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Investigating Video Installation Work

Introduction

In this report, I will be investigating two video artists; one current, and one historical. I will evaluate their use of production and exhibition technology and techniques, filmmaking styles, usage of narrative and non-narrative forms, and the nature and responses of audiences. I will then compare the two artists and assess the development of video art over time. The two artists I will be investigating will be Pipilotti Rist and Andy Warhol.

The two artists’ video work are considered to be experimental film. Experimental film is the type of film that denies the usual traditions of orthodox films. They can be shown in non-traditional ways, such as projected onto different objects.

Current Practitioner Case Study – Pipilotti Rist

The experimental film I am going to analyse is “Ever is Over All”. It was created by Pipilotti Rist, a Swiss video artist who often uses projections as part of her art. “Ever is Over All” was created in 1997, and it shows a woman in a blue dress, walking down a street in slow-motion, destroying windows of parked cars with a hammer shaped like a flower. It was bought by the Museum of Modern Art, and has been shown there ever since. It is 4 minutes long.

In the blog post, ‘Pipilotti Rist Ever Is Over All 1997’ by Sabrina Ferraro, describes the message behind the video as “a feminist representation of self-liberation and rebelling against cultural normalities”. The author describes the woman in the video as “the epitome of femininity”.

I agree with this interpretation of the message, as I believe that she is causing the vandalism because she is irritated by societies pressures against females, and the patriarchal society.

The styles that Rist uses in the video include:

Slow motion – The video is edited to be shown in slow motion. The artist would’ve reduces the number of frames per second.

No editing – The video shows no evidence of cuts and jumps as it is just one shot. The only edit is the slowing down of the film.

Long durational shot – The video is just one long shot.

In this video, there is a very slight narrative storyline. By watching the film, you can maybe assume that the reason the woman is breaking car windows and vandalising property, is because she is tired of societies pressures against women, and she is full of anger. This would still be considered as a non-narrative piece because there is no obvious storyline.

Because of the year this film was produced, and the stylistic view of the video, I would assume that the video would still be shot on an analogue film camera. It is pre-recorded and edited to be slowed down, and it doesn’t have a ‘found footage’ aesthetic. Whilst being exhibited, the video was projected onto a wall, with an overlapping projection of a flower. In the background of the video, there is a song being played. It sounds like a woman humming a tune and you can hear bird noises and the smashing of the car windows.

Historical Practitioner Case Study – Andy Warhol

The experimental film I am going to analyse is the “Edie Sedgewick Screen Test No. 3” by Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol was an American artist, who was mainly known for pop art. The video is part of one of Warhol’s projects “Screen tests”, they were a series of silent films, showing several different shots of celebrities from the time, such as, Salvador Dali, Yoko Ono, and Bob Dylan. The videos were created between 1964 and 1966 in New York City. The subject of the video I will be analysing is Edie Sedgewick, who was an American actress and model. She was mainly known for being one of Warhol’s superstars, which is a term that described the group of people that would regularly star in his works. She had also starred in films, such as, Beauty No. 2, Space, Kitchen, and Poor Little Rich Girl, all directed and produced by Warhol. The video is 3 minutes long.

In the article ‘Candid camera’ by Jonathan Jones, on The Guardian film website, Warhol’s screen tests are described as ‘his best works on film’. The author suggests that the films are about mortality, describing the fade to white at the end, ‘as if a bomb has been dropped’, and the ‘ghostly effect could not explicitly make us think of mortality’. This is compared against ‘Hollywood’s immortality’ and suggests that Warhol artistry was against this.

In another article, called ‘Undone in three minutes’ by Brian Dillon, the screen tests are described as ‘minimal experiments’, saying that ‘they were made according to clear formal and physical constraints’. The author goes on the describe the Edie Sedgwick screen test as ‘the subtlest and most affecting performance among the Screen Tests’, because of the ‘minutest narrowing of her huge eyes’ and the ‘slightest twitch of a muscle in her cheek’.

I feel that the meaning behind the videos, is fame. I think that this is shown through the selection of stars that are the subjects of the films, because the majority of them were rising stars or were already huge personalities in the entertainment industry, whether they were actors, musicians, or artists. The videos are portrayed as ‘moving photographs’ and they feel like they are inside a box and you are looking in.

