Video performance.

Three artists in red suits dig a triangular pit. They think they are doing necessary work. They act in coordination, not paying attention to anyone around them. This meaningless process can be interpreted both literally (as the digging of a grave or a search for a treasure) and figuratively (as soul-searching, self-reflection, escapism, or detachment). Since the soundtrack for the video imagery is the hum of attendees at a gallery opening, marked by the distinct voices of well-known critics, we could say this work is about aspects of creating a work of art.

The goal of the “diggers” is blurry, but we can speak of a process of endless “depth/deepening.” There is a moment of the absurd that, one way or another, is present in almost every work of the Program, absurd brought to its limit. The strange form of the object, the persistence of the diggers, and the sense of futility — these are the three conceptual components of the project.

One could suppose that the futility of the diggers manifests itself not only outwardly, but also in the depths of their consciousness. They are obsessed with an idée fixe, and they are trying to prove an absurd message: As we know, the Earth is a sphere. The corners of a triangle on a plane are sharp, but on a sphere they are dull. If a sphere is opened on a plane, then there comes an intermediary moment when the corners of its triangle are neither dull nor sharp. But in conditions of isolated form this can only be a square. The simple process of digging a deep hole proves that a triangle with right angles cannot exist either on the surface of the sphere nor at any distance from its center. In other words, under no conditions can a triangle become a square.

(Valeriy Ayzenberg) 

The post Triangle appeared first on Cyland Video Archive.

Given the rather aggressive soundtrack of the first two parts, the third is perceived as a certain kind of silence.

This main (second) part of the video is a performance, throughout which the artist walks down the city streets and films everything he passes.

The semantic structure of the performance is based on the following.

The walking person makes three movements at once: forward, up, and down. He usually does not notice the rhythmic motions up and down. He does not concentrate on the natural, routine processes that occur in his body and with his body during the process of walking; it is a reflex.

While walking, the legs make pendulum-like movements in relation to the walker’s vertical axis.

The most complex movement is that of the feet, which, besides simple movement forward and upward/downward also change their angle relative to the axis of the knee.

The rhythm of all mentioned movements is the same, and comparable with heartbeats, inhalation/exhalation, and the rhythm of a march.

If the video camera is affixed to the upper surface of the foot (i.e., the foot is used as the top of a tripod), then the “eye” of the camera will make pendulous motions in the rhythm of walking, and thus record all the objects on its path.

As a result, everything that the viewer sees on the screen is a trace of this performance.

Valeriy Ayzenberg

Program ESCAPE the secret1

Program ESCAPE the secret2

The post The Secret appeared first on Cyland Video Archive.

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