»Der andere Beobachter« 
Light Box
Light Box
© Ruth Schnell; Video installation in public space
Video player, videotape, video projector, five-part projection screen, computer, rotary motor
In co-production with Kike García Roldan
Keywords
Information
Ruth Schnell >
»Der andere Beobachter«, 1991 - 1992
Co-Workers & Funding:
In co-production with Kike García Roldanhttps://ruthschnell.org/en/works/der-andere-beobachter/
Technology
Hardware
Video player, videotape, video projector, five-part projection screen, computer, rotary motorMaterial
Video player, videotape, video projector, five-part projection screen, computer, rotary motor, public space
Descriptions & Essays
Ruth Schnell 25-09-2021
Video installation in public space
By entering the installation room the viewers find themselves between several spatially-arranged projection surfaces displaying a video of a fragmented eye. They may try to find the optimal position to see the eye as a whole. However, the installation 'Der andere Beobachter' is constructed in such a way that this point of view is never reached. On the iris, electronically-processed film images flicker, showing extracts from Hitchcock films. The depth of field of the projection changes; individual projection parts become sharp or blurred.
In this conceptualization, conventional dispositives of image and sight alter and correlate with one another:
- The mode of looking at the panel, whereby the ideal position is not possible.
- The cinema apparatus is introduced, although the screen looks back, mirroring itself in the iris and allowing the projector to take over the function of the eye. The viewer/observer moves into the picture as a shadow and moves through the image space. Thus, they construct and deconstruct codes of visual perception.
Ruth Schnell: Der andere Beobachter, 25-09-2021, in: Archive of Digital Art Video installation in public space
By entering the installation room the viewers find themselves between several spatially-arranged projection surfaces displaying a video of a fragmented eye. They may try to find the optimal position to see the eye as a whole. However, the installation 'Der andere Beobachter' is constructed in such a way that this point of view is never reached. On the iris, electronically-processed film images flicker, showing extracts from Hitchcock films. The depth of field of the projection changes; individual projection parts become sharp or blurred.
In this conceptualization, conventional dispositives of image and sight alter and correlate with one another:
- The mode of looking at the panel, whereby the ideal position is not possible.
- The cinema apparatus is introduced, although the screen looks back, mirroring itself in the iris and allowing the projector to take over the function of the eye. The viewer/observer moves into the picture as a shadow and moves through the image space. Thus, they construct and deconstruct codes of visual perception.
Ruth Schnell 27-07-2021
"The fragmented video image and its constantly changing content become a metaphor for the constructedness of the visual process. The observer is referred to as the ever 'Other'. The artist and the 'activated' viewer, and finally — in the constructed reality of the 'cinematic' happening — the fragmented eye can be found here in the role of observers of different levels of perception."
-Ruth Schnell, quoting Johanna Hofleitner in "Das Sehen re-konstruieren [re-constructing vision]"
Ruth Schnell: Der andere Beobachter, 27-07-2021, in: Archive of Digital Art "The fragmented video image and its constantly changing content become a metaphor for the constructedness of the visual process. The observer is referred to as the ever 'Other'. The artist and the 'activated' viewer, and finally — in the constructed reality of the 'cinematic' happening — the fragmented eye can be found here in the role of observers of different levels of perception."
-Ruth Schnell, quoting Johanna Hofleitner in "Das Sehen re-konstruieren [re-constructing vision]"
Literature
Schnell, Ruth. »In/different Spaces. Vortrag, 1999 im Rahmen des Projektes Differenz am Institut für Kunstgeschichte der Universität Innsbruck gehalten..« Publiziert in: Institut für Kunstgeschichte der Universität Innsbruck (Hg.): Differenz, Innsbruck 1999.
Hofleitner, Johanna. »Das Sehen re-konstruieren.« EIKON - Internationale Zeitschrift für Photographie & Medienkunst 24 (1998).
Schnell, Ruth. »On the occasion of La Biennale di Venezia 1995.« In On the occasion of La Biennale di Venezia 1995, edited by Ruth Schnell. Vienna: 1995.
Weibel, Peter. »The Media Pavillon. Art and Architecture in the Age of Cyberspace..« In Art and Architecture in the Age of Cyberspace., edited by Peter Weibel. Vienna: Biennale di Venezia, 1995.
Exhibitions & Events