l o s t l a b

Having experienced a complete breakdown with regards to writing about Desert Walker, Misha takes me on to another track.

Rather than trying to write, we devise an installation version from discussing what is left of the performance – the residues – and what I am actually interested in addressing right here and now. In other words, to keep the text in the present – which is impossible, but to try and do it as much as possible.

It came about by my telling her about;

• an idea to reconstruct a part of Robert Smithson’s sketches for the Spiral Jetty embedded with scribbled excerpts from Samuel Beckett’s “Unnamble” without having actually seen the sketches, (and partly to avoid copyright issues involved with reproducing Smithson’s sketch book).

• talking about two art exhibitions we saw together here in Berlin at Arndt & Partener, and following a trail of gallery visitations proposed by Roman a week earlier. Sophie Calle, “Où et Quand? Berck and Où et Quand?”
  Calle lets a clairvoyant steer her journey. A montage of texts and documentary-like photographs describes it.

  Erik Bulatov, works from 2001- 08.
  “0″ 2001-08; optical aperture paintings
  “Je vis plus loin (ou Je continue à vivre)” [I live farther away (or I continue to live) 2008].

• a revisiting of Paul Virilio’s books/essays; “A Landscape of Events” and “Open Sky” (particularly initiated by Bulatov works)

I’ll try to restart the writing process through envisaging the installation.

HIGH RESOLUTION TIME EXPOSED
Glass plate collodion photograph of Desert Walkers.

Photo taken by Joni Sternbach in large-format camera/historic process (wet-plate collodion) where preparation and development have to take place on location.
At entrance.
(subdued lighting, the glass plate is illuminated)

MAGNIFYING MACHINE
Participatory installation

Large scale pantograph machine that visitors can use to retrace/recall the Quad walking pattern and the spatial magnification of the QUAD performance zone. Ideally four people could try and retrace the steps of the four Desert Walkers on the same, 4 armed pantograph and at the same time, where it would be a challenge to avoid collisions.

SKY DOWN (panoptic)
Video installation

8 minute sequence slowed down to a quarter of the actual speed of video footage from the plane projected as a square down onto the salt-covered floor.
(DV CAM: 25 fps, 720/576 pixels)

EARTH UP (telescopic)
Video installation

12 minute sequence from a Desert Walker rehearsal at Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels projected up onto a surface suspended just below the ceiling (a horizontal fog screen would be really cool). The camera is pointing directly upwards and the image is of the clouds passing by in a blue sky. At regular intervals parts of the bodies of the walkers are seen as they pass around the mid point. The projection is framed as a circle. On the floor is a circular carpet larger than projected circle (kind of inverse optical cone), where folks can lie down and watch the projection above. The beamer is in the centre of the circle.
(Action cam. 15 fps, 640/480 resolution)
(dark space, projected light, carpet lit)

SOLIDIFIED SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Photograph wall
Photos from Desert Walker process/performance selected by Misha and displayed in chronological order.
(light space, “flat” lighting)

MONOLITHIC
Alternative 1: Light board

Shows the most monolithic still image from HD cam displayed on light board mounted on wall. (perhaps the one above or a sunset image)
(subdued lighting – light emission from the screen)

Alternative 2: HD monitor
Shows the most monolithic video pan filmed by Per on HD cam and displayed on HD monitor mounted on wall.
(subdued lighting – light emission from the screen)

DESERT WALKER: WHAT IS LEFT WHEN THE WALKING IS OVER?
BOOK FORMAT

- smithson’s sketch book (re-enacted by hand)
- Beckett’s Quad scheme (re-traced by hand)
- temporal space time (optical magnification and mini-fication, phenomonology, illusion, hallucination, time machine, etc) from observing the performance zone at a temporal/spatial distance
– via observing on-location video and still image documentation
– via remote robotic webcam (myself surveying the area before traveling to Utah, Patrik Entian who tried to watch the performance from Norway, but could not find us)
– via gps recording (made by Leon during the performance)
– via google map (satelite/map/terain)
– via transcripts of utterances by the Desert Walker team made during the process (interviews/various recordings)
– via transcripts of utterances of Desert Walkers made a year later in repsonse to questions I ask them via internet (email and instant text message). Example HERE