The video is of a still rock throughout, the only factors showing that it is not a photo, marking the moving of time, are a ticking sound in the background and slight changes in the natural lighting as the sun moves. This interplay between photo and video, questioning the identity of a particular media (or material?), links back to my fake rocks and also perhaps to the work of David Claerbout whose work I looked at a little while ago:
Oil Workers (from the Shell company of Nigeria) returning home from work, caught in torrential rain is particularly relevant to this piece as Claerbout has taken a still image and developed it into a film, playing with the idea of duration: ‘I sculpt in time and my matter is duration’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ_MmfWVpeg&t=468s). The piece tries to make time passing more tangible, directing the attention of the audience towards this awareness of duration instead of/as well as just passively looking at the object in question. I feel this responds well to my earlier feedback where it was pointed out that I need to be analysing the rocks more critically, directing attention towards this idea of time and taking attention away from purely their aesthetics. Something else that has been suggested to me is the idea of trying different approaches to the subject, challenging what I’d usually do and trying something more left-field such as humour. This isn’t something that I usually think to incorporate into my work but I have seen many artists who do use it very effectively, and it is a good way of engaging an audience. I wouldn’t say this piece explores humour outright but I hope particularly the title suggests that it’s not necessarily something to be taken too seriously; I am aware of how ridiculous it is to simply film a stationary rock. This could also lead onto future pieces exploring similar themes of absurdity, perhaps giving a commentary throughout the video, or asking questions of the rock?! This could also link in with the idea of mass-producing rocks and applying bar codes to them etc that I mentioned before. Titling is also something that I’d like to work more on as again it isn’t something that I’ve done much in the past but it can be a good way in for a viewer looking at a piece. This could be something to explore when I assemble my digital portfolio for submission.
As for the video itself, there were several conscious decisions I made which are apparent in the end result: there is a constant ticking sound in the background; the rock is in a white, sterile environment, although with naturally changing light; the video is real-time, not a time-lapse. The ticking sound is just another device with which to point attention towards this passing of time, one which I hope is not too cliched, and to also highlight that it is indeed a video rather than a photo. This is hopefully what the natural light does too as it changes very subtly, again highlighting that it is a video not a photo. The white background was simply to again direct attention towards the passing of time, or perhaps more to remove it from anything else; if I had left the rock in a natural environment and filmed that it maybe would have become more about nature, so this was a way of removing other, distracting factors. Initially the video was going to be a time-lapse but I feel it is more effective real time, the lived moment, as it seems more truthful. You feel as though you are experiencing time with the rock, becoming aware of it passing, perhaps even feeling it moving slower/faster as time goes on. Looking at the same rock for so long, perhaps anticipating that something might happen, also perhaps encourages a greater appreciation of the detail on its surface, looking closer, this idea of immersion again (mentioned in many previous posts, but started in zines).
I’m not sure if it’s worth making more videos as variations from this: perhaps a longer video lasting a more notable period of time, or with lighting that changes a little more obviously, although these are both small changes. One other possibility that occurred to me was to do something with sand-timers as these are imbued with similar themes of time and rock, albeit the rock in a slightly different form. I could play around with making my own, making it opaque so the function becomes oddly removed, making a hole in it so it can only be used once, and perhaps using the duration of the timer as a way of dictating the length of the video.
Anna Harris 