with the effects of a particular piece of performance art on the audience. It seems that, in calling a piece performance art, form takes a back seat to intent, which makes perfect sense, as performance art, like other art, is all about expression.

If we look at the form of performance art as malleable, I think it's interesting to think about different possibilities for the identity of the performer. In most pieces, we see either the artist carrying out an action, or we see a stand-in for the artist performing that action. To what extent, though, could there be a piece of performance art that involves the audience performing the action? We see this to an extent in Yoko Ono's "Cut Piece." But where do we draw the line in terms of what can be considered performance art? I'll try to get the conversation moving by posting a segment of the video game Silent Hill: Downpour (Vatra Games, 2012)

The 1997 film Funny Games by Michael Haneke seeks to challenge the notion that spectators enjoy watching violence by presenting them with a film is truly disturbing in its violence, without being simply disturbing because of gore. I feel that the opening of Silent Hill: Downpour is a similar statement, to the effect of "So you think you like being violent in games? Well here, do this."

Warning: Extremely violent, even by my desensitized standards.

2:25 to 5:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kNkX8OC2_o

To what extent might we consider something like this, which isn't video, to be performance art set up by the developer and performed by the player? Is it completely different, or not so different?

Response to "Art As a Performative Act"

In the reading, the debate was about whether the presence of other would have influence for the action of others. Also, the author of the article argued with several examples. The game players are good example to state the issue in a more general situation. For most situations in our daily life, people may not have the feeling of being watched. Since most people would check around to see what others are doing, but never try to observe other’s actions. Once they know they are being watched, things changed. There is an example that people type faster than they normally do when they are told that they are being monitored. Also, they will make more mistakes at the same time. My opinion is that whether people are doing performative action or they are doing their daily activity. The conscious of the presence of others would still influence their action. What comes into my mind was the performative art “Painting/Retoque” from Belgian artist Francis Alÿs. What he does was just painting on street. However, all the cars pass him actually made a particular element of his work. If the audiences and the card were missing, the work does not seem that interesting anymore.

http://www.francisalys.com/public/painting.html

Performative art

After reading Art as PErformative Enactment, I started looking for a performance piece that I had never seen before. As Lynn Herchann says, in performance art, "the viewer has no choice but to construct meanings on his or her own out of the interactions in consciousness between different elements; there are no given meaning." Rather than try and decipher what the artists was trying to convey, I watched Centers, by Vito Acconci, one of his works that I haven't yet seen. In this piece, he stands and points to the camera for 25 minutes. My interpretation of this piece was that Acconci was forcing the viewer to look within themselves and address all the things that would warrant someone sternly pointing a finger at them. What I didn't realize however, was that Acconci was pointing at himself in a mirror the whole time and that the image is turned around as him pointing at us. This type of realization is what I love about performance art. I could get something completely different from the piece than the person next to me, however, it would still be valid. And it the end, when I learn the true intention of the artist, it just forces me to look at a different way which is also exciting!

Vito Acconci's Centers

Performance art: The Alchemy of Light

In the reading I felt that performance art was portrayed to move people. It often talked about touching people but I took it in a sense as performance art is to make the view feel something. Whatever the case may be the person who is doing the piece is giving up their body at times for the view of others. I always liked to describe performance art as the ideas that run in the back of your head and are finally let all out in the open for the whole world to see. I chose the piece "The Alchemy of Light" by DandyPunk today. I chose this piece because it made me feel how light is really an empowering thing. without light the world would be dark. This piece I believe is performance art because it makes me respond in someway and makes me think about the way we use light. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG2Xn_qDT0s

Performance Art is Interactive

Both of the readings for today's class discussed performance art and how it requires some sort of interaction from the audience. Hershman's article posed the question whether or not one can observe something without it influencing them. I would say a simple no. Anytime something is seen, it has an effect on the viewer. This would seem to be especially true of art, since art is trying to connect with the audience and evoke a feeling out of them. In "Art as Performative Enactment," the point is made that the viewer always creates his or her own meanings from their experience in viewing the artwork. Clearly, everyone is from a different background, which would lead to different interpretations and interactions with artworks.

An interesting example I found of performance art (I have no idea how I stumbled upon this...) is a video of Jay-Z performing "Picasso Baby" for six hours. I am not particularly fond of Jay-Z's music, but that's not the point here, so I looked past it. By performing the same song, over and over, for six hours, the song's meaning will change based on the different audience members and Jay-Z's level of energy for each performance. The video shows him rapping at different audience members and those audience members interacting with Jay-Z in different ways. This will also change how each performance is received, both by those individual audience members and by the entire audience as a whole. For example, one of the audience members starts to dance with Jay-Z and this would give her a more direct influence on this particular performance and it likely increased the energy level for the rest of the audience.

Performace Art; Anxiety

For some reason The Fantasy Beyond Control article was a pretty difficult read for me. Mainly because I didn't understand what I was supposed to be imagining when readying about the art forms she presented. I did understand her overall idea that television where there is a set narrative and minimal interaction with viewers is like having platonic sex. Therefore, interactive art, where one can engage and influence art is a more colorful version of art. On the other hand, Art as a Performative Act focuses on intermedia and questions what is art in general? As cited, "art is a work that engages us and tells us what it means to be ourselves in the world". In order to explain the origin of art he mentions three concepts: play ("performative enactment through movement"), symbol ("the real presence of what is symbolized, yet under conditions of otherness"; self-presentation that enables self-recognition), and festival ("how the work of art also enacts the sense of community"). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofXumDHPxw0 I like this video because it is relatable, it does convey anxiety, but it is still open for interpretation.

