Thinking by doing

Yesterday, I unwrapped the monitors, plugged in all the RCAs, even connected an old tv (analog) to a dvd player (digital), and thereby put a two-channel video I've been working on this week into space. It was a great lesson: you can't imagine it all in your head. You have to move it around and see what comes of moving it around.

What I had envisioned as two monitors forming a corner became a large projection, with a small monitor in front.

Seeing the installation suggested a slew of other work by other artists, including the conceptualist Daniel Buren:



Buren has used stripes to draw attention to what a particular space (usually an institution) is used for. For example, in the above photograph, he has blocked off an exhibition area to draw attention to what the museum permits and does not permit. My piece involves stripes that are reminiscent of the flag. I overlay the stripes with a psychological phrase set in motion. My current vein of thought involves seeing our relationship to our country in psychological terms: abandonment, denial, group psychology. This sounds heady, but, like Buren, when you see it, there's a formal appeal (I hope, I think).