Response #6

These three movies seemed to have a gradual progression to portraying a slower pace—from Palestine’s fast tour around the island to Nauman’s rhythmical stomping on the floor to his exaggerated and sluggish stroll around a square. Island Song and Stamping in the Studio emphasized more on the impact that the sounds, such as the motor and footsteps, made throughout the videos. They utilized the art of sounds as a means of enhancing the quality of their videos and capturing the veracity that contributed to the production of them. It was also interesting to see the differences between each of the artist’s use of the camera. Even though Palestine attaches his camera to himself, his video still records various angles because of the motion of the motorcycle, the quality of the road, and the path he chose to take. On the other hand, Nauman’s camera angle stays consistent in both videos as he shows the result of an inversion in Stamping in the Studio and a straight-angle in An Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter. The videos were all black and white as well, which somewhat indicates the rawness that went into making them and as a result because without the colors, special effects, and edits, the audience is left with the actual experience that the artist is trying to convey.

I took Island Song to be a bit scary because of the sounds and the words being repeated, like “okay,” “here,” and “gotta get out of here”. He seemed to be a man that is going psycho as he is riding his bike around an entire island to find a way out. Throughout the ride, we are taken through different regions of the island—rural, a town, etcetera, which shows that length he is going to reach his escape. In the end, I found it fascinating that it ends with the water and rocks. He goes from depicting an agitated state in which the sounds of his motorcycle and his ramblings amplifies the effect of his frantic search. I think the “island song” ultimately soothed his mind and allowed him to escape to a place where he can clear his thoughts apart from the stress and responsibilities that accompanies town and rural life.

Nauman’s pieces were not very exciting for me because they were filmed from a stationary position, in which the exhibitions were doing something really exciting. I actually thought the Stamping in the Studio was a bit entertaining because of the musical component in which he was stomping to a rhythmical pattern. His footwork actually seemed like it was executing a different beat apart from the one being played because his feet were moving so fast, but in the end, they seemed aligned. In addition, I thought his steps did not seem like they were strong enough to make that strong of a beat. In Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter, I thought it was interesting how his slow exaggeration of a walk can somewhat be similar to the walk of a woman—with the hips extending outward as she steps. Throughout the video, he also seemed to have been walking like he was on a tight rope—careful not to go beyond the line.