Playing God In Cinema

There's no subtlety to it, actors, directors, writers, producers, and director of photography's alike, all aim to create specific and constructed identities in specific and controlled environments. Writers and cinematographers alike all have the power to create a life that never existed, or at least a slightly different iteration, before. In a way that is a god-like power, which film, stories, and every great adventure story have cyclically taught us that it may come with a cost.

All of these creative forces must decide what contributes to a character, how are they going to be defined by their world, and how do they change or start to define the world around them, which is a basic question of determining one's identity. Every narrative ever constructed has always have had some element of a question of identity, and that is to make a character or a story have a complex and relatable personality. A major challenge with this is that the characters can have ambiguous and conflicting meanings, which may or may not be purposeful. Sometimes the challenge is straightforward like in a heroes journey. A clean cut example is Indiana Jones & his ridiculous fear of snakes. In the films we are constantly show Indiana Jones putting his life in major danger only to miraculously and bravely fight and find his way out, but there is one caveat, he's scared of snakes. While there is question of symbolism of his fear of snakes, which is a different issue altogether, this fear of snakes is also tested frequently throughout the trilogy, fighting through snake pits, snakes as barriers, & snakes in close vicinities.

But the point to this case, is that an identity is an extremely difficult and powerful tool that storytellers use to consciously and subconsciously show to an audience. It requires an enormous amount of creativity, experience, an understanding of the world, as well as the reality of strengths & weaknesses of the human race.

Attached are two clips: One of Indiana Jones' fear of snakes & the other of Indiana Jones' bravery and strengths

Snakes : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL3ZIc5IL2w

Strengths: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhkXmaEYMl4

This all ties into performance cinema in a few ways. One way is that a character's identity make's a commentary on the world around them within the film as well as the real world. Another way is that the idea of a performance is displaying of the ability to transform oneself into a new identity on screen. In film & TV, this ranges from comedy sketches on SNL & TV dramas, to serious cultural or moral statements, to independent movies, to mainstream hollywood. An example of a performance piece can be seen in the film The Artist. The film, and specifically this scene offers a nostalgic message about the identity of silent actors and the transition to talkies, and how challenging it was for some actors to transition or be excluded from this big change in cinema.

Attached is a link to a performance piece within the film of The Artist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPJ_hXkdPuc

Art as Performative Enactment - Response

Klemm’s Art as Performative Enactment talks about three concepts that ground performative art: play, symbol, and festival. As I read, I was reminded of one of my favorite slam poems, “Hir” by Alysia Harris and Aysha El Shamayleh (link below). Slam poetry can be as simple as poetry read aloud, but this poem also adds an element of physical performance. The first element that Klemm refers to, play, is evident here – the two performers stand back-to-back for most of the performance, showing Melissa and James as two parts of the same person, but also splitting apart and moving to stand next to each other when needed. This, I think, also embodies the symbol of the art – their performance acts as a visual representation of the meaning of their words. Klemm says, “What do we recognize in a work of art? We recognize the meaning of our being in the world.” While not everyone may relate directly to the poem (one would be hard-pressed to find any work of art that everyone relates to), everyone can recognize the meaning of it in relation to themselves. The final element, festival, is shown in two distinct ways here. First, the performance is taking place at a slam poetry competition, where people have gathered to celebrate, appreciate, and discuss the work itself; secondly, the location of the video itself on YouTube opens it to another audience and another set of viewpoints and discussions, albeit generally more vitriolic than the former.

The poem can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRLSgPQG0c4

Monday, October 20, 2014

Origins of Video Art Post

I have connected this clip from the film "Festen" to the piece on the Origins of Video Art because it is one of the first films shot in the Dogme 95 style of cinema which emphasizes the use of handheld cameras. Although this is a more modern film movement than the one discussed in the article, many of its basic philosophies are similar to its predecessor. Dogme encourages the low-tech, grainy images of technologies past in part because it requires the viewer to consider the role of the video camera when observing a piece. A high resolution camera can present images almost as well as we view them with our eyes, and it is not clear to us that there is a technology influencing our observations of the art. There are advantages and disadvantages to this: it can cause a state of awe in viewers to be able to see a picture very clearly such as with a 4k camera, but this awe is more an appreciation of the image than of the art itself. We must consider that there is a difference between the image and the art, and it is not dissimilar to the difference between video and film. Video and image go hand in hand because they desire to reveal some small part of our world as accurately as possible, where film art attempts to manipulate this image with respect to the camera, adding grain or faded colors to disrupt the accuracy of the image, to question the accuracy of our own sensory inputs, and to represent the world slightly differently. The outdated lens becomes a tool for stylizing a piece, as film constantly reuses old techniques in more modern ways. While in part a history lesson, the methods and cultural movements discussed in "Origins of Video Art" still provide a valid framework for filmmaking, though video has moved on to a more modern technological quota.