The Serpentine Dance

A hand-painted film of pionner modern dancer LOIE FULLER, circa 1896.

Although shot in black and white and later colored by hand, for the live performance, I am told, these dancers were shone with colored lights to achieve a similar effect.

Video Describing a Line Describing a Cone

The 1973 film LINE DESCRIBING A CONE is one of my favorite films of all time. I first saw Mr. ANTHONY MCCALL's ground-breaking film at the WHITNEY museum in 2003, with no prior knowledge, and it is truly a film that must be seen in person to be properly enjoyed.

Incidentally, I saw a new installation of MCCALL's work last year, which used video projections rather than film. The difference was palpable.

O Pioneers

In the youthful exuberant style reminiscent of photographer RYAN MCGINLEY, this commercial from a 2009 Levi's ad campaign, was directed by video artist M BLASH.

Accompanied by the poetry of WALT WHITMAN, the work inhabits the spirit of young America, albeit for commercial purposes.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Nobody is making films like Thai filmmaker APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL. The trailer for his new film UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES is a glimpse into the world of a filmmaker who deftfully handles the metaphysical and the impermanent with a Buddhist's grace and humor.

The Spirit Was Gone

In this videoclip for ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS, the famed Japanese Butoh dancer KAZUO OHNO is resurrected via archival footage. Mr. OHNO, who appeared on the cover of ANTONY's 2009 album THE CRYING LIGHT, is given a fitting memorial here.

VCR by The xx

How rare is it that a new music video is actually worth watching?

One of my favorite new bands THE XX has released a stirring video to accompany one of their best songs, VCR. The clip was directed by MARCUS SÖDERLUND, and uses surprisingly sumptuous (mostly) black and white photography, and captures the spirit of the song and the young band better than anything I've seen from them yet.

Deep down, people want to do the right thing

Before HARMONY KORINE went back to challenging film audiences with his latest provocation TRASH HUMPERS, he quietly directed some television commercials for Liberty Mutual.

It's true! Here, Mr. KORINE proves that his strange beauty is possible in many forms of media, and his wide-eyed sense of everyday weirdness is not diluted, even in advertising.

Counter

The compilation of patterns or recurring tropes in video art has become something of a benchmark, not to say a cliche, and comes from the accessibility and mashability of past film and television clips. The current tendency of this type of work is usually pleasurable in two ways: the style and execution of a distinct concept, and then also in recognition by the viewer of the original sources. I would say, while the first is important, it is the second tendency which usually makes or breaks the effectiveness of the work.

This 2004 video, COUNTER by German artist VOLKER SCHREINER, is a good example of both tendencies.