Lecture #2 Clint Sleeper: A Discussion

The work of Clinton Sleeper is eclectic but trends toward conversations with the nature of technology and issues of ownership, expectations, and the established. Over the course of his work there are prevailing themes as exhibited in a recent project Teaching Capitalism to Nature. In this piece Sleeper attempts to educate the natural world as to the inner-workings of capitalism and basic principles it seems to not ‘understand’. He notes that most pieces are communicated through an artist-specific lens. These perspectives are demonstrated through numerous pieces such as Teaching Capitalism to Nature which employs elements of humor, sarcasm, and disappointment. Many of Sleeper’s projects draw from previous experiences in his life. This can be seen in his music pieces and general disappointment with the music industry. Many pieces are reductionist in their nature and convey a certain informalism in their mechanical exposure. However, other pieces such as ‘TVs Playing 8-bit Melody’ do not show exposed electrical components despite their extremely complex nature. Another element of Clinton Sleeper’s work is the repurposing of items. This is not in the sense of previous artistic conversations elevating the everyday to ‘high art’ but rather the unconventional repurposing of items so as to draw attention to the act or the object(s) own intrinsic social commentary. Repurposing facilitates deeper thinking on issues of ownership and established items. Sleeper’s maintenance art addresses these topics by creating displays of “responsibility and humor.” Maintenance art is as much an art in the final product as is the action of oddly misdemeanor-like repairing of public objects such as benches. Other projects such as hanging swings beneath billboards, function as a situationist response to the topic of ‘space.’ Ownership thus becomes the question, and minor modifications of ‘private’ space act as small but powerful rebellions in their own right against this labeling of space. Projects such as these from Clinton Sleeper communicate a sense of detournement against a capitalist model.

          The work from Clinton Sleeper serves as inspiration in both technical and conceptual sophistication presented in simple yet elegant visual compositions.

Exhibit#1 Time Clock Piece

Time Clock Piece is one of Tehching Hsieh’s most extensively documented year-long art projects. The piece occurred between April 11, 1980 and April 11, 1981. The gallery setting itself conveys a uniquely distinct meaning from the previous lecture. The symmetrical nature of the room itself displaying the vast amount of documentary photographs, the film, and remnants of the piece are very factual. Minimalist even. The concrete representation of time into distinct units is a prevalent theme in Hsieh’s work and tackles a difficult topic concerning the physical breakdown of such intangible abstractions. This deconstruction and representation is evident in the aesthetics of the gallery space itself. The space attempts to represent a year of Hsieh’s life and a year-long art piece through the unitization of an idea; the transformation of the abstract to a presentable reality. Immediately upon entering the space the viewer is overwhelmed with the countless rows of images. It is noted that one typically starts with the end of the documentation and progresses through the series in a reverse-chronological order due to the curation of the project. This has a different feel to the piece altogether and begs closer scrutiny on the part of the viewer in examining the photographs. It also tends to make the viewer look for “differences” in the sequential images. Perhaps this trend arises to satisfy the need for physical proof that each image is, in fact, a distinct photograph and not a copy. It is easy to dismiss each image due to the seeming monotony of the individual pieces of documentation however, one is just as easily taken back by this thought when the realization dawns upon the viewer that each photograph marks a whole hour. The punch-cards displayed above these photographs also reiterate this feeling and help personalize the data shown, contextualizing it within the events of one man.

Hsieh emphasizes the nature of his work is simply to “waste time” and show, through his actions, the passing of time. In this piece particularly this message is apparent due to the extensive chronological documentation. This is emphasized by the legal certification of the project by a lawyer. However, while Time Clock Piece seems to engage in conversation with theoretical investigations into presence and surveillance, production and control, discipline and submission Hsieh denies these connections to any of his pieces. The connotations of Time Clock Piece on production and submission seem to function as a larger social critique of the monotonous and demanding existence in a capitalist culture. 

