twsherma@mailbox.syr.edu on Wed, 3 Aug 2005 09:35:34 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime-ann> [dvd] Tom Sherman's recent video |
The following recent video works by Tom Sherman are available for rental, purchase or preview via Vtape, 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 452, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5V 3A8. Tel) 416.351.1317 Fax) 416.351.1509 E-mail) distribution@vtape.org For further information contact Vtape, or the artist at: twsherma@syr.edu ----- Tom Sherman, LANDMARK PROM, 2003, 8 minutes I went to my daughter's high school prom in Syracuse, New York. I took my camcorder to document the proceedings. The African American kids were doing this elaborate red carpet affair, and their families and relatives were going crazy. These kids were dressed to kill. Hundreds of pictures were taken, and hours of video were recorded. The 21st century prom is a media spectacle extraordinaire, with stretch limos, top hats and canes. But for the girls, it's still all about the dress. ----- Tom Sherman, THE OFF-KILTER SERIES (Merger, 23/7, Addressable Memory, The Appearance of Voice, Talking to Nature), running time: 24 minutes. These video recordings remind us of how far the world has tumbled out of balance. Our relationship with nature is screwed up, big time. Our excessive use of languages and technologies continues to drive a wedge between us and the wild animals and plants. The animals are doing crazy things (1). We've made them act this way. As the world has been teased and pulled apart, it's now our responsibility to make things whole again. We face test after test, where the big picture is scrambled beyond recognition, and then we're asked to connect the dots, to fill in the blanks (2). If we turn to the media for answers, we find the people in highest places are lying through their teeth (3). Young men are dying for all the wrong reasons. Nature doesn't shed a tear, nor does it offer any solutions. The seasons bring their share of grief. The weather refuses to cooperate. A massive low pressure area is always cause for concern, especially when our loved ones are dropping like flies. The appearance of nature's voice offers little comfort (4). A young raven is perpetually hungry, and says it's so. We too are anxious to make contact. We look to nature for companionship. We try to talk to nature in nature's own language, to form new relationships with the animals and the plants and the earth between our toes. We take a wildflower for a walk across the road. We've tried all kinds of crazy things, but so far, nature hasn't talked back (5). 1. Merger (a pheasant who likes to run with automobiles), 2'23", 2003. 2. 23/7 (23 shots in seven minutes--the audience is responsible for continuity), 7', 2003. 3. Addressable Memory (Bush, in Cincinnati, lies to set up the invasion of Iraq--his speech is projected onto the landscape in Queens County, Nova Scotia), 6'20", 2004. 4. The Appearance of Voice (a raven gives voice to a depressed man), 4'57", 2004. 5. Talking to Nature (playing with a wildflower in hope of making contact with nature), 2'48", 2002. ----- Tom Sherman, THE OCTOBER TAPES (Before Letting Go, Declarations, Free Fall), 2004, running time: 18 minutes Tom Sherman's October Tapes (2004) were born in a period of religious extremisms, when violence and death were wholesale, and doctrines of deceit were being heaped on the masses of all continents. Sherman simply couldn't take it anymore. He sought shelter in the most beautiful things he could find (nature is so superficial when it has to be). In the end his relief was only temporary. He was pissed and he declared as much. There is real hostility in these declarations. The bottom line is we have only one kick at the can (after we die there is no heaven or hell or anywhere else). Sherman doesn't believe in gods or spirits or ghosts. Sherman does admit to finding joy in the sensuous physicality of small-town wrestling matches and carnival midways, and in the uncompromised, high-pitched innocence of high school rock bands just before they fold. The October Tapes are quite a ride. These tapes are painfully funny, extremely angry, and intoxicating in their spins through a strangely beautiful la _______________________________________________ nettime-ann mailing list nettime-ann@nettime.org http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-ann