Physical Video
Media Gallery – The Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane
14 May – 4 September 2011
Physical Video is an exhibition of video art that was held at in the Media Gallery of the Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane. Video work from international and local artists, collected from the 1970’s to the present day, was unified neatly with the theme of performance and theatricality.
With the human body being the main subject and utilizing video as documentation of performance, the works touched on the myriad of themes and subjects such as physical endurance, gender, sex and relationships. And there were some outstanding pieces.
Donghee Koo’s Static electricity of cat’s cradle (2007) was particularly lulling and seductive. Using multiple sets of ropes and pulleys, a male and a female wearing pajamas lying on a trampoline are hoisted up, drawn together, and then pulled apart. A visual metaphor of intimacy – the tensions within the push and pull.
Interesting curatorial choices were made concerning Bruce Nauman’s and Laith McGregor’s work in particular. In order to see Nauman’s Art Make-Up (1967-1968), the viewer was to encounter McGregor’s Maturing 2008 first. A compare and contrast was prompted between how the two male artists approach make up in their work.
Using a biro, McGregor continually draws hair on his face, scoffs and pulls gestures. Beginning with a pencil thin moustache, he eventually covers his entire face in a blue beard. Through absurdity, McGregor humorously confronts the seemingly innate masculinity in facial hair.
Nauman’s video consists of him successively applying four different coloured make-ups to his face and bare torso, white, pink, green and black. The didactic reads that ‘Nauman is literally making art of himself’ which is one way of reading Nauman’s work. However, against the work of the Mike Parr and Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba that focused on the physical endurance of males, Nauman’s gentle and meditative application of make-up was more a critique of the masculine approach to video art.
Although, ‘Physical Video’ showcased the performance of the body in video art, it did not reach its potential in exemplifying the breath of this discourse. For instance, its narrowness excluded some work that would have really embellished the show. The inclusion of one of Marina Abramovic’s many endurance performances would have worked well alongside Mike Parr’s work, as the two artists began to explore similar ideas around the same time in 1970’s. Both artists have approaches that seem brutal in their treatment of their bodies, pushing beyond the limits of physical and mental exhaustion, including representations of violence and self-inflicted pain. Although their works are similar in a masochistic sense, it would have been interesting to see whether the viewer’s reaction and interpretations of the work would differ on the grounds of sex. Are we more uncomfortable in seeing a woman inflict pain onto her body than a man? There are not many images of women physically hurting themselves but there are tons of videos of men doing stunts that go wrong that make it onto TV shows like ‘Funnies Home Videos’ and ‘Jackass’ that are perceived to be humorous. Does sex make a difference?
With a relatively short but rich and progressive history, the body in video art is still prevalent in artistic practices and relevant to contemporary art today. It would be engaging and incredibly rewarding to viewers to see this flushed out with a full survey exhibition rather than a small, sidelined exhibition.
Athena Thebus
:)... good criticism
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