Do you guys know what MIX NYC is? You should, because otherwise you just missed it this last weekend, and you really missed out. It’s New York City’s gay and lesbian experimental film festival and there’s very few film festivals like it in the world. Stephen Kent Jusick, a long time friend of mine, really put together a great show this year. I got an opportunity to one of David Wojnarowicz’s rarely screened films, this one in collaboration Marion Scemama, called “Last night I took a man…” that features Wojnarowicz reading aloud a piece which can also be found in the collection of his work Close to The Knives. While that was part of the closing night event, “Actions of Outcast Bodies,” a collection of shorts curated as a tribute to the French artist Michel Journiac, I’m actually here to write about an artist I was introduced to during the screening for “Perspecticles,” a series of shorts curated by good friend Josh Thorson.

Have you guys heard of Ryan Trecartin? He makes video art, a medium I easily get frustrated with. After seeing his piece, “Wayne’s World 2003″, included in “Perspecticles,” I have to wonder how I have never seen these before. Also, I am wondering if they could be used as like a Rorschach test to diagnose schizophrenia, as in if you can understand these videos and like them, something very well may be wrong. Whoops, I’m totally bat shit schizophrenic!

His first large work seems to be  “A Family Finds Entertainment”, but for some reason part 3 is missing online. I suggest you watch it. Most recently he created a series called “I-BE Area” which is a nearly feature length piece of work divided into Web segments. Here’s the part that’s excited:

1. The videos make nearly no sense, unless you’re schizophrenic like me and can relate.
2. The videos are posted out of order online on Ryan’s YouTube channel with no order indicated.
3. The user is supposed to piece together the pieces his/herself. It’s part of the experience of the piece and only enhances the general disorientation.

Here’s my (not) best attempt to piece “I-BE Area” together (actually gave up trying after the first few segments):

Really, I love this work. It’s all about new media and our current world where what we experience as reality is more and more formed by how we communicate through media. In the last century, whoever controlled image production (ie: newspapers, television networks) had a lot of power. This work draws notice to our current emerging world that breaks down this power dynamic via the Internet where almost anyone has the power to create media. Plus it has a mad funny queer style that cracks me up. Am I totally out of my mind?

2 Responses to “My New Favorite Videos or A New Litmus Test for Schizophrenia”

1. mikeellecram Says:
   October 21st, 2008 at 11:35 am

   Part 3 of a family finds entertainment was apparently taken off youtube because someone gets shot in it. I still haven’t seen that section !!!!!

   [reply this comment]

2. Amber Says:
   December 9th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

   I heard part 3 of AFFE has too much “adult” (read: penis) content and thus it was taken off. :/

   [reply this comment]

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