This
is a video response to Marshall McLuhan's notion of space and time on his book
"The medium is the massage." He describes that we as viewers or
"beholders" of the eye have accepted the symmetrical conception of
space that is vertical-horizontal and its perspective projection upon a plane
surface consists of formal units of spatial measurement. McLuhan does not argue
that this approach to space and its representation is wrong, but he states that
it should not be an "absolute condition of order." In other words, we
should not limit the representation of space to fit a measured framework that
consists of a square or rectangle which can be seen in paper sheets from a
regular notebook, or the size of any computer screen, iPad, digital cameras,
canvases, and many other surfaces where notions of space is usually projected
upon or represented on.
In this
video I challenge the usual representation of space that includes a direct
interaction between an image of the real world and a viewer using a device as a
medium. In this case a digital camera. I achieve this through the projection of
a Mexican folklore performance through different media, which not always record
the image directly from the "real world" adding layers upon layers of
spatial planes disrupting the viewers' notion of what "world" they
are observing. Is it the world of an "old man" dancing? or the world
of the computer screen where the dance is taking place? It might be the world
of the video camera that becomes the viewers' gaze. We should not forget that
the dancer himself could be "watching" the viewer watching him
perform? or could he be observing his own performance? These are not the only
possible spaces that I could think of, but I would like to leave room for interpretations.
One of McLuhan's arguments about time is that it "has ceased." In this global society the sense of "space" has decayed because technology has bridged and shortened spacial distances affecting the perception of time. He says, "at the high speeds of electric communication, purely visual means of apprehending the world are no longer possible; they are just too slow to be relevant or effective." I was influenced by this idea. I showed in my video an event that occurs at a specific time in a specific place. The time is lost through the projection of the event in a video-camera, a computer and a digital camera. Space and time change because the recording of the same event projected in different medium happen in different places and at different times. I needed to make emphasis in the interaction between the viewer and the event or performance and therefore had to challenge the viewer to reflect on what role he or she plays by establishing a digetic "gaze" or a gaze within the film world that "looks" into the viewer's world.
Hope this short video is enjoyable, raises questions, and motivates further exploration.
Hope this short video is enjoyable, raises questions, and motivates further exploration.
Alfredo!!! I really enjoyed your video and after reading your description I got a totally new impression. The way you approached the time and space theme went into a really new and nice perspective, I do like how you used several medium in your video, really cool work!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Xian.
DeleteI too, enjoyed how you originally posted your video without any explanation for us, viewers to gain our own understanding of it. After reading through your explanation I can really see how your video ties in with McLuhan's ideas of space and time. A fantastic, intriguing video!
ReplyDeleteI was not sure people were actually going to be able to watch it before hand and would return to see it again after I wrote the description of the video. Thank you for taking the time to actually come back and comment.
DeleteThis was a really great video! I really enjoyed how you mixed all of the perspectives up, though I think it could have been a little stronger if you'd mixed them up a little more - there were spots where if flipped back and forth between two perspectives for quite a while, which to me felt like it was limiting the scope.
ReplyDeleteYour editing is impeccable, and I applaud you for being able to line up all of those shots, especially the dancing ones, so there wasn't any odd jumps in the movement!
I agree with you Amelle,
DeleteI did want to mix the images at a higher speed, but I did not want to lose the dance performance because it is a spatial element that I consider important at least at engaging the viewer. I do agree with you that to a certain extent the mixing of the video projection became kind of repetitive.
Thank you for your feedback.
I watched your film before you posted a description, and was initially confused, but very intrigued. Now, knowing more of your thoughts behind you work, I appreciate the depth and thoughtfulness of this film. You captured both personal and global significance with use of Mexican folklore and layered media. Your description made me think of Magritte's "The Treachery of Images" (Ceci n'est pas une pipe, This is not a pipe), in your exploration of reality.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to come back and read my description. Your connection to Magritte's work is very interesting and I will pay more attention to it, because I do see a similarity now that you have mentioned it.
DeleteThank you for your feedback.