Summary of work for Week 4:
- Look at the works of artists relating to trees and other natural phenomena.
- Actively explore the work of Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, including doing the guided audio walk, among trees.
- Propose a gesture or exercise of your own to relate intimately with a tree, or other natural object for a work of video art. Include images and notes to discuss with class next week.
Artists commune with nature:
Considering we are all in strict lockdown conditions, and prevented from being close to other people, we are going to explore recent works of contemporary art involving TREES – and make a new work based on a gesture performed with trees and other natural phenomena.
Look at these projects by artists involving encounters with plants, trees and nature.
Machine Project: Houseplant Vacation 2010.
Simon Starling
Tabernas Desert Run, 2005
Rebecca Belmore: Speaking to Their Mother
Belmore wanted to make a huge, loud megaphone for protest – and developed this work at the Banff Centre for the Arts. The work functions as a sculpture, and a functional megaphone for Indigenous people to speak to the land – “to our mother, to the earth” and to feel connected, and unafraid to express an urgency to care for and protect the land. See the video below as the artist discusses the impetus for the project.
Shawna Dempsey and Lori Milan: Lesbian National Parks and Services
Lesbian National Parks and Services was founded in 1997 to insert a lesbian presence into the landscape. In full uniform as Lesbian Rangers, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan patrol parklands, challenging the general public’s ideas of tourism, recreation, and the “natural” environment. Equipped with informative brochures and well-researched knowledge, they are a visible homosexual presence in spaces where concepts of history and biology exclude all but a very few.
See the video here: vimeo.com/132492078
Lesbian National Parks and Services: A Force of Nature follows the intrepid Lesbian Rangers as they patrol, educate, and illustrate lesbian survival skills. This documentary about the Force archly parodies the so-called objectivity of educational films, while playfully recasting the wilds from a lesbian perspective, calling into question prevalent notions of nature and normalcy. Scenes from tours-of-duty in the Arctic, Banff, Australia and Manitoba are interwoven with interviews, in a style reminiscent of National Film Board documentaries of the 1960s. From Junior Ranger boot camp to the perils of a deep-sea rescue, this valiant team roves the world, asking, “What is natural?” while serving and servicing the lesbian wilds. Premiered at the 2002 Sydney (Australia) Gay/Lesbian Film Festival. 24:00 min. Digital video. 2002. (From Dempsey and Milan)
Wolfgang Laib
Watch how Wolfgang Laib relates to flowers and his wider environment:
Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay
Explore the video and audio art of Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay on his site:
Some of his classic works include: Live to Tell, 2002, shot and edited to appear as surveillance footage.
Some of his new projects include:
Tunings – 2020 a work where the artist created living flower arrangements with performers and botanical materials. https://nemerofsky.ca/Tunings
Here is a video excerpt:
Read the article from Canadian Art below:
https://nemerofsky.ca/Trees-Are-Fags
DO THIS GUIDED AUDIO WALK:
Trees Are Fags is designed to be experienced on a dedicated website, with programming and sound design by Nikita Gaidakov. The piece is narrated by the artist, along with Matt Carter, Oskar Kirk Hansen, Bastien Pourtout, Ed Twaddle, Alberta Whittle, and Virginia Woolf. Bassoon performance by Ronan Whittern..
MAKE: Show prep work, and proposal with images, for a new work of video art on the blog:
You are going to draft a visual proposal for one new video – up to 5 minutes. You will find a safe (according to public health guidelines) way to relate to trees, or other natural phenomena – which may include earth, bushes, clouds, or even houseplants. You may or may not need to be physically present in the video to perform your gesture. You might choose to use voice-over to narrate the action, or represent the action in different ways. You may need to invent props or new arrangements, play with possibilities and post your ideas, images, and prep work for a video.
We will discuss your video proposals and share feedback in the next class.
(Note: The videos will be shot and edited next week – due in Week 6. )
Strictly follow all public health guidelines during the pandemic at all times – and when you make your work.
Consider the above examples, and your own need to commune and connect.
It may be practical, social, playful, spiritual, aesthetic or absurd. Create instructions for yourself to follow, and see what happens.
You may need to work on writing or text for your video – post all your prep work and we can workshop it together.
Reference works by artists in the lecture and readings in your proposal.
Consider what new insights or meaning about the moment, about yourself, or about nature do you hope to bring with your gestures?