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NavigatingViewers: Montage,SpaceandMetaͲ ArtinNewMediaVideo Installation AtanasDjonov AthesissubmittedtotheUniversityofNewSouthWales infulfilmentoftherequirementforthedegreeof DoctorofPhilosophy SchoolofMediaArts,CollegeofFineArts TheUniversityofNewSouthWales Australia 2012 ORIGINALITYSTATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed: Date: 1 April 2011 ii Abstract A significant challenge for new media installation art is how to avoid overwhelming the audience with multiple modes, media, genres and interaction options that lack meaningful organisation and how to encourage critical engagement with social issues, with other audience members and with new media installation art itself. This project addresses these questions by extending to new media installation art montage as a principle for making meaning developed by the 1920s constructivist Soviet film directors Kuleshov, Einsenstein and Vertov and meta-art as art that draws critical attention to itself. This is achieved through Compass II, a new media installation art work, and through this thesis. Compass II (2003–2010) is an interactive multi-channel new media video installation and has a database comprising nine stand-alone video works and segments from various stages in each work’s development. It shows two distinct geographic and socio-cultural environments – Australia and Bulgaria – and uses revolutionary/propaganda and traditional/folk songs. Compass II employs montage to create meta-art at all its levels of organisation (cinematic, installation and new media) and provides different opportunities for audience engagement with and within the art work, from passive to active observation, involuntary participation, and intentional navigation. It thus seeks to encourage the audience to reflect on the concept behind, construction of and assumptions built into the art work and on the issue of art’s potential to stimulate social engagement which the work seeks to raise. This thesis develops a set of categories for describing physical and represented space in the cinematic, installation and new media organisation of a new media video installation, which incorporate insights from film and new media studies, semiotics, architecture and philosophy. Using these categories, it demonstrates that montage can be employed beyond film to create meta-art. This is achieved through examples from the work of a range of film, installation and new media artists and the analysis of Compass II’s ability to encourage critical reflection on the issue of social engagement and on itself as an interactive new media video installation. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to John Gillies for supervising me patiently during the years, through all the ups and downs of this project. His insightful knowledge in the arts and history, experience as an artist across the fields of moving image, performance, photography, installation, sound and music, and invaluable guidance have been a great inspiration and provided vital navigation towards the completion of this thesis. I would also like to thank Allan Giddy for his technical advice and professional help throughout the stages of my art practice and every exhibition of Compass II, as well as for his friendship. Tara Cook’s software expertise and last minute Isadora first aid during exhibitions of Compass II are also greatly appreciated. Thank you also to the following staff at College of Fine Arts and UNSW for their academic and administrative support: Michele Barker, Jill Bennett, Penelope Benton, Adrian Davies, Su Goldfish, Simon Hunt, Volker Kuchelmeister, Mark Mitchell, Anna Munster and Martin Sims. Mark D’Astoli and his A Cappella Choir Nothing Without Belinda have brought life and warmth to several presentations of Dawn and Pole Shiroko through their brilliant arrangements and performances of the songs More Sokol Pie and Pole Shiroko and their contagious enthusiasm, generosity and community spirit. This thesis would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my family and friends. Emilia has been a great inspiration and support, and provided critical assistance during this project, especially in the final stages by editing the thesis. A huge thank-you to my family in Bulgaria and in Australia for their timeless and unconditional support, to Veronika for proofreading the entire final copy of the thesis, and to Tony for helping me set up the exhibitions of Compass II, for his friendship and high spirits. iv Special thanks also go out to many of my friends, who have helped me in more ways than I can fit on this page: Benjamin Cole, Lochie Beh, Louise Curham, Bec Dean, Carmen Esplandiu, Debora Freifeld, George Hristov, Hristo Hristov, Peter Humble, Geeta Jatania, Yorgo Kaporis, Gerard Kleist, Sandra Landolt, David Mackenzie Jr and David Mackenzie Sr, Sam Manning, Eva Muller, Lena Obergfell, Sebastian O’Reilly, Peter Shaw and Jamil Yamani. