Pipilotti Rist and Virtual Utopia

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Recommended: History of VR film

Within new media, there exists the desire and possibility to produce new effects upon the viewer, to grant new experiences. Pipilotti Rist seeks the creation of virtual utopias within the limitations of the video medium in installations such as her recent work at the Museum of Modern Art, Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters) in 2009. The work transforms the typically bare atrium of the Museum of Modern Art into an active environment, where a reciprocal relationship between the viewer and the projection can take place. Communication between viewers also forms an essential component in the work; discourse becomes the mediator in the spectator’s relationship to the imagery.

The formal characteristics of the work are crucial in their produced effect upon the audience. It is a four panel screen landscape, whose size of 7354 cubic meters is made referent in the title. Despite its monumental size, the work does not function as an oppressive weapon but rather a positive force, one that is able to free us from our inhibitions. Rist frequently experiments with the various ways in which video can be projected onto surfaces. Though she does not push the technical boundaries of the video medium medium, she nonetheless pushes the limits within video projection. Requiring seven different projectors to be linked seamlessly, her work is a technical achievement for this feat alone. A large circular couch occupies the center of the exhibition space. Its shape is meant to be reminiscent of the human iris, but also bring to mind the iris of the camera as well.

The camera is presented as a living eye in her work, capable of bending and twisting, contorting reality in its own light. It is at the same time a sensuous device, one that exp...

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...eing an artwork.

Works Cited

Bickers, Patricia. Caressing SPACE. Art Monthly no. 350 (October 2011): 1-4. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 28, 2012).

Harris, Jane. "Psychedelic, baby: an interview with Pipilotti Rist." Art Journal 59, no. 4 (December 15, 2000): 68-79. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 28, 2012).

Hayden, Malin Hedlin. "Pipilotti Rist. Gravity, Be My Friend." Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 77, no. 3 (January 2, 2008): 200-207. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed May 28, 2012).

Iles, Chrissie. You are a Queen: The Selfless Spaces of Pipilotti Rist. Pipilotti Rist:Eyeball Massage. Edited by Stephanie Rosenthal. London, UK: Hayward Publishing, 2011.

Rosenthal, Stephanie. Be My Friend!. Pipilotti Rist:Eyeball Massage. Edited by Stephanie Rosenthal. London, UK: Hayward Publishing, 2011.

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