The styles that Warhol uses in the video include:

Slow motion – Warhol originally shot the film at 24 frames per second, but slowed it down to 16.

‘Moving photograph’ – The video is like a photograph with the slow movements. Edie stays in the same position the whole time and she doesn’t change her facial expression.

No editing – The video shows no evidence of cuts and jumps as it is just one shot. The only edit is the slowing down of the film.

Long durational shot – The video is just one long shot.

In this video artwork, I don’t see any narrative. Nothing happens in the video, other than Edie looking into the camera for the entire video. There is no beginning, middle, or end.

Just like his other screen tests, Warhol filmed this video on a stationary 16mm film camera using 100-foot-long rolls of films at 24 frames per second. He filmed the video in strong light. The video is silent and was shot on black-and-white film. As the film was shot in the 1960’s, there was no use of digital film-making, and it was all analogue.

Comparison between the artists’ work

In this section, I am going to compare the two different pieces of work, using the different components I have written about:

Meaning – The two videos have very different meanings. Warhol’s ‘Edie Sedgwick Screen Test 3’ is about fame and its importance in culture during the 60’s. Whereas, Rist’s ‘Ever Is Over All’ is about femininity, and identity in a world run by male figures. Theses meanings reflect the time era the respective films were produced in, as the meanings were very topical and relevant during the times.

Styles – The styles used in both films were almost exactly the same. They both used slow motion, no editing and a long durational shot.

Narrative/Non-Narrative form – Both films have a non-narrative form. They both show evidence of no or little storyline. They are more like moving photographs, rather than storytelling pieces.

Use of technology and techniques – The technology of used during the production of both films are the same as well. They both involved the use of analogue film cameras and they both had their number of frames per second reduced.

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Film Studies - Queer Theory

Queer Theory - the investigation into the positive and negative representation of the LGBT community within media, such as, film, television, and literature.

Self-identified Queer Artists and Filmmakers

Dustin Lance Black (born 1974) Black is an American screenwriter, producer, and LGBT activist. He came out as gay when he was 17/18, and in May 2016, he married openly gay Olympics diver, Tom Daley. Throughout his career, he has created several popular LGBT-oriented films, including:

‘Milk (2008, directed by Gus van Sant)’. Black wrote the screenplay for this film, which was based on the life of gay rights activist, Harvey Milk, who eventually became the first openly gay person elected to public office in California. Sean Penn portrayed the main character, who won an Oscar for Best Actor, for his role in this film. Black also won an Oscar for his screenwriting credits.

‘J. Edgar (2012, directed by Clint Eastwood)’. Black wrote the screenplay for this film, which is about the life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, who was the first Director of the FBI, and was rumoured to be either gay or asexual. Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed the titular character, and he gained mostly positive reviews on his performance of the historical figure. The film was also praised on its story, direction, and production; Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter wrote “This surprising collaboration between director Clint Eastwood and ‘Milk’ screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tackles its trickiest challenges with plausibility and good sense, while of its controversial subject’s behaviour, public and private”. 

Ian McKellen (born 1939) - McKellen is a British actor and LGBT activist. He has been openly gay since 1988. He has always been a massive activist for LGBT rights, and he campaigns regularly to gain equality for his community. He is the co-founder of Stonewall, which is an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, who currently are working towards equality for LGBT people at home, work and schools. He is also the patron for LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GAY-GLOS, The Lesbian and Gay Foundation, and FFLAG. He hasn’t starred in any recognised LGBT-subject films; however, he has starred in huge film franchises such as:

The X-Men series, in which he starred as the elder version of villain, Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto.

The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit series’, in which he starred as wizard, Gandalf the Grey/Gandalf the White.

Jonathan Groff (born 1985) - Groff is an American actor. He came out as gay in October 2009. In his career, he has starred in several different LGBT-orientated media, such as:

‘The Normal Heart (2014, directed by Ryan Murphy)’, a TV movie about the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City in 1981-84. He portrays Craig Donner, a young gay man who dies suddenly of suspected gay-related immune deficiency (GRID), which was later known as AIDS.

‘Looking (2014-15)’, a comedy-drama series, about a group of young gay friends living in San Francisco. He portrays Patrick Murray, an openly gay video game designer.

Representation of LGBT characters in film

In 2013, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) started to release the Studio Responsibility Index, which is an annual report of statistics on the representation of LGBT characters in films produced by the six major production companies (20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Colombia, Universal Pictures, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros.), in the previous year.

