The digital installation of my choice is one that I experienced myself. Ragnar Kjartansson : Song was held June 28, 2015- August 16, 2015 in Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
“The endless repetition of the lyrics, set to melancholic strumming on an acoustic guitar, resonates with the historic space of the Carnegie’s Hall of Sculpture. The ever-repeating chorus—a slightly misremembered phrase from Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Song”—and the three girls sitting on a plinth covered with royal blue satin transform the marbled hall into a conflated space wherein different ages and various participants are in dialogue: Ginsberg’s poem and its romantic declaration that accumulates the cathartic force of a prayer through repetition; the neoclassical plaster casts of the ancient sculptures looking down at the scenery as if watching an otherworldly spectacle; and the three nieces passively embodying both classical and contemporary ideals of beauty as if in a trance. Yet here, in the installation at the Cleveland Museum of Art where the gallery walls are draped in same the blue satin featured in the video, the viewer is spatially connected to Kjartansson’s resounding orchestration.” (from CMA website)
This six hour long video is not looped, but was filmed all at once to ensure viewers and listeners each have their own experience. A camera continuously circles around the three singing girls in an angelic manner. The film was projected on a large screen in a dark room surrounded by the blue satin in the video. The floor was covered in blue beanbag chairs for viewers to relax in while listening to one of the most beautiful songs ever heard. It was among the most relaxing things I have experienced.
It was far more than just watching a video. It was a surreal experience.
kate rossello 