This is my fourth (and best so far) proposal for exhibiting my year long video project “Monitor”.  This  version of the installation titled “Monitor Landscape” was submitted as part of  the “Land/Art” exhibition in New Mexico at the Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM.  I really would love this one to happen, but who knows if I even have a chance.  Anyway, below is the video hosted on YouTube, as well as a higher resolution link, and images of the proposal with the project description:

2 minute sample video from “Monitor” on YouTube:

YouTube - Direct Link 

You can also view a Hi-Res version of the video.

Here are the images for the proposal:

Here’s the actual project proposal description:

LAND ART Gallery Installation Proposal for David Hebb at Levy Gallery
My proposal is described in detail below, and has corresponding images and a floor plan.

“Monitor Landscape”

Summary: “Monitor Landscape” is based on a year-long video and photographic documentation of an environmental intervention project.  On October 17th, 2007, I placed a computer monitor in a field, and I proceeded to videotape and photograph the monitor several times a week for the duration of a year, ending on October 17th, 2008.  During that time, I performed a burning and minor excavation around the perimeter of the monitor, echoing its rectangular shape by manipulating perspective and point of view.  Over time, the excavation filled in with snow, rainwater, and eventually new growth, asserting the regenerative power of the cyclical seasons in nature over the destructive machinations of mankind.

Description: The installation will consist of a single channel digital video loop approximately 6 to 10 minutes in length (with sound) playing on a computer monitor (similar to the one shown in the installation) situated in the center of the floor (see floor plan below) on an equilateral trapezoid “carpet” of sod that is designed to match the the parallax view (as seen from straight on, standing height) of the excavation rectangle in the video and photographic images.  Additionally, the walls surrounding the monitor will be hung with 25 vertically hanging inkjet printed “banner scrolls”, each 13” wide by 96” in length with 10 images in vertical sequence (250  individual photographic images total).  The “banner scrolls” will be archival inkjet prints on canvas.  Principal photography and videography is complete, and photographic printing and video editing is currently in progress.

Artist’s Statement about this specific installation: I approach the landscape and technology with open-ended questions about time, site, archetypal structure, the entropy of nature, and the longing for meaning.  Viewers are prompted to consider their own individual complex relationship with both nature and technology.  This installation of both video and still images uses a variety of time frames, metaphor, and the contrast between personal interior space and global exterior environment to question the relationship between nature and the industrial infrastructure which supports our technological way of life.  The images of a discarded computer monitor in an “empty” field over the span of a year confront the viewer with their own place within the environment on a fundamental level, and how our sense of time and space are often limited and narrow.  The implied conclusion is that nature will outlast us, and ultimately surround our discarded attempts at technological perfection with the messy but loving embrace of flowers and greenery.  However, the implied question of our own mortality as a species remains unanswered.  The title of the installation, “Monitor Landscape” is seemingly straightforward, but also has a dual meaning.  The images are of an object called a “monitor” in a “landscape” , but I am also “monitoring the landscape” over the period of a year, for signs of distress, but also for signs of new life and regeneration.  The intended effect is to offer the viewer an open-ended look at the ramifications of a few simple actions over a long period of time, rather than simply offering a dialectic message about e-waste and the negative impact of technology on the environment.

Budget: This proposal requires very little support from the Levy Gallery, except for travel costs (approximately $1200) and possible assistance with photographic printing (approximately $3200).    A computer with monitor or video monitor and DVD player can be provided if the gallery does not have a spare, and the video file or DVD will be set to autoplay as a loop.

Images: The images below (above) show both composites of how 5 banners will look hanging in vertical columns next to each other, as well as some sample individual images from the banners.  The images are not complete, showing only banners 1-5, 11-15, and 21-25.  Individual images are chosen from banners not shown to give a more complete idea of the range of variations, rather than the cohesiveness of the whole.  All photographic images have only had minimal processing performed, and should only be considered “proofs” awaiting actual printing and further manipulation.  A floor plan is also included, following the photographic images.

Here’s a link to the PDF that has all of the above in low-res (minus the video).