In 2012, 13.9% of films released contained lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters. No transgender characters where portrayed. But, only 28.6% of these films, had LGBT characters as major characters.

In 2013, Lionsgate Entertainment was added to the list of major production companies. 16.7% of films released involved LGBT characters, with the majority starring in comedies.

In 2014, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Roadside Attractions, and Sony Pictures Classics were added to the list of studios. This year, 17.5% of films included lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters, with no identifiable transgender characters. This year, Warner Bros. was the most inclusive studio, with 32% of their films were LGBT-inclusive.

In 2015, 17.5% of films included LGBT characters. In these films, there was 1 transgender character, and 47 lesbian, gay and bisexual characters.

Queering the canon

Queering the canon is the theory that characters in film can be assigned as being LGBT, judging by their personality, actions, metaphorical storylines, and the characters they associate with.

Walt Disney Pictures, is mainly used as an example of having non-explicit LGBT characters. Disney have always maintained a positive relationship with the community, as they were the first company to extend healthcare benefits to the partners of gay employees. They also host regular pride festivals at their theme parks. Therefore, the company and their films have always been the subject of gay theories about characters.

Films that include confirmed or suspected LGBT characters are:

Ursula from the film, ‘The Little Mermaid (1989, directed by Ron Clement and John Musker)’. The character of Ursula, is a suspected lesbian or bisexual woman. This is because she resembles the popular drag queen, Divine. Her personality also reflects this. Some viewers also interpret the character as an overtly male ‘butch’ lesbian, who represents the evil of homosexuality, and wanting to turn the innocent, Ariel into a lesbian woman.

Timon and Pumbaa from the film, ‘The Lion King (1994, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff)’. The characters of Timon and Pumbaa, are suspected to be in a gay relationship. This is reinforced in the fact they have a ‘married couple’ type relationship. They go through popular LGBT struggles, of being social outcasts and gay adoption. They are also negatively represented as they are the flamboyant comic relief for the film. 

Elsa from the film, ‘Frozen (2013, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee)’. The character of Elsa, is portrayed as a young girl who was born different to everyone else. Her parents hid her away, because they feared they would be judged, and she would be rejected by the world. When she reveals her ‘icy powers’ (a metaphor for her being a lesbian), she is called a freak and cast out of her home into isolation. Multiple elements of the story, can be metaphors for coming out, and suppression of her sexuality from her parents. Her bedroom acts as her ‘closet’ which she eventually comes out of, and her parents tell her to ‘conceal, don’t feel’. All of these elements indicate to the character likely to be a lesbian. She even has a ‘coming out’ song – “Let It Go”, in which she says ‘Let It Go, Let It Go. Turn away and slam the door’ and ‘I don’t care what they’re going to say’. Elsa is also a good representation of women, as she is the only Disney princess not to require a love interest to survive.

Films with an LGBT subjects and characters‘

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, directed by Jim Sharman)’ - This film is about a young couple who, after their car breaks down in the rain, seek help at a castle, where they come across a group of strangers celebrating an annual convention. They meet Dr. Frank N. Furter, a mad alien transvestite, who creates a living man for his own sexual desires. This film was written by Richard O’Brian, who is openly transgender. He also starred in this film as Riff Raff, the house handyman. This has become a cult film for members of the LGBT community, including their allies, as this film would regularly bring everyone together, disregarding their sexuality, dressed up in stockings and heels, to participate in screenings of the film in movie theatres. The popularity of this film and similar films helped to bring LGBT rights to mainstream media, and to the attention of the public. Most of the LGBT-orientated films of the 20th Century were usually about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other gay-related issues, whereas this film depicts the gay community in a friendlier, more accepting way.

‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, directed by Stephen Chbosky)’ - This film is about a young student called Charlie, who suffers from clinical depression because of childhood setback. He is very shy and finds it difficult to make friends. When he meets two fellow students, Patrick and Sam, he is invited along to several social activities with them. The film carries on telling the story of their friendships and of Charlie’s depression. The character of Patrick, is openly gay, and is in a secret relationship with Brad, a closeted football player. They get caught kissing at a party by Charlie. Later on, Patrick and Brad are caught having sex by Brad’s dad, who then kicks out Patrick and beat up his son. Brad is then forced to tell his friends that he was jumped, to hide the fact that he is gay. The next day, Patrick walks past Brad and his friends, and Brad shouts out and calls Patrick a ‘faggot’, which provokes Patrick to ‘out’ him to his friends, who then beat up Patrick, and he gets saved by Charlie, who beats up all the friends then blacks out. This film was subject to mainly positive reviews, commenting on the strong cast performances, and “heartfelt and sincere adaption” of the 1999 book it was based on.

