EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION, video installation with stop-motion animation, 2012

EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION is a sculptural video installation featuring a stop-motion animation within an installation of sculptural elements that recall the characters from the animation.


 

The documentation of this piece is from SORTIE, a group show by the students in the MFA program at Concordia University, held at the old Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

1) EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION, stop-motion animation, 4:50secs, 2011.

    

I reserved a gallery space for a week and brought in two carts full of found objects for the purpose of producing a stop-motion animation. Inspired by Peter Fischli and David Weiss’ gravity-defying balanced sculptures, I set about the slow process of constructing a hanging, mobile-like sculpture that would depend on the weight and dimensions of the objects used to determine how the piece would be balanced and how much space that it would take up. Assembled in a very precarious manner, it utilized the actual physical properties of each object -i.e. holes already in the objects or loops, hooks, nails or screws already attached to secure the elements one to the other.

Each day of that week, I worked towards building that sculpture, but what came out of it was much more: I drew out the intuitive process of arranging and constructing in order to create theatrical action. Objects were personified as “characters”, and amongst themselves, built a sculpture. The stop-motion animation is a response to the intuitive process of building the installation and documents how these characters come alive and interact with one another, in three acts. In the first, there is a struggle for power between a cart and a group of chairs; the second signals the cart calling the objects to action; and in the third, the objects work together as a unit and a community to build the final sculpture. An evolution in how the objects interact is fulfilled through the titles of the acts: parasites, agents of progress, and symbiosis, inspired by the writings of Michel Serres. The title of the animation is EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION, EVOLUTION corresponding to a progression in how people and things relate and the creation of new ways of thinking, just like Lavoisier’s in 1789; and REVOLUTION referring to social movements, for example the Arab Spring and Occupy movements of 2011; there is even a parallel between the spirit of the time of the French Revolution and when Lavoisier made his advancements in science.

The declaration “Nothing Is Lost, Nothing Is Created, Everything Is Transformed” appears at the beginning of the video, and has a two-fold meaning: it refers to recycling as theme and strategy in my artistic process while also referring to the notion of the golem, which is a being created from inanimate matter used by its creator to perform a task. The animation highlights performative relationships between the creator and the created, and this applies even in the use of sound, where mundane objects lying around the studio and my own body produced the rhythms and noises of the animation.

As for the installation, it was set up in a room in the basement of the building. At the entrance to the door of the room, I placed this print (digital intaglio, transfer and sewn green tarp to create theatre curtains), entitled Noise Theatre. The print was produced as part of a print exchange, but also fit in with the installation because of the imagery and the inspiration: a tower of chairs (like the chairs in the animation) and a quote from Michel Serres, one of my favorite philosopher/writers at this time (the animation is also partly inspired by his ideas).

 

The door to the room was half-opened, making it an insular installation, or better yet, a world in itself. The first thing you saw while coming through the door was a character assembled from various pieces of wooden furniture motioning towards the other end of the room, with objects (from the animation) strewn on the floor around him. As you turned towards the center, you were faced with a hanging sculpture bordered by objects and a tarp, and a video on a stand with other objects behind.

   

The centerpiece was a hanging sculpture, suspended from the ceiling using a metal rod and long bolt, and other items that would hook, clasp or fit into the next object. The entire structure was balanced by equalizing the amount of weight in the larger box at the top (the PISA box) and the elements hanging from the other anchor point. It was created to reference the hanging sculpture that is present in the animation, and also as an element to divide the space for the viewers as they adventure through the room. The could walk around it, or through it; plus, inside of each box used to create the doorway appearance of the hanging structure, there were surprises. A small flashlight hung from the piece for the viewers to investigate the particularities of the installation.

When you got to the back, you encountered the cart (the main character in the animation) and a TV displaying the animation and illuminating the room with the color of the visuals.

Here is the view from the back of the room, where the TV was positioned.

The piece was very successful. It created a peculiar mood, something that mixed curiosity with a bit of madness. I noticed that many viewers would stay for the entirety of the animation, after having walked around the installation. The only hitch was that some people couldn't find the installation, because it was a bit hidden, but I would also say that those who did discover it were able to experience something novel and hopefully inspiring. I got some great comments from this and hope to show it again very soon.