Lecture #1 Tehching Hsieh: A Discussion

Tehching Hsieh is a practicing artist specializing in time-related performance pieces. These pieces typically occupy one year time intervals and require unparalleled and almost incomprehensibly rigorous dedication. Art for Hsieh takes on an inseparable form as life and art become one thing, however, these pieces also have a dictated period of time. This gives the pieces a clever label and non-label. The documentation of all of his works in a very specific documentary method, as evident in the legal certification accompanying Time Clock Piece, yet also inherently impossible to maintain such a label at the same time. They are not physical, much like expressionist stylized artwork these documents and other memorabilia are only artefacts of the event itself. In essence this is indicative of the very nature of his work concerning time, as time itself is a physical phenomenon but simultaneously occupies no space and thus refutes such quantifiable labels due to its ethereal qualities. Hsieh has stated that, although his artwork may seem to inherently discuss issues such as monotony, repetition, capitalistic isolationism and social issues the work itself is simply about the “passing of time.” It is the event itself that is of artistic or conceptual merit Hsieh states. In this way the event requires personal connection and reflection to contextualize such a dense artistic event. This concept itself is reminiscent of works such as Chicken by Alan Kaprow who championed the artistic notion of ‘happenings.’ However, this message is inherently confusing. After all, how is it possible not to relate year-long artistic events summarized posthumously by the artist through the phrase “life is a life sentence” as anything but commentary on the imprisoning roles of society and the stark reality of a monotonous existence? Existentialism seems to be essential in all of Hsieh’s pieces. However, the power in the work of Tehching Hsieh may simply be the infinitely possible interpretations from such monumental works concerning the ever progressing fact of time. It is the constant and quantifiable variable in every person’s existence; unyielding and inherently personal in every way. 

Beautification Project

The intention of this project was to utilize the materials available to their fullest extent and demonstrate my capacity for stop-motion film making while conveying a meaningful narrative. The materials included basic plastic for the 3D printed lamp as well as a small blue-white LED light and salvaged electronic wiring. Coloring of the components once they were all fixed in place was done by a black and then silver Sharpie. Conceptual beginnings for the project focused on making the lamp the focal point of the film. The narrative I had decided would also be centered around this main object. Initially I wished to give the materials meaning within the film but could not find a pathway discussing the elements used, perhaps even discussing the role of new technology, in my film. This however gave rise to another idea of making the lamp more of a symbol. I began asking the question, what is the natural context this object would be in and should I include that context in my project. Eventually I realized that such and ornate lamp, although capable of conveying a vast array of meanings, naturally gravitates to the context of a beautiful night scene. Other attributes of such a scene would include wealth, beautification, and even 'peaceful'. However, I wanted to draw attention to places that weren't the previsualized scenes naturally accompanying the context of this lamp. This, more often than not, would err toward darker scenes, locations without the money and beautification efforts to install these romantic means of illumination. My stop-motion film initially films this lamp flickering on in its natural setting, a rather affluent and 24 hour spot in Reno, Nevada. The context accompanying the symbol that is this lamp is shown through a slow panning swivel around the object ensuring its role as the central focus of the film but then glimpsing at the beautiful walkways and lights of midtown in the distance. The next sequence moves further away where a polluting yellow, and more impure light, radiates down from a sufficiently less-elegant lamp than the previous area. The lamp is seen moving in to the frame connected by a wire (powering the LED) but also a reference to the objects removal from another location. This shows that the elegant lamp providing that same bit of elegant charm to the first location, has to arrive on its own almost, to aid the second location. The panning zoom at the end of this sequence distances the frame from the object drawing attention to the distant poorly lit areas just across the street. From there, the final sequence shows the lamp moving from a very poor area in a parking lot of a much less affluent area under still harsher light. The lamp moves an equal distance as the camera, having the viewer meet it halfway and flickers even more as if struggling to stay on and light up the area. The music accompanying this scene transforms throughout the film from an elegant melody to a very eerie and discomforting trail off. The final pan from the object almost entirely eliminates the object as the focal point for the end of the video and instead shows an even darker pathway leading from the more industrial parking lot and then finally fades black. The music, as discussed in class, adds in some areas, but also detracts in others from the film. It is seen as too upbeat in the beginning and perhaps too eerie in the end. Another criticism of the score was it not matching the movements of the lamp in the sequences. I do agree that utilizing a different score with different emotive qualities would have its benefits, however I feel that any score accompanying the movements of the object would give it a much more characterized quality indicative of a cartoon character. The lamp functions as a symbol of, in a very oversimplified and cautious vernacular; beautification, and not, as such, a character creating the narrative itself. Additionally, in an attempt to merge materials with narrative, knowing the power of every minute detail, the base of the lamp is made from a quarter to indicate the monetary connection such flourished and elegant objects have to their natural contexts. 

Beautification Video