Haven’t posted for a while. Been taking some time to work on the two big video projects that grew out of Fair Use (notes from spam). Haven’t worked in video for a while either, and it’s been an intense period. My last post had me very excited at just having filmed Carl Hancock Rux for The Flitter. After working on a book project for a couple of years I’d very consciously sought to make the next tactical move be towards a collaborative form and I really enjoyed working with Carl and video artist Ben Tiven on this project and also working with Ben and several other very talented performers and technicians on the other major project, The giSt n.
Both those films were produced at EMPAC, and there was definitely a moment coming back to New York on the train, where I could feel the weight of a 2TB hard drive filled with footage leaning against me in my bag – and an accompanying realization that the intensely discursive and enjoyable collaborative part was over and that this drive and the Final Cut interface were my companions for the coming months.
More on that process soon (maybe!), but for now it’s worth noting that both films are showing as part of my solo show at EMPAC, “The Confidence Man”, which runs until 30th April. I’m also working in the space most weekdays – editing a second screen cut for The giSt n and a mini-docuntary on the show and the work that inspired it. You can see versions of both pieces on the works section of my website, alongside a couple of other new ATM pieces, new newspaper and neon work, and the first piece I ever showed in America, Diogenes – which was in a show curated by Kathleen Forde – who also commissioned The giSt n and the current EMPAC show.
The image is a new piece of work that’s in the show – a hand-painted neon sign called “Social Capital”. It’s based on the bar code from Karl Marx’s “Capital Vol.1”.
Graham Parker 