We would like to propose a situation in which we would place a landscape of a proposed city surrounding area under video surveillance.
We are MA’s of Departments of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Arts, Belgrade. We live in Belgrade, Serbia and although in diverse individual artistic ventures in group and solo exhibitions, we have been working on joint projects for the last five years under name diSTRUKTURA (www.distruktura.com ). In our efforts for the past five years we are trying to build on an extended view of Nature - as sublime, pseudo, or synthetic nature in urban constellations - aiming to define the various relationships, both real and virtual, that create the realities of modern-day life in which art has the significant function of pointing to and defining, without any utilitarian means, the evolving drama around us.
Using different art forms such as installation, painting, drawing, video and photography, together with historical and cultural contexts embedded in our work, we’re allowing the recipient to become aware of the time in which he lives, but also his historical and cultural heritage.
Our explorations start by appropriating a whole repertoire of poetic gestures taken from the tradition of the romantic landscape painting, primarily the works of Caspar Friedrich David that thematize the figure and the position of the spectator in the landscape itself offering new meanings such as human comprehension of nature and a relation between a man and environment. Namely, contemplation of our surrounding, which became the very essence of our work, such in Face to Face project that literally replicates this romanticized topography of the spectator who is directly confronted with the sublime and amazing scenes of a post- industrial landscape and is, in fact, an example of a new Social and Mental Ecology. By acting on this and calling for others to participate in our representations of Nature and landscape, we are once again attempting to point out to and re-establish the torn bonds between humans and Nature.
History has repeatedly documented Man’s attempt to return to Nature and reinvent the bonds that were torn, particularly in times of rapid technological progress when the initial euphoria diverges and transforms into a set of its opposing feelings. Today, it is no different and the 21st century, after the industrial and technological revolution, brings a new digital revolution and an information boom that results in perhaps the greatest alienation of Man, both from Nature and from one another. This might be the reason why landscape, as a genre, is attracting renewed interest lately. Another might be that we can no longer take nature for granted. Whether it’s used as a symbol of power, status, escape, or as a space for dreaming and contemplation, we must ask ourselves if we should approach it with alert and more conscious attitude.
Furthermore, we care not only whether our surrounding landscape is observed but also HOW it is observed. How do we perceive our surrounding? Our perception is mostly shaped by technological achievements resulting in indirect (oblique) contemplation and digitalization of the landscape. In search of a new metaphors that reflect the complexities of biological, technical and the social being we intent to use our perceptual habits to form a new, modern and wider idea of Nature. In this new view of Nature which reflects on actual moment and modern day life, I see the possibility of a new (self)consciousness towards environment.
Therefore we would like to propose a situation in which we would place a landscape of a proposed city surrounding area under video surveillance. Through high-speed internet connection these footages of natural, unurban landscapes would be transferred and played live inside the city, within a public (urban) space. The footage would be placed in a specially prepared observation house where visitors could observe the landscape, contemplating it from the far. Nature will become object of our isolated contemplation inviting the observer to join that contemplation.
In this case surveillance cameras are used in order to separate and emphasize certain space, a landscape which is brought inside the urban space. In terms of contemporary consumer society, qualitative content of the place itself is being changed since it’s becoming a place of increased attention, doubling its content in the city public space at the same time.
On the other hand, by activating the techniques of control and forms of video surveillance we’re wondering if we could use such policing instrument as a work tool to track the changes in our environment. And if so, how long it takes for the changes in our environment to change the way we think?
Example 1-b Observation house could be multiplied and reduced to human size as depicted in example 1- a and 1-b. Otherwise, we could limit this to one life size observation house as depicted in example 2- a,b,c. In both cases they are equipped with flat screens inside emitting live image of a nearby landscape. The visitor could enter and in a very intimate space of this tower could contemplate the scenery in front of him. Observation towers are made of wood, resembling the one we could easily come across in countryside.
Surveillance cameras would be placed somewhere on the very outskirts of a city directed towards a sublime landscape but where we could still meet technical possibilities to mount these cameras and connect them to internet. Depending on technical capabilities we could decide whether we will limit ourselves to one view or several in different positions.
Material needed for this project: -Surveillance cameras for outdoor color screening (1-4 pieces) - Construction elements for camera(s) - Necessary equipment which collects video signal from camera(s) and sends it with fast wireless internet connection to observation tower (computer, ruter). - computer- internet signal receiver which puts image on the screen(s) - processed wood and all carpenter’s tool and material for building observation tower(s) - Flat screen (monitor) min 63 inch (1-4 pieces) Beside this we would need an assistance of a carpenter team and electrician team who are familiar with surveillance cameras and internet connections.
