Jonathan Schipper – Opposition

Posted on December 29, 2008 by doron

Opposition (2005, 4.5MB, 1 min.)

Interactive kinetic sculpture from Jonathan Schipper performed at Pierogi gallery in 2005.
“Two participants are taken from the audience and buckled into the saddles on either
end of the machine. The participants are then lifted into the air. Both participants are provided
hand controllers that allow them to control the movement of the saddles, which are on
pneumatically powered gimbals, and the central rotation of the machine. Some movements
are shared and some affect only one or the other of the two participants. The function of each
input button on the controllers is changed by a computer on a regular basis so that the
participants can not gain full control of the machine. A rock and roll band is playing electric
instruments near by. The amplification for the band is turned on by the machine while the
machine is in the air. The band members (Outside Man) wear helmets that isolate the band,
who can not hear anything other than their own sounds. After a few minutes the participants
are brought back to the ground and released from the machine. The band is turned off and
the machine is ready for the next cycle.”

KontraKontrolle – by Roel Wouters and Luna Maurer

Posted on December 23, 2008 by doron

KontraKontrolle (2003, 8MB, 3:13 min.)

Performance during the Visual Power Show, Paradiso Amsterdam, October 2003
by Poly-Xelor (collaboration between Roel Wouters and Luna Maurer).
“KontraKontrolle is a performance concept where we literally stepped into the
computer-screen. By placing ourselves as icons (via bluescreen technique) on
top of the presenters screen we could interact live with the presenter’s actions.”

Curt Cloninger – Pop Mantra #3

Posted on December 22, 2008 by doron

Pop Mantra #3 (2008, 103MB, 9:53 min.)

The third in a series of performances where Curt Cloninger continuously
performs a short excerpt from a single pop song for several hours,
blindfolded.
At OTO in Brooklyn, New York.

Excerpt: “tonight / wait, now” from The Ramones song “I Just Wanna Have Something To Do”
Duration: 6 Hours
Media: Electric Guitar, Voice, Black Felt Blindfold, Black Converse All Stars, Time
Read more here.

Justin Kemp – hard timez

Posted on December 18, 2008 by brittany

Justin Kemp – hard timez (2008, 35MB, 5:52)

Justin Kemp is a ridiculously funny video artist who,
among other things, remixes YouTube videos.
Almost nothing video related brings me as much joy
lately as this does.

Sally – by Roel Wouters and Luna Maurer

Posted on December 17, 2008 by doron

Sally (2005, 5MB, 2:23 min.)

Sally is a project by Poly-Xelor (collaboration between Roel Wouters
and Luna Maurer). Sally is a movie for the project ‘Grote kunst voor kleine mensen‘
and has been be presentend at cinekid 2005, @ the Stedelijk museum.
The movie shows marbles in a room. The gravitation of the room is variable
therefore the marbles will dance over the floor, walls and ceiling.

Stephen Slappe – 3 out of 4

Posted on December 15, 2008 by brittany

Stephen Slappe – 3 out of 4 (2005, 1.6MB, 0:45)

Short, rather humorous piece from Stephen Slappe,
which simultaneously celebrates large, antiquated rotating
advertisements and laments the disappearance of the four
basic food groups.

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen in Tokyo

Posted on December 12, 2008 by brittany

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen in Tokyo – (2008, 5.1MB, 1:18)

Bear with me here: have you ever felt lost? I don’t
mean existentially. I mean alone in a place that was
not your own, a foreigner in a strange land, a stranger
in a foreign land. I have on several occasions – including
during a solo trip to Japan a few years ago – and when
this commercial came on my TV about a month back, I
couldn’t tear myself away. No, it isn’t net art or experimental
animation, but it’s beautiful and haunting and something I
certainly see far too little of on television. If you think a little
Lost in Translation, you wouldn’t be wrong for that. The guys
behind the this piece admitted in a recent interview that they
paid special attention to reproducing LiT details for fans of the film.

Other facts: this is a commercial for SAS featuring former
Danish Secretary of State, and two more similar follow-ups
are running/forthcoming (though not featuring Ellemann-Jensen or Japan,
sadly). The startlingly mournful music is appropriately from Babel.
The tagline reads, in English, “Almost home” or “As good as home.”

Erik Bunger – the Allens

Posted on December 11, 2008 by brittany

Erik Bunger – the Allens (2004, 23.3MB, 3:19)

Absolutely clever piece by Swedish artist Erik Bunger,
drawn from his experience moving from Sweden to
Germany, where many films on TV are dubbed. As
language can be so central to a character, Bunger
started thinking about people like Woody Allen, who
always play the same character but also one so
connected to his whiny, nervous New York accent.
For this installation piece, a computer program
continuously changed the dubbing of Allen between
his various vocal incarnations. Totally delightful.