Video Installation

There have been many forms of installations

over the years, dating back to the first ever
film created by the Lumiere Brothers in
1895; which was shown in a caf in France
to a select audience. Once films came about
more frequently they needed places to
exhibit them so that people could go and
view their work, this is where places such
as cinemas and galleries came about in
order for the public to easily gain access to
the artwork created. Past practitioners of
exhibiting pieces of film work using video
installations had many different techniques
and reasons behind showing work in the
way that they did. They way that they
installed their work was just as important
as the work itself because it helped the
audience feel the emotions that the artist
wanted to show them. Douglas Gordon is
a past practitioner and one of the pieces of
work which he installed was a slowed down
version of the classic film Psycho which
he made to last 24 hours. The emotions
and purpose of this was to reflect some
of him in the film piece, as it showed
many of the main themes in the work
that Gordon produces such as recognition
and repetition, time and memory, and
darkness and light. The way that the video
is slowed down makes the normally brutal
film seem peaceful and not as brutal as it
would be if played at the normal speed.
The techniques that he uses to install this
piece of work is a single screen suspended
from the ceiling in the centre of a dimly lit
room with comfortable seating positioned
on the floor around the screen for people
to view his work in a peaceful manner.

Douglas Gordons exhibition of Psycho slowed down to 24 hours.

More contemporary exhibitioners use different

emotions and techniques to install their work
in galleries and other locations. Fiona Tan is an
artist and film maker that creates her exhibitions
usually in rooms in places such as flats and houses.
This is to create a more homely feel for her work
since it is usually quite peaceful artwork that she
displays. She uses different techniques to install
her work such as multiple projections in a studio
which vary in size, different pieces of work on
paper surrounding a single TV screen in a home
environment, and dark rooms with a single
projection against a wall with comfortable seating
in a studio. She uses different techniques to display
different emotions with her work, so when she
uses a homely environment she wants the audience
to be comfortable, and a dark room with comfy

seating would make her audience feel relaxed

and peaceful as they watch theproduction on the
projection. Another contemporary exhibitionist is
Bill Viola who uses different installation techniques
to convey emotions and styles in his work. The
emotions that he tries to portray in his work depend
on the studio settings and his techniques really help
with influencing the emotions of the audience. For
example in one of his exhibitions he is displaying his
work as images in frames on white studio walls, but
he uses props to make the studio come to life more
and interact more with the audience, so he has a tree
and a bicycle set up in the studio which interacts with
the outdoor images on the walls, so gives more of an
impression that you are in a park which is a relaxed
environment, which is the emotion that the audience
would feel when looking around his exhibition.

From looking at past and current exhibitionists it

is clear that there are many different technological
techniques and non-technological techniques that
can be used to influence the way that an audience
perceives the work that artists produce. Technology
such as flat screen TVs and projectors are most
commonly used but they can be used in different
ways, such as with the use of multiple screens
and projections (which Fiona Tan uses in some
or her exhibitions), panoramic projections that
cover all four walls of the studio (this technique
was used by Bill Viola in his exhibition Bodies
of Light), and singular screens and projections
which completely focus the audiences attention
(used by all three of the researched exhibitionists).
It is less common for exhibitionists to use props
in their installations and it seems like it is a more
contemporary way of influencing the emotions
of the room. Tan uses photographs around her
screen as props, and Viola uses physical props in
his to help with influencing how his work is shown.

There are two different types of styles and

narratives in exhibition making, the styles are
physical and theoretical. The physical styles
consist of single channel, and installation. Single
channel is the use of TVs and projections to
show your work, whether it be in a cinema or
in a studio. Installation is the use of multiple
TVs and projections as well as props like
images, actors, and objects. These are used to
help with creating different moods in the exhibit
to influence the emotions felt by the audience.
The different types of narrative in exhibitions
consist of narrative and non-narrative forms.
A narrative form is where the exhibit tells
a story which the audience can follow and
understand, so influences the emotions in this
way. Non-narrative exhibitions dont tell a story
and make more of an alternative statement.
This work can be abstract, metaphorical,
and surrealist (as well as many others).

For my exhibition is will be

taking influence from all of the
people that I have researched.
From Douglas Gordon I will be
taking his installation technique
of using a single screen for the
main focus of my exhibition
which is a 1 minute stop motion
animation using Lego characters.
From Fiona Tan I will be taking
her use of images on a wall as
props and will have images
from my main animation, and
a previous animation stuck

on boards around me in my
exhibition space. From Bill Viola
I will be taking the influence of
using objects in my exhibition
and will have some of the Lego
sets that I used in my final
production to help with the
theme of Lego, which is my main
focus of my exhibition. So I will
have narrative and non-narrative
aspects of my exhibition, as I
will have my final video as well
as a few other videos and my
radio drama playing while my

audience looks around, as well

as having written work and
images displayed which have no
story to be told to be my nonnarrative forms. The emotions
that I want my audience to feel
will vary on the video that is
playing. For my main video I
want my audience to feel amused
as it is a comedy childrens
production and has comedic
elements and is bright and
colourful to appeal to children.