Werner Herzog
Werner is an absolute hero, his approach to film making is one rooted in adventure. He actively treads on the fine line between fact and fiction, playing them off each other for the best outcome. Fitzcarraldo is a prime example of this, it was a necessity that they actually pulled the boat over the hill to make the film; it is his methods and personality that influence me most rather than visual style.
It is his type of eccentricity, personality and drive that interests me, the character imagined into my 'situation' has his roots in Werner Herzog. Daniel Johnson is another artist who fits into this category of influence, brilliant and fascinating in his own troubled way but with dark rogue element which gives a sense of the uncontrollable. There are of course half-mad eccentrics all over the world and I see this project as a small and subtle tribute.
Janet Cardiff
Her work is such a driving influence these day that its hard not to reference Janet Cardiff, I thought I would concentrate mainly on a piece I recently saw for the first time, Playhouse, rather than her whole range of work that has been referenced many times already.
The use of binaural recordings mixed with the scene layed out infront of you made for an amazing experience. It really brings the voice into the space and therefore totally immerses you. I like the idea of headphones in Installation, they kind of seal off your senses from the world around you and let you slip more easily into a state of wonder. They also let you deal with the work on a more individual basis, although different, I like the idea of dealing with individuals rather than groups or mass audiences; even if others miss out for the sake of someone who does get the full experience. Headphones are definitely something I would consider in this project in particular if there is to be an accompanying sound piece.George Bures-Miller
One of the pieces that really triggered off the idea for this project was Bures-Millers - Jump. A monitor hangs from the ceiling held by two thin wires with a close-up of the artist's feet jumping continually into the air on screen. As the feet land two solenoids jolt the monitor, giving the impression that the weight of the landing feet somehow effect the erratic swinging motion of the television. It was again this idea of images being brought into the physical space by movement that helped form the basis for my project. An image takes on whole new qualities when movement is applied to it.
Ilya KabakovKabakov, although traditionally a painter, has contributed to the field of Installation art work immensely, including his 'On the total Installation' book which helps understand a totally immersive space. His work, 'The man that flew into space from his apartment', revolves around a fictitious hero; a lonely dreamer. Kabakov himself, hands off his Installations to other fictitious artists, which questions notions of authorship. Rather than setting up an artwork to be viewed in the context of the artist, the gallery and the work, he creates large-scales site specific environments to explore, a scene, documentation of an event that has just passed you by. What then becomes important is the viewer, not the artist; this is an approach that seems to be completely natural when dealing with Installation. Allowing the author to become a character could be seen to take away some of the associations and prohibitions, that art usually instills in the viewer by its very nature, to create an environment more suited to the work.
Freize Art Fair One of the main attractions at Freize is to see how ambitious or bold the Galleries from all around the world are with their selections, what they think they will sell and what they feel they need to sell. Interestingly there was atleast half a dozen film loops this year all running in a standard loop format, the work itself wasn't that great but it did seem surprising the amount of film loop work there was. It is a shame the film loop is seen as a means to an end (or a beginning as the case is), in this project underway, the film loop will be an ephemeral object in its own right that will scratch, age and deteriorate over time. There is no reason works of art should have to exist within a structure of timelessness, for instance, if the film in this project got so badly worn down it was unrecognisable; a whole new sequence with new strangers and environments could be reproduced to replace it with new narratives unfolding.
Above is the standard film loop method followed by a slightly more interesting application of a three projector installation with film loops running by Alexandra Leykauf.
Most of the little kinetic stuff there was didn't really offer much but some of the best work was hidden away in the far corner of Resonance FM, including some super8 films, a tape loop and some live video feeds, aesthetically, the tape loop ticks all the boxes and is a good visual reference for this project.
Harmony KorineKorine shows a great awareness of an anti-aesthetic in his films through his use of super8, vhs and other low-fi technology to create a visually distinctive and powerful style of image-making. His character development and obsession with the absurd also make him a key reference. Although I am aiming to be a lot more subtle, the same emotive responses can be gained through the use of super8 which has, instinctively, a nostalgia attached to it; a history. This I would argue, is further enhanced by the presence of the film and the running projector.
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