So we live in time of virtual motion. After many years of special effects in action adventures shot after Star Wars, we have “direct” experience with fast, twisting motion through space. Billions of humans know things about motion that have never been experienced. Any water cooler conversation can discuss the feeling of a high-speed chase on the ground or through the air.
Video by Rhett Nye
Motion has had a huge influence on architects and many have attempted to capture this spirit since the beginning of the 20th century. Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid are the best known in the last few years. But unfortunately, we only move slightly faster than a snail through the zippiest of spaces. Architecture is motionless motion.
Public Art has achieved some action through the apparent motion of LED lights or the actual motion of water over surface, lightweight objects pushed by the air or a few motorized elements. But the action is not with the body like the film. Only the amusement park crudely mimics the motion of film.
What about from the other direction? How does the architecture, public space or public art inspire the film or video maker? What kind of works is more conducive to movement of the camera? And therefore the movement of the body? (And are these linked?)
For most films, the specific architecture or art is stylistic or psychological. Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” is one of best uses of architecture and space as another character in the film. Wim Wender’s Wings of Desire is one of the finest portrayals of modern space as the angels move through Hans Sharoun’s Berlin Library.
For public art, I don’t know many. This week at the local movie theater, I watched “The Namesake” in which Diller and Scofidio’s Kennedy Airport monitors play a significant role. Very unusual.
To discover how public art might look on film, I searched YOUTUBE and found a selection. Only in a minority of videos do the artworks spark motion in the cameraperson. Most are really just stills shot in video. If a person can walk through the sculpture, the use of motion is more prevalent like Christo’s Gates. Cloud Gate in Chicago generated less video fun that I would have guessed. The Tate Modern has sponsored a number of works with video response.
Have a look at the new Aesthetic Grounds YouTube site. Click on the PLAYLISTS to see the Best I could find on particular works.
Tate Modern
Public Art, Public Space
Working with young filmmakers teaches me something new every day and more than that unteaches me usually something old and tired every day. The “kids” I work with are teaching me about the movement of visual narration in the context of a story as observed in the use a multiple film transparencies that have the ability to take the audience inside the working dynamics of the story. When the heart of a story is superimposed with other times and other conflicts and other places it is reality that moves into abstraction because the human brain struggles to make linear sense even when it itself is hardly mechanized in a linear way.
Movement, too, is relative. Doug Aitken’s video projected on the outside walls of MoMA reminds one of “Bladerunner” for about ten seconds at which time the eye recognizes that the actual images being used are generic sort of like the images in a successful sitcom where there is no possibility and no chance of anyone being offended. The optical illusion of movement is projected everywhere in the medium but it is only rarely translated to the art world itself which resists seeing video art as art but tends to see it as Upstart Art (not real art like painting in oil) whose sins are many and moving is definitely one.
Hey thanks for featuring my montreal public space art. You might find some interest in my other videos as well. I’m on myspace, youtube, and google video. click on my link here and it’s the results of a google search. not all my vids come up, but if you go to my ‘more from user’ on video.google, and view my profile on youtube and add me on myspace you’ll get access to 100% of the potential videos of mine.
would appreciate credit next time you cite my work bud!
Thanks
Rhett