decimus burton

a summer house

picturos

those are some photos of my last investigation. i shone light through a plastic bit i found on the floor and it made some pretty surprising and uncontrived spectacles. it was far better than i imagined because it was an accident, or at least an experiment. thank you to whoever made light

peter gidal

"Demystified reaction by the viewer to a demystified situation; a cut in space and an interruption of duration, through (obvious) jumpcut editing within a strictly defined space. Manipulation of response and awareness thereof: through repetition and duration of image. Film situation as structured, as recorrective mechanism" (Notes from 1969). -P.G.

HALL

Peter Gidal
1968/9 
10mins B/W 16mm

stills from hall

Vasulka

decay.

woody and steina vasulka

In their early collaborative work, the Vasulkas examined the electronic nature of video and sound, developing specialized imaging tools and strategies while also using the medium to document the city's expanding underground culture. "We were interested in certain decadent aspects of America, the phenomena of the time—underground rock and roll, homosexual theater, and the rest of the illegitimate culture. In the same way, we were curious about more puritanical concepts of art inspired by [Marshall] McLuhan and Buckminster Fuller. It seemed a strange and unified front—against the establishment." In 1971, with Andreas Mannik, the Vasulkas founded The Kitchen as a media arts theater. In the same year, Steina and Woody organized A Special Videotape Showat the Whitney Museum and established the first annual video festival at The Kitchen. Working with skillful and innovative engineers, the Vasulkas invented and modified video production instruments for use in performances and installations as well as single-channel tapes. They were among the first wave of artists to participate in the residency programs offered through the public television labs. Steina has explored the use of sound in creating and altering video signals (Violin Power, 1969-78) and the orchestration of video in an installation context. In 1975, while teaching at the Center for Media Study in Buffalo, NY, she began Machine Vision, a "continuing investigation of space via machine systems and electronic images."

The B as A S OF C R

I accidentally ignored my blog throughout the b as a s of c r, so from now on i will be more diligent in my posting and publishing... i've put up some photos i took of my pieces after the project, i realized the images took on a different meaning after the project, with the manipulation of the material previously representing my own futile attempt at using the body as a canvas, now they look different, incorporating the space into the material. due to the photos being taken from inside the 'body'

The body as a site of cultural representation

Bruce Nauman

Video installation by Bruce Nauman.

In Live/Taped Video Corridor, you walk down a long, very narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor there are two monitors on top of each other. The lower one shows a video tape of the corridor, the upper one shows a live (CCTV) video of the corridor, shot from a camera at a height of about 3 meters, at the entrance of the corridor. The effect is that as you walk down the corridor, you see yourself from the back, and as you approach the monitor you get further away from the camera so you never really get any closer to “yourself”.

CCTV hacked by video artists

here is a still from a cctv film 'The Commercial' by david valentine. it consists of people holding signs in front of cctv cams sayin 'won't pay' and 'can't pay'. he used existing cctv footage in order to obtain these images, but hacked into them using some sort of hacking device that apparently you can buy on ebay... he also made a film called 'The Duellists'(click to see vid) which was shot in the arndale shopping centre in manchester, after opening hours, all in one take. david valentine had control of the cctv room with access to 180 cameras.

The Surveillance Camera Players

Anyway, i found a group called The Surveillance Camera Players, and what they do is adapt plays (Orwell's '1984', Poe's 'The Raven') as well as their own material, for performance, IN FRONT OF CCTV cameras, as a form of PROTEST. Here is the header from their website:


''Only someone completely distrustful of all governmentwould be opposed to what we are doing with surveillance cameras.'' NYC Police Commissioner Howard Safir, 27 July 1999.

the Surveillance Camera Players:completely distrustful of all government.


so basically they completely mistrust the government, but also protest that the use of cctv infringes human rights, and that the use of cctv did nothing to prevent the 9/11 attacks. pretty radical.


Here is footage, actually a still image of a play they wrote. it was choreographed so the signs held up correlate at the same time to make sense. there was also a script on the website:

God's Eyes Here on Earth

Note: this play, which was written July 2000 by Art Toad, is designed to be performed in front of surveillance cameras used to monitor church property. If need be, this play can be performed as pantomime, without the use of any printed boards. Simply pray to the surveillance camera.
Someone holds up a board that says, Why are there surveillance cameras at the church? and shows a church surrounded by surveillance cameras.
This same person holds up another board. It says, Doesn't God see everything? and shows two large eyes.
Another board is held up. It says, Daddy says the cameras are God's eyes and shows a parent kneeling next to a child and pointing something out to him or her.
Another board is held up. It says, Now I pray to the cameras and shows two hands united in prayer.
One more board is held up. It says, I want God to see me and shows a stick figure with the word "ME" next to it.
Note: at this point, the play can either end or continue in the following fashion: the board-holder and, if there are any, other actors take turns making gestures commonly associated with prayer or worship in front of the surveillance cameras: i.e., crossing themselves, etc.

what if students put on a show for the guys in the security bit in the mac? not so much a form of protest, more just for their entertainment? what if it distracted them while on another camera feed someone was stealing a car or something else bad, then what.