Art 290-IVW Hoefle/Tourtillotte
Project #2: “body/object-space/action”
Exploring video performance and documentation as installation.
“Video was a medium for rehearsal.” - Vito Acconci
Project description:
Create a video that documents you interacting with a specific object or space.
The action, object and setting will be your choice.
You should be the only figure in the video.
The video document should be 1 to 3 minutes in length (no more/no less).
Collaboration: You will work in teams of 2 to assist one another with the video and audio recording of your performance/action. (The design of the performance/action and video editing will be an individual effort.)
Technical experiences:
Video & audio recording, lighting, video editing with Final Cut Pro 5, video export/output.
Artists in lecture (and others to know):
Nam June Paik, Yoko Ono, Alan Kaprow, Vito Acconci, Bruce Nauman, Joan Jonas, John Baldessari, Ant Farm, Peter Campus, Chris Burden, Hannah Wilke, Dennis Oppenheim, Abramovic & Ulay, Gilbert & George, William Wegman, Carolee Schneeman, Ana Mendieta, Josef Beuys, Ann Hamilton, Janine Antoni, Jeanne Dunning, Bill Viola, Pipolitti Rist, Rebecca Horn, Cindy Sherman, Martha Rosler, Jana Sterbak, Cheryl Donegan, Sophie Calle, Laurie Anderson, Valie Export, Jane & Louise Wilson, Paul McCarthy, Pat Oleszko, Richard Long, Frances McMahon-Ward, Kristen Baumlier.
“Television has been attacking us all our lives, now we can attack it back.”
- Nam June Paik
“Video is a face to face space.” - Vito Acconci
“…video had the ability to pull together many of these disparate elements combining performance, sound and duration into documentary or fictionalized representations of artistic events.”
- Catherine Elwes from Video Art, A Guided Tour
Components: for discussion….
Body/Object-Space/Action:
As the subject of your video, the object/space you select and your interactions with that object/space should be well considered and meaningful. They must convey the content of your project.
You may find or fabricate your object.
How will you include yourself in the video? In whole or in part? Through shadow or reflection?
In or out of focus? Holding the camera? Will we see you talking to a dead hare? Tossing and turning under a sheet? Reflected in a drop of water? Will you, as artist/performer, need costume, mask or make-up?
Location:
Choosing the location for your performance/action should involve both conceptual and practical concerns.
How will the location support/reflect the meaning of the work? Will the setting provide all you need? Or, will you need to give consideration to locating or fabricating essential props for the set? Will you be able to set up and use a camera in this location? What about lighting?
Time/Duration:
Your performance/action and its documentation should not exceed 3 minutes in length. Consider the significance of time and how you can manipulate the viewer’s perception of time’s brevity or length. This consideration of time should be central to your performance/action and supported by the choices you make in editing your video documentation.
Documentation:
Your performance/action must be captured with a video camera. Still photos or other documentation are optional. Audio can be recorded with the video camera, an external recorder and/or generated on the computer with options such as Voice Over or Garage Band.
Final Presentation:
Your video will be presented on a TV monitor in the gallery . Consider the monitor’s frame and final presentation as you plan your performance/action and its documentation. In addition to the monitor, the gallery installation may include “artifacts” from the performance/action and any additional documentation of the process.
OK, I don’t want your heads to explode… but we should also discuss the following: the role of the camera, framing/shots, multiple points of view, the role of audio, opportunities in editing and chronological presentation of events vs. non-linear narratives (fact vs. fiction).
Due Date: Monday, October 10
Your completed videos will be presented in the “IVW-LAB” exhibition in Hammes Gallery.
|