the Burden Identity

yesterday i visited the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) at USF; the show which closes in a few days is Broadcast, an introspective on the nature of artist utilization of the old mass media. how did the one to many model shape us? what strategies did artists use to circumvent the gauntlet of FCC, advertisers, and affiliates? there were many excellent projects that create interesting documentaries of the beginning of the McLuhan global village against staid nationalistic perspectives. Other projects portent the fragmentation of old media central command by introducing methodologies that deliver the means of production to anyone crazy enough to use them such as a pirate radio station set up in the gallery and live so that the public may sit down and use the equipment at will. Or TVTV/Top Value Television's projects where the artists develop their own network to engage the methods and gain access to the leadership of the world.

another formative piece in culture jamming/DIY culture is a reel of 4 Chris Burden videos known as Four TV Commercials, 1973-77/2000. the compilation of work was originally developed and aired on Los Angeles and New York market broadcast stations in the 70's. the collection includes: T.V. Ad: Through the night softly, Poem for L.A., Chris Burden Promo,and Full Financial Disclosure. The video which has been relatively left in it's native quality of the time was shown through a 20 inch CRT. abundant amounts of the video interlacing, static graphics, and low resolution reflected a distinct aesthetic experience of the pieces, even though i fully believe the intent of the artist was indictment of the market system, advertisement, and mass media. nostalgia and a creepy feeling about high definition and 3d which has been growing within my psyche recently, reinforced the attention i paid these seminal pieces. crumbweb has a copy of the statements on the reel, here.