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Object Number One
Rear Projected Video
8 feet wide (min)
13 min loop, 2009

In my video installation Object Number One a naked man stands still, his image is literally turned on it's side, viewed horizontally instead of vertically.

In a nearly photographic pose, tiny gestures; a move of a finger, toe or opening/closing of eyes create excitement and tension, possibly a narrative outside of the video itself - incorporating whatever constructs the viewer brings to it. I'm really interested in the way video predisposes an audience toward narrative, linear thinking regardless of the experimental nature of a piece. The inherent nature of video editing (one image coming after another, in a time based medium) lends it to be thought of in a linear, narrative kind of way. I wanted to work against those assumptions, the assumption of editing, of one image coming after another, creating meaning. Instead, I created a meditation on one image.

What I found is that people worked very hard to create a narrative about the man, what he was up to, what I was up to as the maker. One group asked me if there was a man behind the wall being taped, they felt he was responding to their movement around his image. They were surprised to find that was not the case. The piece is visually imposing enough that viewers will stay and ponder it, and I find it fun and exciting that given very little, if any narrative clues, people will create their own narratives about what is happening.

On another level, we have a rare chance to look at, gaze upon him, the man - from a different perspective. From head to toe he is at least 8 feet wide. The phallus is in the center of the screen at eye level. The room is dark. His image, bright. His body is presented horizontally, on it's side. My goal was to turn this symbol of man into an object -- to change our relationship to this icon (ala Jasper Johns with flags and numbers) even for just a second or two. I wanted to use the fewest gestures I could to objectify his image. In this sense of the word objectify. That is, to look at objectively. How big is he, his eyes are open, they are closed, his body is defying gravity, etc.

I am also interested in the notion of universality. How does one put out a message that is universally understood? Is it possible, or are we all each others, other? I set out to explore this topic.

I was trying to create a piece of work that involves people and is truly universal in it's representation and meaning. Historically, my work had pretty much been about representation of the other, the under-represented. It was quickly obvious if I was looking for the universal, it had to be a man. Any other form of representation, in my mind, would be seen as other, as a representation of the under-represented, by the under-represented (myself) as the maker. This is a piece of feminist art, it's an invitation to look at the male body/power in a different way, from a different perspective, literally. White male is the un-other. His representation was altered in order for him to see himself from a different perspective. This work calls into question your willingness to look, to become the voyeur, to examine and to allow yourself to see the man differently, even if it is just from a different angle, for a longer time.

There are obvious other influences, Warhol, Mapplethorpe, Viola, Cage, Muybridge, Horn... I'll leave it up to you, dear viewer to figure out whether their influences appear to you. Surely I was thinking about/looking at their work while I made this.