tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20239079.post116258073035636758..comments2024-03-04T04:12:57.650-05:00Comments on THEORY NOW: Lack of Command in LookingMark Cameron Boydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04697922195376438088noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20239079.post-1163557029728114092006-11-14T21:17:00.000-05:002006-11-14T21:17:00.000-05:00I felt that when watching this piece "Watergate" t...I felt that when watching this piece "Watergate" that I was witnessing looking, I mean by that the action of looking at something. This video piece seemed to create the feeling of a flowing gaze. The way you look at a room to get the general over all feeling of the place you are in. Burgin's is able to articulate the sense of vision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20239079.post-1163001889874250672006-11-08T11:04:00.000-05:002006-11-08T11:04:00.000-05:00Burgin states that photography depicts both a scen...Burgin states that photography depicts both a scene and the gaze of the spectator, both an object and a viewing subject. This would seem to make sense since the angle, position of the camera etc. will literally reflect a "point of view" of the object being photographed. But this would also seem to be true of other media - painting and sculpture - when used in a representational mode. A realistic painting reflects a particular gaze of the spectator determined by the choices made by the painter in terms of perspective. Bernini's sculpture bust Louis IV at the National Gallery, for example, shows Louis looking down on the spectator, and the placement of the sculpture requires the spectator to look up, emphasizing the supposedly god-like stature of the subject of this sculpture. It would also seem to be the case that the "point of view" or "frame" of a painting or sculpture, like photography, can impose an order or coherence which the world actually lacks. Therefore, Burgin's observations do not seem unique to photography, although perhaps this is not an earthshaking observation. <BR/><BR/>However, it does seem to be the case that Burgin's technique in Watergate of panning 360 degrees emhasizes that the camera and the artist are controlling our point of view, perhaps because there is an annoying quality to the spectator of being forced as it were to twirl around in the center of the room several times. To this extent Watergate may expand upon Burgin's theories about photograpy and explain this work.patrickjdonovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15444197047924162531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20239079.post-1163001821797563822006-11-08T11:03:00.000-05:002006-11-08T11:03:00.000-05:00maybe the reason i felt uneasy while watching this...maybe the reason i felt uneasy while watching this was a) we talked about this piece making us almost dizzy although it wasnt moving that fast and b) we were looking at a panoramic view of a panoramic painting. this niagara painting infamously known for having that amazing quality to it, plus seeing it in a hotel room was just out of place. so yes, i agree with mia on the de ja vu thing (especially with us at the corcoran always seeing that particular painting).joycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07367147740140742784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20239079.post-1162743763648341522006-11-05T11:22:00.000-05:002006-11-05T11:22:00.000-05:00Rebecca: I eliminated the audio component of Burgi...Rebecca: I eliminated the audio component of Burgin's work to focus on the two "looks" in reference to our "command" of the frame of photography/video. However, your point is quite insightful, provoking further discussion of how juxtaposed (seemingly "irrelevant") audio alters/enhances our critique of a work. We do "take" responsibility for our "looking," but often we "submit" to art-looking in ways that parallel advertising, where our "lack of freedom" is ironic given that our submission is required for purposes of product consumption. But without a particular product to “consume,” conceptual art begins to deal with the social order itself as art becomes disassociated from the object.Mark Cameron Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04697922195376438088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20239079.post-1162700064785640422006-11-04T23:14:00.000-05:002006-11-04T23:14:00.000-05:00I really enjoy how Burgin ties this piece to Sartr...I really enjoy how Burgin ties this piece to Sartre. Sartre talks about how human freedom comes with the burden of total responsibility for actions. Sartre says that because of this burden, humans look for ways to relieve the responsiblity of existence by limiting their freedom. Burgin's piece seems to be playing with these ideas by taking away freedom from the viewer. The result in this piece is definitly frustrating, as I guess it is whenever freedom is limited in life, though humans continue to do it over and over and over...Rebecca Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241434087715412317noreply@blogger.com