2-13: TOUR 14 X 15

Many of experiments regarding the identities of space have been influenced by structuralist theories of film—readings which emphasise how film conveys meaning through the use of codes and conventions—as well as works of cinema responding to these ideas. In particular, the aforementioned works of James Benning (see 2-11) have been influential in my pursuit of producing a kind of intervention in space that requires a participation from the viewer through reading.

Benning’s film 13 LAKES (2004) positions the viewer as a protagonist. The anti-narrative documentary simply portrays thirteen shots of lakes around the United States, each ten minutes long, in which movement and events are minimal. However, through challenging a viewer’s patience over long periods of visual repetition, even the most minuscule happenings on-screen are elevated, demanding an increased attention in contrast to their still surroundings. Everyday motions and sounds, often unnoticed, become pivotal occurrences under the scrutiny of a heightened awareness. Benning seeks to instil this way of observing landscape within his viewers; one that they can take forth into their actual surroundings, beyond witnesses his curated panoramas.

Benning’s film additionally engages with the idea of artistic systems using reality as a material, an idea I have intended to maintain an engagement with throughout both Unit 1 and 2. In looking to expand on my approach to exploring the notion multiple ‘Parises’ (see 2-12), particularly the idea that re-inserting recorded materials of space into the site from which they are sourced may give physical form to some intangible connection between the actual Paris and its representations.

I began producing a film with structuralist ideas in mind, opting to use representations of the Eiffel Tower found in popular films to interrogate another form of constructed, ‘utopian’ codified images of the Parisian landmark. The resulting film, Tour 14 x 15, features a sequence of 14 clips, each 15 seconds long, featuring the Eiffel Tower in some way, shape or form.

The intention of this film is to bring to the forefront the ‘image’ of the Tower; that is, not strictly its appearance, but rather codified notions of what it represents, embodied in the ways in which it is utilised in a cinematic context. Though the films featured are vastly different in style, genre and time of release, a hyper-focused attention turned to one element of their scenery seeks to unify them in some way, and at once the presence of the Eiffel Tower in all contexts. Perhaps the form of the Tower presented on screen can be seen to represent not a particular work of art or architecture, but rather some pre-determined idea of space that we possess, unknowingly. Chaining together various media uses of the structure to this end can encourage us to think about where this idea originates from.

SITE-SPECIFICITY

As I have begun to compile an archive of artworks that can potentially be read as spatial interventions, the intrinsic relationship between artist, work and site has become clear. This has also come to the forefront in my own work concerning Paris, a city I have never visited.

The feedback I’ve received in response to my iterations thus far have largely praised the notion of exploring ‘Paris Syndrome’ (see 2-12) itself, though my particular interests lie not in the so-called medical condition, but rather the notion of expectation and codified history that is embedded in the physical and spatial identities of a location.

At present I feel to explore this further, re-applying some of my ideas from previous weeks in the context of a different site—one more closely tied to my own lived experience—will provide the means to apply more critical depth to what I am doing.

As a starting point, I began to explore the idea of converging narratives in space through interventions inspired by Elephant & Castle, an area of London in which great change has occurred throughout history and is currently undergoing further change.

I wanted to return to the idea of ‘frames’ acting as physical manifestations of intangible identities in space. This time, as opposed to relying on the record of the individual, I have chosen to utilise particular instances in time and give them some physical dimension through which the actuality of site can be viewed; past versions of Elephant & Castle become ‘ghosts’, past actualities remaining even through a process of change.

Rough concept for intersecting ‘frames’ intervention at Elephant & Castle construction site. Naturally this is unfeasible, but I wanted to envision a drastic intervention in the space; what if this pivotal structure, repeatedly rebuilt, was replaced with a mere representation of the spaces of the past?