Slow+Angle+Walk,+Narotam

=**SLOW ANGLE WALK, Bruce Nauman**= //Writing Assignment 1//

In //Slow Angle Walk//, Bruce Nauman literally and figuratively defies gravity by manipulating camera angle, the size of the workspace, and sound. The video is a piece where the camera is turned sideways so that a man (Nauman) walking on the floor appears to be walking vertically on a wall. Altering the camera angle from the traditional position that portrays the world right side up to a position where gravity appears to be faulty goes against the grain of science and logic. The motion of the person in the video doesn’t make sense within the context he is presented in, which parallels the form of the art itself: video. At the time the work was created, video, as a medium of art, was still gaining momentum. The 1960s was a time of great political and cultural change, as many became resistant to the rigid structure of the 50s. By literally defying gravity, Nauman draws attention to the rebellion against structure and convention.

In addition, Nauman deliberately positions the camera and keeps it stationary, utilizing only the most basic features of the video camera. Instead, he has the subject of the video play with the boundaries of the screen size by walking in and out of the frame. He avoids the zoom function of the camera as well. The result is a dismembering of the body at various points during the video, where only an arm or a leg remains in the frame. Nauman is making a statement about how you cannot fully understand the unknown, or make sense of the foreign, if you don’t make an effort to try. As the cameraman, Nauman does not make any effort to locate the ‘absent’ body parts. By using only the most basic functions of the video camera, Nauman shows that the basics are not sufficient enough to provide a complete picture of a subject. Like you can’t judge a book by its cover, its most primary form of communication, you can’t grasp the full meaning of an event by what is displayed by the exterior. The absent body parts tucked beyond the capacity of the frame emulates the atmosphere of the Vietnam War. Americans knew soldiers were being sent abroad, but they did not know the specific political purpose behind the draft. Citizens only saw the numbers of American deaths, and the numbers of soldiers going abroad (the dismembered body parts that are in the frame), and knew that there was something more to the war (the body parts hidden behind screen), but they didn’t have enough information to know what the war was about—or the means to figure it out on their own.

Through the use of video as the art medium, and by manipulating different effects of video production, Bruce Nauman created a piece that defied gravity, paralleling the cultural shifts of the 60s when //Slow Angle Walk// was created.

(I was trying to take a self picture and include the art in the background...they're terrible, yes, I know)

= =

=PROJECT FOUR: SELF PORTRAIT=

http://www.videoart.net/home/Artists/VideoPage.cfm?Artist_ID=855&ArtWork_ID=4896&Player_ID=10



The March of the Melon Heads Diego Agullo

This piece, although not a typical self-portrait, can be seen a self-portrait that reflects the journey of one’s life. Each variation of movement captures a different emotion that draws continuum of the ups and downs that the artist corresponds to the different events in his life that he finds most important. The music is correlated as well. Additionally, there is a variety of chaos and structure, reflecting different time periods of life, such as elementary school and college.

[]


 * Subsoil **
 * Christoph Girardet, Volker Schreiner **


 * Capturing the self-reflection of a person in various mirrors repeating the same motion continuously, this video can be seen as a self-portrait of an artist who reflects upon regrets in his life, playing the moments over and over again in reflection. **


 * [] **


 *  **


 * Long Handled Piece #1 **
 * Jordan Wayne **


 * This piece addresses the struggles, frustrations, and triumphs that come with dealing with Trauma, but I think it can be viewed as a self-portrait because this performance piece reflects on the artist’s reaction to Trauma. The piece captures the artist’s raw emotions has he struggles and fights his way through knocking down the handles on the walls. Maybe deeper than other self portraits, it’s a portrait of the inner self and emotion instead of the outer things that define who we are. **