Single Channel- Ash C

Thinking back to my experience with galleries, whenever I found myself at one with the purpose of observing paintings or sculpture, there was usually a moment where I would wander into a dark room to watch a video projected on a wall. I never took into account how the artist would want the work to be experienced and instead simply sat on the floor and watched as much as I thought was appropriate. The article mentions a dormant and mobile element to some installations, prompted by the environment, making me think the instances a bench wasn’t offered meant that I was “supposed” to stand. I’ve heard of theatrical screenings of ‘art movies’ and that seemed like a simple enough format to understand considering how familiar it was to anyone who has watched a movie.  Though I’ve never been to one I can still see the advantages of viewers sitting through and entire work as opposed to installations where it is more acceptable to wander in and out without experiencing the video in its entirety. Installations with this in mind are interesting though it’s difficult to know when to leave. My first true struggle with this was while viewing a Pipilotti Rist video installation where I stayed until the room got too crowded.

Out of curiosity, I tried looking up the most expensive video work sold and it was Eternal Return by Bill Viola. I'm not sure how true that is, though. It would be interesting to know the budget of some of the high profile auctioned work like Eternal Return.