Bruce Nauman and Charlemagne Palestine

Bruce Nauman’s “Stamping in the Studio” was a disorienting video where sound seemed to be separated from action. Bruce Nauman mechanically walks around the floor of his studio; however, the camera is inverted and placed on the ceiling. At first, I thought that somehow he had managed to walk on the ceiling, but I realized that just simply changes the camera angle could produce such a disorienting affect. I was amazed how disorienting it was to actually watch him from the ceiling. The sound seemed to be separate from the stomping of his feet. The sound became more separated from the physically stomping the longer I stared at the screen. Without the sound, the video is monotonous and boring; however, the loud stomping makes the video harsh and intense. I was fully engaged by the video, and it is interesting how just simply turning the camera over can complete confuse my senses. Not only is the sound confusing, but Bruce Nauman also continually disappears from screen. For short periods of time, I only heard the stomping or could only see his arm instead of his whole body. This contributed to the sound and movement disconnection because when he disappeared I could not even attempt to connect his stomping with the sound. I thought it was strange that Bruce Nauman walked in no single direction or pattern. He walked diagonally and straight across the screen. The video had a soul purpose of distorting my perception of video. The video was a little long and it made me a little dizzy to watch.

Charlemagne Palestine’s “Island Song” was just as confusing as Bruce Nauman’s video. Charlemagne Palestine drives around an island holding a camera so that all the audience ever sees is the road in front of them. He sings a song and repeats the phrase “Gotta Get Out of Here.” This is ironic because he is driving around an island and never will get off of it by car. Palestine also plays with sound just as Bruce Nauman does. Palestine tries to sync his song and his words with the engine of the car. His voice is scratchy and sounds manic and a little scary, but he does manage to make it sound similar to the engine. After a while, I could not separate the sound coming from the engine and his words. He manages to bring them all together. The movie is further disorienting because the camera is always moving and jumping around. Instead of having a normal standing camera, the screen is always moving. I felt like I was driving in the car. Just like in Bruce Nauman’s video, sound and unique camera positioning combine together to create a very confusing and difficult to watch film experience. Furthermore, Palestine always points the camera straight ahead. I found myself actually believing that I was in the car, and I wanted to turn and see the island from different angles. Not being able to see the whole island reminded me that it was only a video. His voice seemed to get more manic and tense throughout the video. His voice combined with the jolting movements of the car made it a tense visual experience. He cannot leave because the vast ocean is in his way. It was a little sad and disheartening. Overall, both Nauman and Palestine play with film angles and sounds to make very powerful and rather difficult to watch videos.