WEEK 4 FILMS

I've decided to arrange the screenings this week so we can stick closer to the themes of simulation addressed by Baudrillard, which I think we'll find quite relevant when looking at the following media. In addition to the two features, I've provided a few shorter pieces to look at.

We'll begin by watching a few pieces by David Hall. What is important to keep in mind with the TV Interruptions is that they were originally broadcast on television, unannounced, unexplained, and Hall himself remained uncredited. Similar to most early video artists operating in the 70's, Hall is interested in the space of the television monitor and in the function of broadcast. He was reaching into people's homes and creating an "interruption" in their normal viewing, evoking strange cerebral interruptions. These videos are directly reflexive of their medium, sculptural objects intended to reflect the space of the screen in which they unfold.  

David Hall - TV Interruptions: Tap Piece

 

 David Hall - TV Interruptions: TV Shoot-out piece

watch here: https://vimeo.com/80365655

This next piece by David Hall was not necessarily designed for broadcast, but it displays the same type of immediate reflexivity that the previous two examples do. This piece takes it a step further and utilizes the medium itself to distort and destroy the integrity of the image. This piece was created by re-videotaping the screen over and over until the image turned into pure noise. 


 


David Hall's work offers a perfect example of how an image can achieve the status of metacinema by the reflexive use of the medium. Any image that calls attention to itself as an image or calls attention to its medium is essentially metacinematic.

The above examples constitute minor simulations of the medium and of the screen. The two feature length films we'll watch this week conjure much more complex simulations, simulations of cinema, capital and even the human being. In addition to these two films, please re-visit Baudrillard (the first 20 pages) and read Vito Acconi's article, posted to D2L. 

IRMA VEP - Olivier Assayas - 1996
POSTED ON D2L. You will need to download the files and VLC if you don't already have it (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/). Please contact me ASAP if you have any questions.

 

 















HOLY MOTORS - Leos Carax - 2012
WATCH ON NETFLIX.