"Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's 'Caligula'"-
A movie about the depravity of Caligula, or any ancient leader for that matter, is usually unnecessarily chock full of sex scenes and nudity. By graphically depicting the debauchery of Caligula's Rome, down to the gilded strap-ons, Francesco Vezzoli affectively mocks Hollywood's love of romanticizing and sexualizing even the most tragic of histories. This type of graphic imagery is thrust upon us, even peering out from behind "The Immaculate Birth of Jesus Christ". Courtney Love's monologue at the end, with all of its meandering, mysterious nonsense, underlines Hollywood's tendency to pick and choose parts of history to put on screen to make money. Where are all of the murders Caligula ordered? Where is his prized horse and consul? Where are scenes of Caligula waging war on Poseidon? They are lost in the annals of history, and instead we see the anals of Hollywood.
"Stealing Beauty" Guy Ben-Ner-
IKEA is popular due to the artificial, mass-produced domestic spaces they create through their showrooms and catalogues. The create pre-assembled spaces and moods affordable by many (and easily assembled by a skilled few. Creating a thought out family drama within an IKEA showroom speaks to not just consumer culture, but also the popularities of sitcoms. An IKEA showroom is a Hollywood soundstage without the cost: we can all relate to both; we can envision our families talking about notes home from school or the importance of hard work in these spaces. This work speaks to capitalism as a whole, but also to our desire to have uniform family lives, replicated in sitcoms and in our cultural narrative.
Paul McCarthy “Painter”-
In an hour, Paul McCarthy mocks the art world in a way in which many other artists have in a 5-10 minute short. His large nosed, glove handed, caricature is more disturbing than compelling. Through his bafoonish mark-making and actions he marks the likes of Rothko, Pollock, and others whose paintings sell for millions, in a way that feels elementary. At the end of the hour, I feel as though I've just overheard someone at a museum say that they could paint that.
Rachel Rose-
Rose's work combines images and sounds in order to create complex environments. In Sitting, Feeding, Sleeping, we are taken from scientific exploration, to animal imagery, to point of view footage of someone skateboarding. What strikes me most is her ability to merge these seemingly disparate ideas and images into a cohesive environment. It is important to note that she creates environments, not simple narratives, presenting spaces with which one feels they can interact. The use of sound, changing but consistent, powerful but ambient, truly creates these environments and carries one effortless through her video.
Paul Pfeiffer-
Pfeiffer's work with sports imagery is very intriguing within the realm of video art due to inherent nature in video of dealing with identity. By morphing images of celebrities, the idea of athletic iconography is shifted. Athleticism is considered a largely individualistic pursuit. Even in cases of team sports certain individuals gain celebrity status, becoming individuals and not team members. Big names like Shaquille ONeill brand themselves, selling products and gaining notice outside of sports. By distorting the individual identity of some of our nations most loved celebrities, Pfeiffer addresses the iconographic essence of this type of celebrity. His work with identity is done through abolishing the individual to create an icon.
