Understanding the development of Catfish
Figure 1. |
Figure 1. |
A little history is in order first
In other areas on this site I've mentioned that The Saranay Motel is more than just a feature length film, it's a body of work that spans, performance, objects and a film. I'm going to attempt to briefly discuss how I arrived here.
In 1993 after receiving my MFA, I went to work for Elektra Records in the art department. My tenure was short lived. After "dropping the ball" on the design of an international division release of The Eagles Greatest Hits, I was fired. Look the truth of the matter is that upon my dismissal, I was told the other members of the art department thought that I had an attitude and was "arrogant". I was also told that my inability to produce an acceptable cover for The Eagles Greatest Hits made it impossible for me to continue to work there. I have to tell you that I completely reject the notion that I was "arrogant." The lions share of my time at Elektra was spent reformatting old albums for mini disc release. And when at last I was finally given a "real" design job, I found that most of my time was spent meeting with a retouch artist discussing exactly how much blubber to scoop out from under the artists’ chin. It was at this point that I realized that some ninety percent of the work being produced in the art department essentially required the designer to: select a head shot, retouch hair or blubber, select a typeface, set artists’ name in said typeface, and then position the name in upper left hand corner. Upon realizing that this process was considered "Design," I kind of decided to "opt out."
It would be fair to suggest that after being fired I struggled professionally. However, the moment I was released from Elektra I realized that the program I established in grad school must be continued. So as my professional prospects were dying on the vine, I began working diligently on a piece entitled Throwing Apples at the Sun. Throwing Apples at the Sun felt the full brunt of my rage, hopes, aspirations and idealism. It was comprised of an enhanced CD (An enhanced CD was a CD that contained data, and could also play as standard audio compact disc in a CD player); four 24"x36" posters, Thirty minutes of pop songs and spoken word tracks, and a collection of seven original typeface designs. Ironically almost immediately upon the release of Throwing Apples, a brief six months after being fired from Elektra, I received a call from the Atlantic Records A+R department (parent company of Elektra) about a possible record deal and the distribution of Throwing Apples. Atlantic Records head of A+R ultimately "passed" on the record. The reason I was given, " I was too much of a fine artist." I signed a distribution deal with Emigre Inc., and soon there after, even though I could barely find a traditional design job, I found myself lecturing in Italy and at art schools all over America.
It was through this piece and through my subsequent release of Eye Sling Shot Lions in 1997 that I began to understand digital work as truly protean. Given that all of the images for the posters, music, programming and animations were in binary code, there was no reason they could not be manipulated endlessly. So it was at this relatively early point (before Flash as an example) that I began seeing music as posters as screen prints as interactive as digital video as electronics as photography as pop song etc.
"Get to the point! What the hell does this have to do with The Saranay Motel performance piece?"
The point is really quite simple. Even though I was deadly serious in my approach to both Throwing Apples at the Sun, and Eye Sling Shot Lions. Even though I fashioned myself a later day Herman Melville attempting to craft the great American novel (through this new medium), there were massive problems beyond my control. Most people to whom I sent the work never tried to interact with it. Why? I would routinely find myself besieged with ridiculous questions like "Does it run on Windows 95?" No! My frustration and anger drove me to approach HERE, the Independent Art Center between Spring and Broome in Soho, about doing a series of technologically mediated poetry readings in their theater. Artistic Director Kristen Marting said "how about one a month for six months?" I agreed.
(Figure 1) |
Click on the clip above to see an example of Eye Sling Shot Lions. The video clip above is a screen grab of an individual interacting with Eye Sling Shot Lions. Click here to explore Eye Sling Shot Lions or Throwing Apples at the Sun in greater depth... |
When attempting to move Eye Sling Shot Lions to a theatrical environment, I realized that I could build the performance slowly over the course of the six month run. In the beginning I decided to project the multi-media composition (figure 1) and through further manipulation of the programming I could "carve" a space within the composition for the live recitation of spoken word poetry. In the roughly thirty days between performances I could then continue to adapt the code and further integrate live elements. Almost Immediately I began working on a collection of simple electronic devices to control what was happening on screen (Figure 2 + 3).
(Figure 2) |
(Figure 3) |
As an example, in figure 2 above, I designed and fabricated a device from three simple components; a thermistor, a simple switch, and a garage door opener. A thermistor is a highly sensitive type of resistor used to measure small changes in temperature. The idea was to have the video react to an open flame on stage. The device worked well. However when I was awarded an Emerging Artist Grant from The Wooster Group and was preparing for the performances, I was interested in incorporating open flame into the show. I quickly learned that because of issues with the fire marshall, open flame was out. One of the many parallel tracks within my work has been an inquiry into electronics coupled to performance and interactivity. I did however begin to incorporate other less dangerous elements into the performance piece (figure 3). The most recent manifestation of this impulse, can be seen in the my robotic drums and drone guitar for the Bull and Wounded Horse performance piece.
Schematic from Sensor Projects by Forest Mimms
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(Figure 4) |
Video from Catfish |
A false dichotomy: The whole "form | content | context" thing...
I feel like a broken record, but I got to get this out of the way. As much as I abhor nearly all attempts to discuss "form" divorced from "content" or "context," I realize that there are merits to organizing an argument this way. My point is that so far on this site I've largely dealt with the structure (or form) of the work, and have not overtly addressed what I believe my work is "about." I think there are a three ways to look at this. The first is simply that it's far easier to discuss "how" than "why." It is far easier to say I placed this "piezo electric element in these boots," than it is to understand(or discuss) in any meaningful way "why" I placed the element in the boots (figure 4). The second reason is that "the medium is the message." "Form" is in fact "Content." And that to a fairly substantive degree my work is about the active manipulation of media and how that affects identity and meaning. My work seems to be about the mediated experience. The final reason is that it is fairly prudent to distrust what the artist says about his own work. The artists’ goals and ambitions for the work are but one prong of a many tined fork with regard to what a work comes to mean culturally. I realize that there may be quite a chasm between what I say my work is about, and the many possible interpretations that have correspondence. However, beyond these issues I do think there has been a fairly consistent conceptual terrain that my work has mapped. If we are to put aside these issues and look for a moment at the "content" of my work (figure 5), I think it's possible to find a high degree of correspondence within the work itself. As an example while separated by thirteen years The Conversion of Saint Paul which is primarily poster design, and Marcus Aurelius 00:52:12:11 which is primarily photography are both attempts to reformulate interpersonal ethics through work.(figure 6)
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(Figure 6) |
On the left The Conversion of Saint Paul from 1994, on the right Marcus Aurelius 00:52:12:11 from 2007. To gain a deeper understanding into the context for each piece, click on the images above. You'll be taken to a section dealing with the specific work. |
“The greater part of what my neighbors call good, I believe in my soul to be bad,”
— Henry David Thoreau
As early as 1995 I began to understand my work as serving two primary functions. The first being intrinsic, while the second was extrinsic. Intrinsically, I see my work as a kind of test bed upon which I attempt to work out a form of interpersonal ethics. First and foremost I see myself as a contrarian and a social critic. And while I realize that my work appears highly formal, at it's core it is essentially Instrumentalist. Extrinsically, I see my work functioning as a form of cultural criticism dealing with issues of race, class and sexuality in America. To see a very specific example of how this is manfest within the work, take a look at I Heard that Superman Shot Himself Today...
A rumination on the importance of intent
Interested in how Miller® Beer relates to the issue of "intent" within work? Click here to continue reading...
