The Aesthetics of Narcissism Response

I found this reading somewhat difficult to really get in to however, I thought that Krauss had some really interesting points. He says that video has the ability to be a simultaneous reception and projection of an image; this medium in which the past and present stand side by side is set apart from other physical art forms which exist in or represent one place and time. Some of the video projects mentioned that I found particulary engaging were Boomerange, Air Time and Now.

In Boomerang, the mirroring of Holts voice and her spoken thoughts that overlap and confuse each other as they are also confusing the participant and audience creates a situation in which the past and present are almost intertwining but in a way that appears forced. In a way this makes me think of the scramble of thoughts in my own head when I become really stressed or have a lot to think about: nothing is organized and as thoughts build confusion erupts and you lose sight of what you were trying to concentrate upon. The symbol of a boomerang to represent her ideas returning back to her is really effective for this piece as well. Air Time and Now function in a similar manner as Boomerang, but in a more visibly understood manner. ByAcconci talking to the image of himself he is able to reflect upon his own self, much like Holt is reflecting upon the playback of what she had previously said and Benglis’ video of her body working side by side with her body in the past also references this merging of the past and present into one time frame in which they become able to coexist.. The use of the word now within the video is a more direct relation to Boomerang in that the audio is relapsing upon itself, almost creating a musical rhythm of sorts. I especially liked how they referred to this overlapping of audio in saying that all layers of the now are equally present and the individual has no past and no connection to objects that are external to it.

Krauss’ emphasis on narcissism within these and the other video works mentioned makes sense in that as video artists are learning to explore the medium as well as their relation to it they focus upon their relationship with the medium. I think that is present in almost any art form though. Most artists (working in all mediums) work with their bodies by creating self-portraits that are conceptually or literally a reflection of themselves. The only difference with other art forms is that the image takes on a different aesthetic when transformed into a medium such as painting, drawing or sculpture while video art is more representational of the actual human form and voice and thus more narcissistic. As art is largely an expression of ones self I have always understood such video art as reflective and exploratory more so than narcissistic.