We would like to propose a situation in which we would place a landscape of a proposed city surrounding area under video surveillance.
We are MA’s of Departments of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Arts, Belgrade. We live in Belgrade, Serbia and although in diverse individual artistic ventures in group and solo exhibitions, we have been working on joint projects for the last five years under name diSTRUKTURA (www.distruktura.com ). In our efforts for the past five years we are trying to build on an extended view of Nature - as sublime, pseudo, or synthetic nature in urban constellations - aiming to define the various relationships, both real and virtual, that create the realities of modern-day life in which art has the significant function of pointing to and defining, without any utilitarian means, the evolving drama around us.
Using different art forms such as installation, painting, drawing, video and photography, together with historical and cultural contexts embedded in our work, we’re allowing the recipient to become aware of the time in which he lives, but also his historical and cultural heritage.
Our explorations start by appropriating a whole repertoire of poetic gestures taken from the tradition of the romantic landscape painting, primarily the works of Caspar Friedrich David that thematize the figure and the position of the spectator in the landscape itself offering new meanings such as human comprehension of nature and a relation between a man and environment. Namely, contemplation of our surrounding, which became the very essence of our work, such in Face to Face project that literally replicates this romanticized topography of the spectator who is directly confronted with the sublime and amazing scenes of a post- industrial landscape and is, in fact, an example of a new Social and Mental Ecology. By acting on this and calling for others to participate in our representations of Nature and landscape, we are once again attempting to point out to and re-establish the torn bonds between humans and Nature.
History has repeatedly documented Man’s attempt to return to Nature and reinvent the bonds that were torn, particularly in times of rapid technological progress when the initial euphoria diverges and transforms into a set of its opposing feelings. Today, it is no different and the 21st century, after the industrial and technological revolution, brings a new digital revolution and an information boom that results in perhaps the greatest alienation of Man, both from Nature and from one another. This might be the reason why landscape, as a genre, is attracting renewed interest lately. Another might be that we can no longer take nature for granted. Whether it’s used as a symbol of power, status, escape, or as a space for dreaming and contemplation, we must ask ourselves if we should approach it with alert and more conscious attitude.
Furthermore, we care not only whether our surrounding landscape is observed but also HOW it is observed. How do we perceive our surrounding? Our perception is mostly shaped by technological achievements resulting in indirect (oblique) contemplation and digitalization of the landscape. In search of a new metaphors that reflect the complexities of biological, technical and the social being we intent to use our perceptual habits to form a new, modern and wider idea of Nature. In this new view of Nature which reflects on actual moment and modern day life, I see the possibility of a new (self)consciousness towards environment.
Therefore we would like to propose a situation in which we would place a landscape of a proposed city surrounding area under video surveillance. Through high-speed internet connection these footages of natural, unurban landscapes would be transferred and played live inside the city, within a public (urban) space. The footage would be placed in a specially prepared observation house where visitors could observe the landscape, contemplating it from the far. Nature will become object of our isolated contemplation inviting the observer to join that contemplation.
In this case surveillance cameras are used in order to separate and emphasize certain space, a landscape which is brought inside the urban space. In terms of contemporary consumer society, qualitative content of the place itself is being changed since it’s becoming a place of increased attention, doubling its content in the city public space at the same time.
On the other hand, by activating the techniques of control and forms of video surveillance we’re wondering if we could use such policing instrument as a work tool to track the changes in our environment. And if so, how long it takes for the changes in our environment to change the way we think?
Example 1-b Observation house could be multiplied and reduced to human size as depicted in example 1- a and 1-b. Otherwise, we could limit this to one life size observation house as depicted in example 2- a,b,c. In both cases they are equipped with flat screens inside emitting live image of a nearby landscape. The visitor could enter and in a very intimate space of this tower could contemplate the scenery in front of him. Observation towers are made of wood, resembling the one we could easily come across in countryside.
Surveillance cameras would be placed somewhere on the very outskirts of a city directed towards a sublime landscape but where we could still meet technical possibilities to mount these cameras and connect them to internet. Depending on technical capabilities we could decide whether we will limit ourselves to one view or several in different positions.
Material needed for this project: -Surveillance cameras for outdoor color screening (1-4 pieces) - Construction elements for camera(s) - Necessary equipment which collects video signal from camera(s) and sends it with fast wireless internet connection to observation tower (computer, ruter). - computer- internet signal receiver which puts image on the screen(s) - processed wood and all carpenter’s tool and material for building observation tower(s) - Flat screen (monitor) min 63 inch (1-4 pieces) Beside this we would need an assistance of a carpenter team and electrician team who are familiar with surveillance cameras and internet connections.