89 Seconds at Alcazar (Eve Sussman, 2003)
I was supposed to make this entry a month or two ago when I originally saw this at Ottawa's National Gallery but I forgot the title. I was reminded this morning when I read The Globe's piece on the Velazquez exhibit at the National Gallery in London, England. This short video was shot in a makeshift studio in Brooklyn (so the title panel told me), and recreates the famous painting Las Meninas as a ten-minute videofilm (the title is a bit of a misnomer).
Las Meninas, Diego Valazquez, 1656
It appears to be one continuous take in video. There are a lot of voices but no discernable words. It's dark but the echo and depth of focus convey a sense of space. Sussman says that she found the painting to be proto-cinematic in a way, but what I find most interesting is how she uses video to convey the experience of looking at a painting. Her imagining of the Spanish court is dark, claustrophobic and tense.
Las Meninas, Diego Valazquez, 1656
It appears to be one continuous take in video. There are a lot of voices but no discernable words. It's dark but the echo and depth of focus convey a sense of space. Sussman says that she found the painting to be proto-cinematic in a way, but what I find most interesting is how she uses video to convey the experience of looking at a painting. Her imagining of the Spanish court is dark, claustrophobic and tense.