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The Anticipated Image: Affect and Time in the News

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The Anticipated Image: Affect and Time in the News The Anticipated Image: Affect and Time in the News Chris Ross Master of Fine Arts Art & Design | University of New South Wales April 2016 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: Ross First name: Christopher Other name/s: James Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: MFA School: School of Art Faculty: Art & Design Title: The Anticipated Image: Affect and Time in the News Abstract 350 words maximum: The news media spotlights events and concerns of the world, affording a privileged and yet passive vantage point from which to remotely observe the suffering of others. This raises manifold questions—social, ethical and political—broached by the field of 'media witnessing' in media studies discourse. The aim of this practice- led research is to engage media witnessing in live television news and photojournalism, in terms of the sense-affective dimension of media, so as to elaborate the relationship between the news and the affective politics of crisis and catastrophe. In, Latent Images and Monochromes, the affective capacity of resolution is explored, temporally and spatially, in the latencies of satellite television transmission, and the JPEG compression algorithm, respectively. Jill Bennett's 'practical aesthetics' and Hito Steyerl's 'documentary uncertainty' provide the foundation for a conceptual framework that engages the documentary mode in terms of affect and visibility. Bennett provides a contemporary aesthetics inflected by media and affect theory, which focuses on real-world events. Similarly, Steyerl argues that affect has displaced representation in contemporary aesthetics and politics. She states that affective and aesthetic processes are now the primary means through which the public are addressed, as typified by the U.S Department of Homeland Security's terror threat level chart. In theory and practice, Steyerl's 'abstract documentarism' provides an approach to the documentary that enlists the techniques and language of abstraction, such as the monochrome, to critique conditions of visibility and affective politics. The studio practice is further contextualised by the post-production video work of Alfredo Jaar, Omer Fast, and other documentarist art practices. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……………… ……….……………………...…….… Signature Witness Signature Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: Statements ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘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.’ COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ i Abstract The news media spotlights events and concerns of the world, affording a privileged and yet passive vantage point from which to remotely observe the suffering of others. This raises manifold questions—social, ethical and political—broached by the field of 'media witnessing' in media studies discourse. The aim of this practice-led research is to engage media witnessing in live television news and photojournalism, in terms of the sense-affective dimension of media, so as to elaborate the relationship between the news and the affective politics of crisis and catastrophe. In, Latent Images and Monochromes, the affective capacity of resolution is explored, temporally and spatially, in the latencies of satellite television transmission, and the JPEG compression algorithm, respectively. Jill Bennett's 'practical aesthetics' and Hito Steyerl's 'documentary uncertainty' provide the foundation for a conceptual framework that engages the documentary mode in terms of affect and visibility. Bennett provides a contemporary aesthetics inflected by media and affect theory, which focuses on real-world events. Similarly, Steyerl argues that affect has displaced representation in contemporary aesthetics and politics. She states that affective and aesthetic processes are now the primary means through which the public are addressed, as typified by the U.S Department of Homeland Security's terror threat level chart. In theory and practice, Steyerl's 'abstract documentarism' provides an approach to the documentary that enlists the techniques and language of abstraction, such as the monochrome, to critique conditions of visibility and affective politics. The studio practice is further contextualised by the post-production video work of Alfredo Jaar, Omer Fast, and other documentarist art practices. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Tim Gregory for his constructive and patient engagement with my research. I would also like to acknowledge those that have provided vital feedback, skills or knowledge during my candidature, including Gillian Lavery, Dr. Clare Milledge, Dr. Rochelle Haley, Dr. Lindsay Kelley, Dr. Astrid Lorange, Simon Hunt, David Eastwood, Virginia Mawer and Miguel Valenzuela. Thank you to my fellow research students for your support and advice, particularly Show & Tell participants, and the members of Owlstrike. Last, but not least, thank you to Jessica Bradford for your unwavering support. ii Table of Contents Statements i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of Contents iv Table of Figures v Introduction 1 News Time: Latent Images 7 Affect 11 Post-production 13 Latent Images 16 Documentary Images: Monochromes 21 Screen Burn 29 Monochromes 33 News Events: Possible Objects 38 Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 39 Event Time 42 Exhibitions as Affective spaces 45 Conclusion 50 Appendix 52 References 54 iv Table of Figures Figure 1. Omer Fast, CNN Concatenated (still), 2002. Video (colour and sound), 18:17 min., loop. Accessed March 26, 2015. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/fast- cnn-concatenated-t13707 Figure 2. Chris Ross, Latent Images, 2015. 6-channel video (colour) installation, 2:15 min., loop. Figure 3. Chris Ross, Latent Images, 2015, 6-channel video (colour and sound) installation, 2:15 min., loop. 32" LCD screens. Figure 4. Hito Steyerl, Red Alert, 2007. Triptych, 3 films each on 30” cinema flat screen, 3 mac mini’s mounting system, connecting hardware, 00:00:00, loop. Accessed December 14, 2015. http://www.ima.org.au/media-imaginary-accord-2/ Figure 5. Alfredo Jaar, May 1, 2011 (installation view), 2011. 2 LCD monitors and 2 C- prints, 74.17 x 497.8 cm. Accessed September 14, 2014. http://www.e- flux.com/journal/there%E2%80%99s-nothing-to-see-here-erasing-the- monochrome/ Figure 6. Alfredo Jaar, Lament of the Images (installation view), 2002. Three illuminated texts mounted on Plexiglas, light screen. Text panels: Each 23 x 20 inches. Light wall: 6 x 12 feet. Text composed by David Levi-Strauss. Accessed September 14, 2014. http://www.alfredojaar.net Figure 7. Ignas Krunglevičius, Interrogation, 2009. Video installation (colour and sound), 13 min. Accessed December 23, 2015. http://krunglevicius.com/2/interrogation/ Figure 8. Tivon Rice, Ghosts (series), 2012. Digital image. Accessed June 5, 2015. http://www.tivonrice.com/Tivon_Rice/Projects/Pages/Ghosts.html Figure 9. Cory Arcangel, HITACHI P42H01U Plasma Burn, 2007. HITACHI P42H01 and DVD player. Accessed June 5, 2015. http://www.coryarcangel.com/things-i-made/2007- 033-hitachi-p42h01u-plasma-burn Figure 10. Chris Ross, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, 2015. Heat press print onto cine foil, 30 x 22cm. Figure 11. Chris Ross, Typhoon Haiyan Hits Philippines (Monochrome series), 2015.
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