Lincoln Schatz, The Network

The Network is a collection of portrait videos of highly influential individuals from Washington DC. Schatz created these videos by interviewing each individual for 45 minutes. While interviewing them a number of cameras were set up around the individual capturing them from various angles and distances.
What resulted from these interviews is a beautiful minimalist documentation of sight and sound. In these portrait videos I feel that Schatz has brought the view of a traditional portrait to a multiple level of experience. The video contains a layering of videos of the individual. Each layer contrasting in its style of projection from slow motion close ups in black and white to real time, voice matching video.

Schatz work has influenced my interest in the overlapping of imagery and time and how this affects the viewing of a piece. Does help to understand time and sequence in a confined space or frame? Or does it create more complexity for the viewer of the image/piece. Are there advantages in seeing the one subject from multiple angels at the same time?

I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Cubist portraits of Picasso’s as I was viewing the collection and writing my thoughts.

Could it be possible to take the idea of multiple angles or multiple time frames and combine them to create one piece. A static piece of illustration which although static in its physical form expresses movement and extended time in the one image?

LincolnSchatz (2014) The Network Portrait Available at: http://thenetworkportrait.com/category/participants/ Accessed (02/01/2014)

In a piece I previously created (above) I looked at the possibility of mulitple angles and overlapping imagery of the same subject. After viewing the video art of Schatz I have considered reworking the composition of these layers in future works. I have also been influenced by the medium of video art. It is a very new medium to me but one I would like to use as a possible form of investigative and preparatory work for my art.