As part of my research into installation art pieces I am going to do several artist studies in which I will be looking to develop my idea for my potential installation from. My initial idea for my installation is to create a digital piece of art that stimulates the senses to either create the effect of having anxiety/depression or in order for people to get an idea from others what its like to have anxiety/depression.
The first artist I looked at was Bruce Nauman and in particular his digital work. The first piece I looked at was called mapping the studio in which he got the idea to use infrared cameras to allow the mice that were in his studio to map out the location and then took pictures of what the mice got up to. He then displays the piece in one big room where it is completely dark but with the images projected in large onto the white walls. Although the meaning of this piece doesn't really help me with my idea the actual construction of the piece and the feelings it could an admit to an audience member does. Having big screens in a small dark room means the audience member is almost forced to look at what is in front of them as they can not escape making them feel almost claustrophobic. This idea mixed with having sounds could be used to create a feeling of anxiety in an audience member so this could be a good way of constructing a piece should I choose to go this root.
The second Bruce Nauman piece I looked at was clown torture. Clown torture has had a massive influence on my project as not only is it about mental health issues it also uses a similar format to what my piece will with combining the use of old crt tvs and projections. The main issue I have with the logistics of my project is that getting four projectors may prove difficult as they are expensive pieces of kit and are in short supply at uni. Clown torture uses two projectors at either ends of the room projecting onto the walls and then has the old tvs at the sides of the room. This mixed with already being in quite a confined space makes audience members feel trapped which is also what I want to do in my project so that audience members feel like they have no escape. Narrowing down a room and filling the space could be something i look at doing for my project, I am looking to base my project in a fairly large studio but I can look at getting fake walls to make the place feel more enclosed. Another interesting thing Bruce does with this piece is have the actual footage at different angles it looks like he has done this by simply placing the tvs the other way up and this is an interesting way to make the audience think about the meaning behind that as it could be interpreted in a number of ways. Bruce is trying to represent the feelings of 'confusion, anxiety, boredom, entrapment, and failure' and by using a clown to do this he has created this juxtaposition between clown who are supposed to be funny and the every day feelings of dread that a lot of people experience. This is something i am going to try and create using colour theory to match the feelings with the colour and also make my clips stick out more.
Live-Taped corridor
'The corridor itself was a makeshift structure: two parallel wallboards form a 20-inch-wide passage that is blocked at one end'. Again this Bruce Nauman piece emphasised the importance of controlling space within installation art to me, narrowing down the space makes this easier and I will definitely look at ways I can make the studio space at uni smaller and easier to control.
References:
Clown Torture | The Art Institute of Chicago (2020). Available at: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/146989/clown-torture (Accessed: 13 March 2020).
Lelie, H (1998) Bruce Nauman, Hayward Gallery, London 16 July- 6 September 1998, Leycol Printers LTD, London
Live-Taped Video Corridor (1969). Available at: https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/3153 (Accessed: 13 March 2020).
‘MAPPING THE STUDIO II with color shift, flip, flop, & flip/flop (Fat Chance John Cage)’, Bruce Nauman, 2001 | Tate (2020). Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/nauman-mapping-the-studio-ii-with-color-shift-flip-flop-flip-flop-fat-chance-john-cage-t11893 (Accessed: 13 March 2020).
Nauman, B. (2013). Bruce Nauman: “Poke in the Eye/Nose/Ear” | Art21 “Extended Play.” [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/kaR_gffVu1g [Accessed 13 Mar. 2020].
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