PHOTO - Robert Knight

Robert Knight,  Untitled (6 hours, December 13, 2009) Archival inkjet print 30''x39''

Knight has captured six hours of restless sleeping that culminates in a tangled blur of sheets.  And, the still image gives the viewer an accurate document of what has occurred.  Interestingly, despite the accuracy of this visual document, the blur or disappearance of a discernible figure gives the viewer a better concept of restless sleep.

PHOTO - Michael Wesely

Michael Wesely,  The Museum of Modern Art, New York (9.8.2001 - 2.5.2003)

Wesely's image of the MOMA under construction is an amazing document of the building process and was made using a large pinhole camera.  The many layers and ghost grids keep the entire photograph visually active.  It is this frenzy of activity and building that make the work a visual manifestation of life's experiences.  

CONVERGENCE - Nancy Davenport

Nancy Davenport, #1 still from Weekend Campus DVD (2004)

Weekend Campus is the product of a buildup of images.  Layer upon layer have created this visual stream of information relating youths, car crash scenes, and large blocky campus buildings together.  Continuously scrolling, this amalgamation of still images becomes a background loop as it is set in motion.  Davenport's work is neither a film, nor a photograph, yet it is built and utilizes aspects of both mediums.  By looping her still image, she has done away with an end and a beginning, rejecting the formal constraints of a photograph's borders and a film's length.  The viewer is ultimately held in suspension.

CONVERGENCE - Xavier Chassaing

Xavier Chassaing - Scintillation (2009) Film-Still

Scintillation is nearly a traditional film.  It is composed of over 35,000 still photographs that Xavier Chassaing took while also implementing intricate projection mapping onto his subjects.  Chassaing's way of organically building this video piece from still images allowed him the opportunity to record challenging visuals. He also has more control over the pace of the work and visual effects without sacrificing clarity of image.  This is the modern digital zoetrope blown apart with a total confusion of media.


To view Chassaing's Scintillation, click here.

CONVERGENCE - Guido van der Werve

Nummer Negen is the product of time-lapse photography.  Compiled to convey the passage of a full 24 hours in just 9 minutes, the image depicts Guido van der Werve's performance of standing at the North Pole for a day.  The figure remains centered, the frame also remains constant.  The sun traces an arch over van der Werve's figure as the audience allows those nine minutes of viewing to account for a full historical day.  The mechanics of this interaction are nearly identical to the viewer's experience of Wesely's MOMA time-lapse images.


To view a youtube clip of this work, click here.

VIDEO - Kate Gilmore

Kate Gilbert, Buster (2010) Film-Still

Kate Gilmore's video Buster operates like a long-exposure photograph.  It documents motion and change, accumulating information as time progresses.  With the purple and white paint pouring down grey steps, the viewer can trace Gilmore's action (methodically walking horizontally across the frame, smashing ceramic paint pots).  Some of the ceramic containers remain whole, splattered with the contents of their neighboring chards, serving as markers of what used to be.  Ultimately, the video, and the remaining installation of Gilmore's set-up become evidence of what has occurred.  This is Gilmore's "long-exposure" document.


To view a clip of Buster from the artist's website, click here.

VIDEO - Bill Viola

Bill Viola, Two Women (2008) Film-Still

Bill Viola's work flirts with the idea of the photograph as he films momentary occurrences and slows them down.  Two Women records two women passing through a wall of water.  It happened within seconds in realtime, yet Viola extends these moments into a nine minute piece.  By slowing down the footage, Viola's work becomes more about the visual experience of each frame.  It's as if he made still images, allowing the audience to simultaneously dwell on the concept and composition.

To view Two Women by Bill Viola, click here.

VIDEO - Guido van der Werve

In the center of the frame there is a large icebreaker plowing through an unending expanse of frozen water.  In front of that icebreaker, there is a small dark figure.  The person seems to be walking just ahead of the ship, completely dwarfed as they are framed by the white of ice breaking at the boat's bow.    For ten minutes and ten seconds, the audience is held suspense: will the trudging figure be overcome by the cold and the ship?  This is Guido Van der Werve.
The frame is constant, yet even though the figure continues to approach the camera, their size remains relatively unchanged.  This illusion reminds us of the power of the camera.


To view a (unfortunately low-quality) youtube clip of this work, click here.

VIDEO - Rineke Dijkstra

Rineke Dijkstra, The Buzz Club, Liverpool, England/Mysteryworld, Zaandam, Netherlands (1996-1997) Film-Still

Dijkstra's 24:40 minute (dual-channel) video of isolated individuals at a dance club is awkward.  But it is just that revealed sentiment that makes the work so interesting.  Set against a white background, individuals or couples stand centered, facing the camera.  The music is blaring and many of the subjects self-consciously start and stop dancing along.  They are removed from, yet still in the dance club.  

The video piece is usually installed in concert with her photograph portraits - further tying the mediums together.  From Dijkstra's prints, we are drawn to their gorgeous stillness.  In her videos, the viewer is pulled into the motion.  Ultimately, both mediums translate the awkward reality of these young dance club-goers.

To view a (unfortunately low-quality) youtube clip from this piece, click here.