Video installation essay

Video installation

Video installation art is used to affect the audience, how? By combining video technology with installation art and making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment.

Christian Marclay

Christian Marclay is a video installation artist, one of his known projects is called “The Clock”, a 24 hour montage that works as an actual clock. This means that at some point in the montage it is going to be the same time as the audience's time. It took him 2 years to find the perfect movie scenes and to edit it.

The reason he did this video is because he has a certain obsession with time, he talks about how this montage has to do with time passing and mortality.

We have became obsessed with time in the past centuries, and people would go crazy without time.

There are two different types of time:

• Symbolic time which is  marked by clocks
• Imaginary time which is a subjective idea of how long things last.

It is said that you know that you’re wasting time when you’re too aware of it.

‘The Clock’ makes us aware of the passage of time.

It is considered one of the most perfectly and completely created pieces of conceptual art. This film puts time together in a really unique way because the montage of different films and Tv shows that are included in it have different storylines so it makes it a real work of art.

I think that his work is really special, and as a viewer it becomes something really strange to look at the time in such a way, it gives away anxiety but also some sort of satisfaction. I believe it is so special because of all the time he put into it and how many different scenes are found in this 24 hour film.

Sam Taylor-Wood

Sam Taylor-Wood is a video installation artist who now became a mainstream director who directed a movie about John Lennon called ‘Nowhere boy’. One of her known installation videos is called ‘A little death’ and it follows the layout of a traditional still life painting as well as all the decay around it.

‘A Little Death’  is a video of a rabbit whilst disintegrating. Sam did this for people to see how death works, although if she used a human body she would have gotten in trouble, so she had no choice but to use a rabbit corpse.  

The video shows in a simple image a dead rabbit which is decomposing quickly, whilst right next to it, a peach lays there, a static object representing, creates contrast in between still life, and the quick rotting transformation. It shows how fast a living thing can just disappear and become nothing.

She proves that you can take the most simple things, with some adding of effects can create an extraordinary film.

It was inspired on paintings from the 17th century that revealed the story of nature’s life in such a beautiful way.

I think that Sam Taylor-Wood’s work of art has a really interesting message to it, it represents both aspects, this being life and death and show how something that once had life can disappear in such way, and how life is delicate and how thin the line that separates life and death really is.

Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler is and has been a video installation artist since the 1970’s. His works of art are mostly known because he explores technology’s effect on the human mind. Besides using projectors most of the time he also uses a lot of bizarre effects, such as a talking streetlight or a five dollar bill with a talking Abraham Lincoln.

One of his works of art is called ‘Bound interrupter’ and contains a lot of nonliving  objects with face projections on them.

It is a really strange but engaging installation, it also contains a lot of different things in it to pay attention to. The projector faces talk over each other and it becomes something interesting to watch.

His art installations often contain a lot of colour in it as well as truth. What does this mean? Well, a lot of artists tend to hide things that would make their art look fake, but instead Oursler leaves the truth, such as video projectors, in full view.

He combines technology with creativity and creates illusions that can be amazing to the mind.

Tony has created a lot of exceptional work with different humour to it, some of them are really funny and are really enjoyable whilst some of the others can really play you mind games.

I personally think that he is an incredible artist and has an original point of view.

Video art installations are something really interesting because it allows you to, if creating one, go past the boundaries of the mind, and if watching one, allow your mind to submerge in it. There are many different aspects to it and is fascinating.