Wolf Vostell

Canaball

Canaball from Matt Weir on Vimeo.

Canaball is the second film I made, I initially wanted to make a series of short 45 second loops and this was the first realisation of that idea. It came after Cana which was atmospheric so it gave me a different set of ideas and techniques to play around with.

Cana Angles

The aim of this projection idea was to recreate the angles of the wall within the photograph by using the moving walls in the studio. These are Photoshop files which were prototypes of the wall projection I did which failed miserably. Finding the right alinement's and placement of the projection upon the moving walls in the Studio proved too difficult. It was also day time giving the projection no impact, I will aim to alter the angles and project during the night time.

Orbite Rosse

The Expanded Eye

Whilst looking at Name June Paik's work in both Tate Liverpool and Fact I started to think of where and when I was first exposed to him. It was in sixth form when my engagement with Art was very basic. I had looked at a few of this pieces and found them visually interesting but that was as deep as it went. However whilst talking with my Dad about his work I mentioned it would be interesting to go along to on of his exhibitions and experience it first hand. We looked online together at where, when or if he had any shows on at all. He did, It was in Zurich, Switzerland.

This posed a problem as that would require a lot of money and time to get there. A few days later a stroke up luck came into play when my Dad called me and told me about a business trip he was having to go on in a few weeks in Germany. Thus cutting the price in half as his company would be paying for his journey. He said that we could fly over to Germany together and I would wonder around on my own for a few days whilst he did his work but after we could rent a car and five to Switzerland over the weekend.

After this unbelievable luck we were on our way to Zurich. We arrived at the gallery and on reflection I had no idea what was in store for me. I walked in blind to the notion that this particular exhibition and experience would have a profound effect on me. It may have been my first full contemporary exhibition. It held a variety of different Artists including, Nam June Paik, Andy Warhol, Bruce Naumen, Chuck Close, Olafur Eliasson, Anthony McCall, Sam Taylor Wood, Anish Kapoor, Marcel Duchamp, Yves Klein, Malcolm Le Grice and Jud Yalkut, to name but 12.

The houses some very interesting and diverse experimental film which has had a lasting effect on the way in which I interoperate and produce film. Films such as Ronald Nameth's "Andy Warhol's The Exploding Plastic Inevitable". Nameth's film documents Warhol's multimedia events including The Velvet Underground and a series of Warhol's films. This visual and sound orgy seem to have routed itself in my memory and had a lasting impression. It's not only the music's tangled relationship with the video's but it's also the interaction of the audience and the film focus' much more on them as they seem to be the final product of Warhol's Combinations.

Malcolm LeGrice's 'Berlin Horse' 1970 is something that has blown me away time and again, not only way I struck by it's minimalist and repetitive nature but it's electric use of colour and his manipulation with that colour. The haunting looped soundtrack which was created by Brian Eno matches LeGrice's visuals perfectly, they harmoniously make one piece. The experiment with colour has been a part of the incremental development of my fascination with colour, particularly in film.

I went to see Nam June Paik's 'TV Buddha' 1974 and was given so much more. It was on a few weeks ago that I joined all the dots and realised the the effect 'The Expanded Eye' had on me. The range of different experiences I was exposed to within that exhibition has never been replicated and probably never will be.

Berlin Horse

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Casa De Brujas

Casa De Brujas is the Art House space me and Philippa Dye are going to be occupying on April 2nd to April 5th. These are only a few pictures of the spaces we have so kindly been allowed to take up as there were LJMU students from the drama department in there filming. I couldn't take pictures of one of the rooms as they were all against the main wall space of that particular room. I will rearrange another viewing of the space so we can get the full dimensions of our space we intend on inhabiting.

Tate-Paik

The Tate Liverpool is currently holding the largest retrospective of Nam June Paik's work since he passed away six years ago. The exhibition holds a vast and diverse selection of Paik's work ranging from his most famous pieces such as 'Family Robot' 1986, "TV Cello" 1971 and "Buddha TV" 1974. I have known of Paik's work for several years now and have always wanted to see his most famous pieces in person. However I was surprised at how much more interested I was in his lesser known but more interesting pieces that were on display. Pieces such as 'TV Garden' 1974, 'Zen for Film' 1962-1964, 'Magnet TV' 1965, 'Egg Grows'1984-1989 and 'The First 'Snap Shots' of Mars' 1966.

Whilst it was exciting to see the big works I found that seeing them on the Internet gave me all I could take from them which is an interesting atheistic as I feel his more interesting conceptual stuff needed the live experience to lift it from the computer monitor. 'Zen for Film' 62-64, was something that struck this balance for me as it held my attention longer as it was something new to me and I found that it made me work for the pay off which I found interesting. The mixture of experimental film and the Buddhist nature of Zen and is captured in this contemplative video piece. It also paid homage to John Cage's 4'33, in this silent film and minuet, blank film.

'One Candle' 1989 had the same effect, whilst it's very simple in it's execution, it's nature and it's idea's are demonstrated perfectly in it's live performance. It plays with the idea of image and reality, it doesn't shy away from how it's produced as the equipment lay reveled on the floor. It's simple use of the primary colours was something that interested me as I have a fondness for simple and pure colour, this married with it's every changing nature was something that grabbed me.

Since seeing my first Paik back in 2007 I have waited with a keen eye to see more of his work in person. At that time when I first saw his 'Budda TV' piece that was enough Paik for me and was all I was interested in. Since then though my interest has grown along with my knowledge and understanding of art so when the Tate put on a vast and in depth retrospective I felt more open to see and understand his work.