‘Moonlight (2016, directed by Barry Jenkins)’ - This film is about the main character, Chiron, and his difficulties he faces, relating to his race, and sexual identity, which includes his physical and emotional abuse that he received whilst growing up. The film is presented in three different parts, Little, Chiron, and Black. ‘Little’ tells the story of young Chiron, who is a withdrawn child, who lives with his drug-addicted mother, Paula. He befriends drug dealer, Juan, and gets bullied at school by fellow students, who called him a ‘faggot’. ‘Chiron’ describes Chiron’s teenage life, as he avoids bullies, and spends time with Juan’s girlfriend, after Juan dies. One night, he spends time with his friend, Kevin, they eventually kiss and engage in sexual contact. The next day, Kevin beats him up reluctantly. In ‘Black’, Chiron, who is now adult, sells drugs. His mother is in a rehabilitation centre. He goes and visits Kevin, who after talking for a while, go back to his house and Chiron breaks down, Kevin comforts him and they embrace. This film received huge critical acclaim, gaining an Oscar for Best Picture, being the first film with and all-black cast, and LGBT theme, to do so.

‘Call Me by Your Name (2017, directed by Luca Guadagnino)’ - This film is based on the 2017 novel which has the same name, and was written by André Aciman. It is about the gay relationship between 17-year-old, Elio, and his father’s student, 30-year-old, Oliver. When this film was aired at Sundance Film Festival, it gained huge acclaim and mostly positive critical reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 98% which was based on critics and public reviews, which had an average rating of 9.1/10. The site describes the films as “a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love”.

Representation of LGBT characters in Hollywood films

Ever since the beginning of Hollywood, there has always been controversy over their negative representation of homosexuality. Critics and activists would usually focus on how portrayals would often demean and try to silence the LGBT community.

At the beginning of Hollywood (1890’s to the 1930’s), homosexuality was usually presented as an object of mockery and laughter. Films regularly used the archetype of ‘the sissy’ – which were feminine men who usually have delicate emotions. This was popular, and was used as a source of amusement for the viewers. However, this was not a negative representation, because it was in the middle of masculinity and femininity.

In the 1930’s to 50’s, Hollywood was criticised by religious and homophobic groups, because films would apparently contribute to immorality. Therefore, the Hay’s Code was introduced. The Hay’s Code was a system of self-censorship that mainly affected the representation of homosexuality. During this time, films were unable to include openly gay characters, so instead homosexuality would be included into the character’s mannerisms and behaviour.

During the 1960’s and 70’s, the Hay’s Code was loosened. This was during the dawn of the gay rights movement, and because gays and lesbians were becoming more vocal and visible in society, therefore representation became increasingly more homophobic. Gay characters were portrayed as dangerous, violent, predatory, and suicidal, shown in films such as ‘Midnight Express (1978, directed by Alan Parker), ‘Vanishing Point (1971, directed by Richard C. Sarafian), and ‘The Boys in the Band (1970, directed by William Friedkin).

In the 1990’s, Hollywood improved their representation of LGBT characters. Films such as, ‘Philadelphia (1993, directed by Jonathan Demme)’, ‘To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995, directed by Beeban Kidron)’, and ‘In & Out (1997, directed by Frank Oz)’, proved that audiences can and do enjoy films that have gay and lesbian characters. But, the film industry was still cautious of their representation of gay characters, themes, and experiences. Because Hollywood films were designed to appeal to as big an audience as possible, producers were scared that gay and lesbian themes would offend audiences, and potential investors.

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camping 03.09.2017. 

shot on my iphone.

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london 20-21.07.2017. 

shot on canon a1.

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this is an ident i created in my first year of my creative media production course. i created it for a fictional television channel, ‘The Grid’. i produced this on adobe premiere pro.

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here is a music video that me and my friend created for creative media production - year 1. the song is 'feels like we only go backwards' by tame impala.