Where it all started

Last year, while I was in San Francisco on a three month artist in residence program, a friend back home posted the clip below on Facebook. At that stage, I hadn't actually seen an episode of Mad Men, even though friends of mine who were hooked, said I should. Having since binged on four seasons, I now understand the tone of the main character's speech and why he presents himself in such a reflective and thoughtful manner. But aside from that, I wasn't really into carousels either. Pretty crazy how sometimes, something speaks to you from a place that seems out of no where, taps you on the shoulder and asks you to take note.

So with a bit of a lull in my visual arts practice (no ideas, nothing really inspiring me), I decided to head down to the carousel in San Francisco with my camera to see what might happen. The end result was a site specific work that seemed to be more loaded than I could have imagined. Below is a picture of the work within the site it was installed.

Untitled (Carousel), 2010

Without a beginning or an ending, the looped video projected on the wall is made up of three separate videos that I sliced up, frame by frame and then put all back together again. The effect is similar to an animation and is purposefully difficult to watch due of it's flickering. The television sitting on the ground faces an ornate mirror, forcing the viewer into a position of voyeur and authoritarian at the same time. The video is a close up of a woman applying lipstick. The footage is reversed so she is seen in a never ending loop of applying lipstick and then removing it, only to apply it again. Round and round. The only way to view the video is by standing behind the television and looking 'over it's shoulder' into the mirror; thus the voyeur. By placing the television on the ground, the viewer must look down upon the video and is made to feel like a giant through the perspective of size and space; thus the authoritarian.

I have put these two videos together below so you may get a better idea of the experience of the work. It is not intended to be viewed like this so I have only given you a 40 second preview. I'm apologizing for the bad quality. I'm still learning how to reduce file size on videos and am having a hell of a time!

This 'knee jerk reaction' (that's what I like to call it!) artwork to the Mad Men episode has sparked something deeper for me. I had the feeling that there was something more to my first viewing of that Mad Men scene, and I wasn't completely satisfied with the one result I created with the work above. In April this year, I decided to revisit this work and go deeper into ideas surrounding the carousel, beginning a yearlong research project on the subject. This is why I have begun this blog. It will work as an electronic visual diary of things I have seen, been inspired by or created over the next 12 months or so, relating to the carousel. I will post films, literature, art and anything else that uses the carousel, discussing the underlying themes within them. Sometimes I will get all art speak, other times it will be pure fluff. Just depends on how the cookie crumbles.

I have no idea of the direction this blog will take. All I know is that it will be a space for me to collect and compile material relating to my research project and share it with you, the reader.

Feel free to comment, post suggestions or links to anything of carousel interest.