Thursday, March 29, 2012

Voyeur

by Robert Boyd

The Kenmore is Emily Sloan's micro-artspace--a tiny dorm refrigerator which has, by now, hosted any number of art projects in various media. But none of the artists have transformed the fridge as much as David McClain. For his untitled video installation, he drilled a hole in the front of the the refrigerator and painted the exterior matt black. The intent was to make it look a little like a peep show. (But just a little--the velvet ropes add a different dimension to it). To see the video, the viewer had to walk up, bend over, and peer through the hole.

peepshow
David McClain, untitled, refrigerator, paint, video, velvet ropes, 2012

The piece was set up at Skydive for their latest opening. It was tough to see the video inside, which amusingly shared space with typical refrigerator items, like a can of beer. The video itself consisted of three pieces--apparently real vintage porn starring Sylvester Stallone and (allegedly) Marilyn Monroe, and a recreation of the infamous video of ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews naked in her hotel room. (Andrews was videotaped through a hotel peephole by stalker Michael David Barrett in 2008. The video was posted online and went viral. I suppose I could look online and find a copy of this video, but, y'know, yuck.) The recreation of the Andrews video was performed by an acquaintance of McClain's. It's not actually all that erotic--10 minutes of "Andrews" checking out her butt. I'm told it is an accurate recreation of the actual video. One could conclude from it that Andrews, a preternaturally beautiful woman like so many women newscasters, is extremely concerned about locating any possible flaw to her looks, which could be key to her success on television. It's unlike the other videos in the sense that whatever eroticism it comes from its perverse origin. But the recreated video is not like that--as a recreation, it has a deliberate erotic intent.

My problem with this is that I didn't recognize any of the videos being shown. They seemed like generic (if old) porno. So the issues of celebrity and voyeurism were lost on me. Instead, I saw it as an amusing combining of two animal instincts--food (the refrigerator and its contents) and sex. On that level, it was quite interesting.

Also interesting was the way it transformed a private, possibly shameful act--watching pornography--into a public act. In order to view the art, the viewer had to walk between two velvet ropes and bend down in front of the TV. There was no hiding what you were doing. You yourself became the object of other people's looks. You viewed the video and became the spectacle. In this way, it is a bit like Emily Moran Barwick's piece, Philanthropic Performance, which I wrote about last year.

I don't know when or where this piece will be set up again. Maybe it was a one-night only event. But it was so amusing that I hope it gets a second life.



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1 comment:

  1. Thanks for writing!

    McClain's show may be seen at SKYDIVE Art Space, 2041 Norfolk, on Saturdays from 1-5pm through April 28 or by appointment. For an appointment, please call: 713-582-1198.

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