Video Art Appreciation_Justice Love

#1. Migration (2009) by Doug Aitken - This feels like an advertisement for motels. But the repeating theme of different animals gives the idea of travel culture. People from different backgrounds gathering at a resting place before taking off to their next destination, doing their best to adapt to their new environments in their own ways. (Some have it a bit more rough than others.) 

The camera in this film does a lot of closeups of the guests, but the most frequent type of shots were wide ones. When you look at the room and guest as a whole, you get sort of a feel of personality as you watch them interact with their surroundings. Each scene establishes a tone via zoom-ins and motion effects, I've never been bored by the slow motion as I personally think it adds whimsy to such a mundane setting. The environment is this videos greatest highlight. However the music is very droning and somehow takes away that humanization the footage gives the guests. 

#2. Love Always Win (2018) by Michael W. Smith  - A very human video, frequent wide shots of people and crowds. These shots notably highlights the faces of people despite you can see their full bodies, their feelings are very clear and it gives it vitality and warmth despite being in a monochrome filter.  It gives a theme of community and closeness. 

#3. Primarily Speaking (1981-83) by Gary Hill - A strange video. It seems to have a theme of paths/parallel. The side by side clips gives the impression of the left and right brain. The speaker I could not hear very well but the most I could make out were statements about connections.

The side by side clips show different shots that relate to a topic, visual synonyms if you will. The movement also draws the eyes toward the center. My only dislike is the mumbled audio of the speaker.

#4. Mine (2009) by Liz Magic Laser - Autonomous eyes and hands, yet they exhibit familiar behaviors. The poking and prodding of these invasive appendages give off a very feral vibe to them, as if their a almost acting frustration.

We the viewer experience the aggression but it feels rather distant, it’s not something we relate to easily in fact I’d argue that this somehow feels personal. The POV shot with the lack of music really sell this.

#5. The Nightwatch (2004) by Francis Alys - These wide and high angle spaces give the feeling of a maze. As the fox traverses through the rooms it’s alone, we get a creeping sense of confusing as it stumbles through the museums.

The paintings look over it as if they were watching , like a haunted house. While the context is sad and rather a chilling, it’s also kinda funny in a cosmic sort of way.

#6. Lyrica (2012) by Shana Moulton  - This is one is VERY abstract compared to the rest, I admittedly had to watch to get it. They were many shots here, particularly up close. This video uses a lot of visual symbolism, relying on close ups of items, faces, and the skin. 

But one theme sticks out the most- and that’s beauty. Throughout the video the actor is attempting to morph, her skin being pressed and stressed until she becomes nothing but a pile of unrecognizable mush. Quite the subtle way to speak about the pressures of beauty in society.