aitken review

8/14/2019 Aitken Review

1/4

The Order of Things: A Review of 'Broken Screen: Expanding theImage, Breaking the arrative: !" #onversations $ith %o&g Aitken'Edited ( oe) %anie)%*A*+%istri&ted Art +&)ishers: -.! pp*, /0.

B( +eter 1&nenfe)d 1os Ange)es Times S&nda( Book Review Apri) 2",!.."

Orig: http:www*ca)endar)ive*comooksookreviewc)3k3)&nenfe)d2"apr2",.,".455"6*htm)stor(7co))8c)3ookreview

%O9 AIT;E is prett( far removed from the stereot(pe of the artist,with its tropes of &nrecogniis signat&re insta))ations, )ike2???'s @E)ectric Earth,@ a prier


2/4

fract&ring of time in ean31&c odard's ew $ave fi)ms, to % Spook('si))ient mix tapes of a decade ago* Right now, comp&ters make thedecided)( non)inear f&nctions of c&tting, pasting and )inking o&r defa&)tmodes of creativit(* @Broken Screen@ is a rich)( designed ce)eration ofthis moment, we))3i))&strated with sti))s from the art, fi)m and video

proFects &nder disc&ssion and )iera))( peppered with p&)) &otes thatdisti)) the conversations into a series of graphic so&nd ites* R&nningco&nter to na(sa(ers on oth )eft and right, Aitken and his friends are&napo)ogetica))( &peat ao&t creativit( at the dawn of the newmi))enni&m*

These are genero&s conversationa)ists, enco&raging &s to participate,to Foin in constr&cting new meanings from existing work* =or more thana cent&r(, the( s&ggest, we have een so immersed in a&dio3vis&a)narratives that )inear stor(te))ing has ecome at once over3fami)iar and

ins&fficient* As co))agist, fi)mmaker and a))3aro&nd $est #oast )egendBr&ce #onner p&ts it, @non)inear perception can't e eat,@ eca&se theetter att&ned (o& are to it, the more )ike)( (o& are to @co))ect vario&spieces of information and p&t them into some kind of f&nctiona) &se tomake sense of the wor)d*@

=or #onner, non)inearit( is @ao&t conscio&sness itse)f,@ a s&Fect man(of the ook's other participants expand on ( ta)king ao&t their ownwork and what inspired them* Semina) fi)mmaker A)tman reminiscesao&t the meshing narratives and over)apping dia)og&e in @ashvi))e,@

whi)e rising (o&ng architect 1(nn descries the mad spraw) of Sanose's $inchester D(ster( >o&se and avant3garde director Roert$i)son evokes eorges Ba)anchine's a))ets, where @the dancers, forthe most part, dance for themse)ves*@ Aitken and compan( take on avast range of references, from Darve) comic ooks and ps(chede)icposters to designers #har)es and Ra( Eames and the )atest in -%3animation software*

It's a )ot of gro&nd to cover, &t once (o& get into the f)ow, theseconversations come across as the wa( we Gsho&)dH ta)k now* Th&s,

=rench artist +ierre >&(ghe strikes a &niversa) chord when he exp)ainsthat he carves &p the narratives in his video insta))ations to escapeover)( efficient, and therefore )imiting, stor(te))ing* =ragmentationena)es him to access what he ca))s the @exponentia) present,@ aphrase that teeters on the edge of osc&rantist art3speak &nti) (o&consider the a)wa(s3on, a)wa(s in3to&ch c&)t&re that man( of &s inhait7 comp)ete with the $e, $i3=i hot spots, 5.. ca)e channe)s,


3/4

down)oada)e ring tones, peer3to3peer fi)e sharing and more* In s&ch a)andscape, there is indeed an exp)osion of information, which makes>&(ghe's notion of an exponentia) present not so m&ch pretentio&s asacc&rate*

%ia)og&es have historica))( served as ven&es for artists, fi)mmakersand architects to get their ideas o&t witho&t having to ape theforma)it( of critica) writing* #onversations etween artists )et themaddress the nitt(3gritt( of their craft* The &s&a))( inscr&ta)e Barne(admits that in Fo&rna)istic interviews, @I a)wa(s fee) )ike I'm eingforced to ta)k ao&t things I don't know an(thing ao&t* It's nice to F&stta)k ao&t the wa( that we make what we do*@ The downside of thisintimac( is that Aitken and friends can sometimes come off asmemers of a m&t&a) appreciation societ(* Aitken is either &nwi))ing or&na)e to get an(thing new o&t of a&topoetic m(thmaker ;enneth

Anger, who virt&a))( invented the m&sic video with his 2?".s&ndergro&nd fi)m @Scorpio Rising@ Ga)tho&gh Anger r&ef&))( admits henever saw a dime from the ind&str( that owes him ever(thingH*

The conversations are a)so something of a transat)antic men's c)&,with on)( three women in the mix and no Asian artists or fi)mmakers*E&a))( pro)ematic is the virt&a) asence of te)evision from thesedisc&ssions, eca&se T m&ch more than fi)m defines how we interactwith moving images toda(* At times, it seems )ike Aitken is tr(ing tograft the cinematic past to the interactive digita) f&t&re in order to

reak te)evision's strang)eho)d over o&r imaginations* Other interviewss)ip over the edge a)together, as when ;oo)haas, who designed the+rada Epicenter stores in Tok(o, ew ork and 1os Ange)es, descriesfashion as non)inear eca&se it is @the perpet&a) advent of interna)atavistic desires 7 a)most tragic in intensit(*@ And (o& tho&ght it wasao&t a dress and a pair of shoes*

Sti)), as an oFect to think with, @Broken Screen@ is a stirring examp)e ofwhat I ca)) vis&a) inte))ect&a)it(* The ook ends with a series of we))3i))&strated caps&)e disc&ssions of @JmKoments of a)ternative narratives

and points of )ight@ written ( Aitken and c&rator >ans 9)rich Orist, aswe)) as two sed&ctive, manda)a3)ike diagrams of the histor( ofnon)inear fi)m* >ere in partic&)ar, Aitken )ends image and )ang&age tocreate a @too) for stim&)ation*@ $hether (o& are an artist, writer,architect or fi)mmaker tr(ing to fig&re o&t where to go next, orsomeone who wants a deeper &nderstanding of what (o& F&stexperienced in the m&se&m, on)ine or on screen, the conversations in


4/4

@Broken Screen@ offer a good wa( to kick3start (o&rse)f into the !2stcent&r(*

aitken review

Documents