Landscape in video
Thousands of videos flood the Internet and shape the vision of the observer when perceiving the landscape
Pauline Delwaulle, L'Île, 2012
By Nuria García, @VeoArte, Veo Arte en todas pArtes
One of the premises on which this new exhibition Universo vídeo [Video Universe] is based is video as an analytical tool and the object of such an analysis is the landscape.
Before venturing into what LABoral offers us in this second show of Universo vídeo, I would like to go over with you how users are accustomed to contemplating landscape through video on the Internet. We could distinguish different “genres” of videos abundant on Youtube or, in other words, videos made by the users about landscape without any artistic intention. The objective is to take them as a starting point, as a visual reference of the internet users, with no intention other than to bring them together.
One of these possible "genres" is when the video is made using the time-lapse technique. This technique consists in a type of animation which is very similar to stop motion, based on pictures taken in quick succession taken at regular intervals at a constant pace. In these videos we see in an accelerated way how the landscape changes with the passage of time.
Another "genre" is that of adventure or risk sports videos in which the “adventurer” on many occasions hands over to us the centre stage by showing us the surrounding landscape. The person filming the video usually carries the camera, stuck to their head or chest by a harness, or some kind of sports appliqué on their sports equipment. Thanks to this type of video we are able to move into the landscape in first person, experiencing the accelerated perspectives of waves, cliffs, mountains and wild rivers and even urban landscapes (thanks to parkour, skateboarding...).
Finally I would like to mention another video type dealing with the landscape, but this time related to imaginary landscapes. These are videos that are made by players of role-playing games, who, as well as filming their online battles, dedicate complete videos on landscapes which serve as the setting for the game and which are an authentic demonstration of virtuosity in graphic design. In the same way as the preceding types, these also tend to be shot in first person, which gives the spectator an immersive feeling in the surroundings of the landscape.
This type of video and others which the users produce themselves, contribute to the collective imaginary of new aesthetics, styles and genres in the same way as what happened with photography.
Far from these premises, which could perhaps predispose the public when seeing how different artists reflect and analyse, Universo vídeo continues its course. Video as a format and tool of creation is presented again as the guiding force of this exhibit. As a result we can analyse, observe and perceive reality in a different way, while at the same time, it allows us to record, store and document it. As with photography, video also shows us how to interpret reality, also changing the way thought is built.
Following an initial phase where we could enjoy a selection of videos from the collections of Le Fresnoy comprising works by artists such as Clément Cogitore, Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Anna Marziano, João Pedro Rodrigues, Mitsuaki Saito, Prácticas experimentales II_Cartografías para anticipar un movimiento [Experimental Practices II_Cartographies to anticipate a movement] is the second installment of Universo video [Video Universe] following Una imagen del mundo en movimiento [An Image of the World in Motion]. Now it aims to reflect on the different ways of approaching landscape. through its various works addressing this theme.
In the same way as he did in the first show, Alfredo Aracil (A Coruña, 1984) presents us with a new selection of artists and works among which we can find: Pauline Delwaulle, Laura Huertas Millán, Jeanne Lafon, HeeWon Lee, Laurent Mareschal, Momoko Seto, Ana Vaz and João Vieira Torres.
Laura Huertas Millán, Aequador, 2012
Thinking about landscape as a living space that nature itself shapes and transforms and where human beings also establish their own natural and urban surroundings.
HeeWon Lee, Phone Tapping, 2009
Cartography and landscape are combined like two sides of the same coin. While the landscape speaks to us about habited or uninhabited spaces, social spaces, experienced places, maps are drawings that represent symbols in which it is possible to interpret agreed on identities and places of exchange. Yet is landscape perhaps exempt from symbols and signs, and even human manipulation?
I recommend you don’t miss a visit to the show and share your thoughts on it.