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my son Ollen who has given me a real time frame for this project by impatiently reminding me to finish it. v ContentsofAttachedDVDs DVD1:CompassII,2003–2010 EXHIBITION2009 18min58sec EXHIBITION2010 11min20sec VIDEOWORKS TransitionalTheme Dawn(2005–2006) 3min23sec PoleShiroko(2005) 3min17sec AquaticTheme Apart(2009) 3min49sec Arrival(2007) 4min19sec DemographicTheme PostcardfromAustralia(2005–2006) 2min14sec ElPueblo(2007) 3min43sec WalkingTogether(2007) 2min30sec TerrestrialTheme Advance(2005–2006) 2min14sec Departure(2009) 2min25sec vi DVD2:CompassII,2003–2010,ThemesandStages TRANSITIONALTHEME Stage1 3’23” Layer1 0’00”–2’09” Layer2 2’09”–3’23” Stage2 3’23” Layer1 0’00”–1’22” Layer2 1’22”–3’23” Stage3 2’28” Layer1 0’00”–2’00” Layer2 2’00”–2’28” Stage4 3’17” Layer1 0’00”–2’14” Layer2 2’14–3’17” AQUATICTHEME Stage1 3’42” Layer1 0’00”–1’53” Layer2 1’53”–3’42” Stage2 7’45” Stage3 4’18” Layer1 0’00”–1’49” Layer2 1’49”–4’18” Stage4 5’34” Layer1 0’00”–1’06” Layer2 1’06–5’34” DEMOGRAPHICTHEME Stage1 2’21” Stage2 7’12” Layer1 0’00”–4’51” Layer2 4’51”–7’12” Stage3 5’57” Layer1 0’00”–3’43” Layer2 3’43”–5’57” Stage4 3’57” Layer1 0’00”–1’11” Layer2 1’11–3’57” TERRESTRIALTHEME Stage1 3’36” Layer1 0’00”–1’48” Layer2 1’48”–3’36” Stage2 3’19” Stage3 1’48” Layer1 0’00”–0’55” Layer2 0’55”–1’48” Stage4 4’00” Layer1 0’00”–1’26” Layer2 1’26–4’00” vii DVD3:AdditionalArtWorks2002–2010 VIDEOWORKS Aurora(2004–2006) 1’52” Block!(2009) 2’19” Takeoff(2009) 0’45” Waiting(2009) 0’57” Wave(2005) 2’52” INSTALLATIONWORKS CrossͲsection(2009) 1’55” PostcardfromAustralia(2005–2006) 1’22” TerrotateII(2009) 1’05” Compass(2002) 1’57 PERFORMANCEWORKS PoleShiroko–ACappellaChoirRehearsal(2006) 3’45” TerrotateI(2006) 22’12” ANIMATIONWORKS Escape(2004–2005) 3’45” GoogleMontage(2005) 1’25” KeyholeHome(2002) 0’35” Renaissance(2005) 0’23” PA(2005) 0’36” viii TableofContents ORIGINALITYSTATEMENT...................................................................................................................II ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................................IV CONTENTSOFATTACHEDDVDS.........................................................................................................VI DVD1:COMPASSII,2003–2010.............................................................................................VI DVD2:COMPASSII,2003–2010,THEMESANDSTAGES.........................................................VII DVD3:ADDITIONALARTWORKS2002–2010.......................................................................VIII TABLEOFCONTENTS..........................................................................................................................IX LISTOFFIGURES..............................................................................................................................XIII LISTOFPLATES................................................................................................................................XIV LISTOFTABLES.................................................................................................................................XV CHAPTER1ORIENTATION...................................................................................................................1 1.1MOTIVATIONANDRATIONALE...................................................................................................................2 1.2CONTEXT:NEWMEDIAINSTALLATIONART...................................................................................................4 1.2.1Defininginstallationart.............................................................................................................4
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