Response 1

Video: Peter Campus, Double Vision

At first this video gave me the impression that the artists were experimenting with different techniques that were related to idea of double vision. With further thought, I began to realize that the artist may have included a meaning or purpose behind making this video. Each part of the video used a different technique to relay an image. I think that Peter Campus may have been trying to relate double vision to the many ways people view the world around them. This video could have been portraying the way Peter Campus saw the world in an artist approach. I thought that there may be a struggle or fight to diminish double vision and find a single vision. By moving the camera around the room overlapping two images I think that this could show the confusion and attempt to find a solution to the double vision. This piece of work could serve the purpose of allowing the audience to feel certain emotion. The title plays a huge role in the understanding and meaning of the video.

Chris Burden, Documentation of Selected Works

In this video Chris Burden used some of the same ideas of Terry Fox but used voice to describe his actions. The difference with using his voice was interesting because the audience could understand more clearly what he was doing. This video could have been directed at the public.

Terry Fox, The Children’s Tapes

I found this video to be very interesting but at times boring. Watching the person experiment with different utensils was not only basic but also mind opening. It allowed me to view a basic motion in a artistic manner. The purpose of this video was not clear to me, but I can only guess that by showing basic movements and action that a every day person does in this manner can open peoples minds to the other actions they do in a day. Maybe it was meant to open people’s minds to the rhythms of life.

Video: Dara Birnbaum: Technology/Transformation: Wonder Women

This video used repetition, fire, and Wonder Women to create an artist approach to forming a statement or concept. I think that this video was making a statement about Wonder Women and what her stereotype and gender represent. The Title, Technology/ Transformation has a very significant connect to the video. At the time the technology used for the fire and transformation process of Wonder Women, using explosions would have been the best. The transformation part of the title may represent an even deeper meaning. I think that the artist may have been portraying women attempting to transform her image from what people believe women should be. Wonder Women is portrayed as powerful, sexual, beautiful women, which is a sharp contrast to common working women. This could signify the idea of what every one wants to be. I believe that the purpose of the video is to show how society views women. The lyric of the song played at the end of the video, “Get us out from under,” has to do with the idea of women trying to break free from the stereotypes.

William Wegman: Two Dogs and a Ball, Dog Biscuit in Glass Jar

In the first video, Two Dogs and a Ball, Wegman creates the feeling of anticipation. Is the dog going to get the ball? A purpose of this film could have been to study dog behavior and relay that behavior to the public or to create that emotion of anticipation. The film was in black and white which could have been done of purpose to have the audience pay more attention to the dogs. The dog behavior demonstrated in this film was persistence, eagerness and determination. In the second video, Dog Biscuit in Glass Jar, a very different emotion is portrayed. This emotions I fear and sadness. While watching the dog attempting to get the treat the audience feels sadness that the owner will not give the dog the treat, fear when the glass breaks and the owner lets the dog continue to attempt to get the treat, and happiness when the dog finally succeeds. This rollercoaster of emotions is what I believe is the purpose the artist wants the audience to feel. In both videos the audiences is drawn to what the dogs are doing and to what the dogs are watching.