Kerry Tribe
2009 Double projection of a single 16mm film, color, sound, 18:30 min, Dimension Variable; Los Angeles
“H.M.,” a patient who underwent experimental surgery in the 1950s as a cure for epilepsy. After the treatment, which involved the removal of part of his brain, H.M. suffered from severe amnesia, with his short-term memory restricted to events of the prior twenty seconds.
I had never been to the Whitney before so when I knew we were going there I was excited because it was something new for me. I don’t know much about new media artists and this class at times is really hard for me because I’m not sure I grasp the concept fully always.. Going into the museum I was not sure what to expect or what I was really looking for so I just went in with an open mind and knew that what I was going to write about on this blog would just grab my attention and pick me.
I really like a lot of the new media pieces that I saw, one that stood out in particular was the piece where the two young boys were on the floor in what seemed to be one of their bedrooms and they were playing the bass and guitar pedals. Even though at a point the sound was so high it became unbearable to stand in the room and listen to it, I did find it interesting in making music using those pedals. I also liked that it was two young kids playing the pedals because it reminded me of the days when I was in high school and we would go see the local bands play and how into the “punk scene” I was.
One piece that really stood out to me was the piece by Kelly Tribe, not sure of the title, but it was a video where a woman was interviewing a old man who had I think been losing his memory. I remember the thing that first caught my attention was the projectors that she used to project the film. They seemed very old looking and almost vintage and that was intriguing to me. Then I saw the old man and just hearing the voices of the two people drew me in. I walked in and actual sat down and watched the video for some time. This was the first time that I didn’t just pass through, I actually stopped and stayed to watch this. As the old man talked it was almost heartbreaking because you could tell in his face that he was very confused at times and as he talked he would kind of forget where he was or what he was saying.
The interesting thing was that Tribe used two screens that projected two different scenes or it would project the old man and the other would have the woman talking. I found that to be very interesting because in the room it was just the two screens nothing else and I feel that the use of the two screens really pulled the viewer in to not only pay attention to the man but the other things going on in the other screen. The part of the video that really stuck out to me was where the woman said that even though the old man was losing his memory he was really good at doing crossword puzzles and when she asked the old man about how good he was at doing crossword puzzles you saw the confusion leave his face and his eyes brighten up with joy like he was proud that even though he forgot things he could do a crossword puzzle with no problem. That part really pulled me in and touched me. It was like even with all the bad that happens to a person and with all the sadness there still is that glimpse of hope or still that joy in waking up every day.
I really enjoyed the Whitney Biennial, it was definitely different then anything I have ever seen before. After we left the Whitney we went to eat and then stopped two other museums before visiting the MOMA.
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