Context Project Research

I got a book from the library about video art to do some research for my Context project.

Vito Acconci - Three Adaptation Studies


Vito Acconci - Three Adaptation Studies (1970) by Video_Blog_REWF

Here the artist participates in 3 situations. First, a ball is repeatedly thrown at him whilst he is blindfolded and trying his best to catch it. Secondly, he stares at the camera for a short while and then tips soapy water all over his face and tries his best to keep looking at the camera, even though the soap has obviously made it very uncomfortable to do so. Lastly, he tries desperately to fit his fist in to his mouth.

This video seemed really interesting. From reading the description in the book I thought the video sounded unique, quirky and possibly a little unsettling. But from actually watching the video it makes me very uncomfortable. I think this piece links to what I am planning to do because of the 'series' aspect and also because it is a little different from most video work e.g. it doesn't have a narrative.

Candice Breitz - Mother + Father

(Video can be found here http://www.candicebreitz.net/)

This video is a collection of mother and father figures from six films. The artist has blocked out all the background setting, all other characters and most prop objects. This really draws attention to the principal parental figures. All the 'mother' scenes are grouped together and all the 'father' scenes are grouped together. This is then shown on 6 screens, where speech and image from each film are intermingled to create 2 entirely new narratives, one from the 'mother' and one from the 'father'.

This video instantly jumped out at me because of the material used. I think movies are always a great starting point and are instantly recognisable. Also the method of displaying them on an arc of screens and the way they were played in an almost 'remixed' fashion inspired me to rethink my own display method for my video piece.

Nam June Paik

(No artist website found but here is the next best thing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik)

For this artist I have looked at his work in general rather than a specific piece because I really like his unusual display methods rather than the actual content. He used a lot of sculpture around the screens to make 'living sculptures' like in his 'Pre-Bell Man' statue. He also attached screens to the ceiling in his piece 'Fish Flies on Sky', forcing the viewer to either awkwardly crane their neck or lie on the floor. This really interests me and I would love to incorporate this sort of  alternative display method into my project.

I feel this research has really helped me think about how I want to display my work, and that I should make it more interesting to try and help my work develop and change in something better.

I now plan to plough ahead with obtaining my footage, making a more detailed storyboard and then devising more interesting display configurations for my video.