The media sensation that arose out of the Jonbenet Ramsey murder case in 1996, fascinated people across America. The film, Casting Jonbenet, directed by Kitty Greene is an experimental film in my estimation because of its unique structure. As the title suggests, this film is a heavily stylized quasi-documentary. It follows a dozen or so local actors in Boulder, Colorado that are auditioning for roles to play members of the Ramsey family in an unnamed fiction movie about the unsolved killing of the 6 year old beauty pageant queen. The 80 minute film is a combination of them performing their screen tests, their commentary and theories about what really happened to Jonbenet, and them sharing deeply personal stories about how they relate to the “characters”.  By removing the real figures of this case, and focusing on the actors, Greene is able to get to a raw and human place that exposes why tragedy porn continues to fascinate the public, and garner national attention. The actors also provide a unique insight, because part of their job is to get into the mind of their character. One man speaks about finding a dead body, and how that would play into his performance as John. One woman speaks about yelling at her child after bedwetting. Another actress admits to being abused as a child. What becomes clear is that the reason people are so obsessed with the mystery of Jonbenet Ramsey is a combination of the draw of the unsolvable and the fact that they can relate to some part of it. It is fascinating to watch the actors project their own traumas and insecurities on people they’ve only known through the lens of a tabloid spectacle.  It is deeply unsettling from start to finish.

Towards the end the film it gets very meta. The camera pans out so we see all the actors on the soundstage acting out their particular bits at the same time, as if running through each possible theory of what could have happened. It unifies all the infinite possible explanations, as each one seems to represent what might have happened in different parallel dimensions as a camera tracks across the scene while another camera captures it all from still farther back. This multilayered piece brings up questions about child exploitation, crime and punishment, law and order, guilt, and what it means to be an actor.

During our class trip to the Whitney Museum of American Art my favorite piece was a 3D video art installation entitled  The Flavor Genome. It runs for 22 minutes in a black box space and provides comfortable, plush seating. Some audience members sat upright others lied down. I found that while lying down I was able to deeply feel the reverberation of the bass in that was incorporated into the music of the piece.The music used was current and electronic. I found this refreshing, and I love when a piece of art can reflect back our present reality. This physical sensation was one of my favorite parts of this piece. The story of the film follows a “flavor chemist” on a  trip through the Amazon, where she narrates and confronts her fascination and anxiety around the ideas of chemical and genetic engineering and biotechnology. This film was gorgeously shot, but the 3D elements did not add much to the experience overall, but helped to add a futuristic feeling, making the artificial world in front of the screen seem as if I could one day be a reality.This piece had a high production value and it paid off, the cinematography was sharp and clean, and so was the editing. The luxe quality seemed ironic given that so much of the piece was a critique of global consumerism.

The meticulous construction and attention to detail of each scene reminded me of the Netflix show Chef’s Table .  The lushness of the Amazon added a certain aesthetic, or shall I say, flavor, that emphasized color and texture.The imagery of this piece was consistently striking, and stayed with me after it ended. The scene of acrylic pink Chanel nails next to a squid head for example, seemed to implant itself in my mind. One of the central themes confronted was the idea of artificiality versus reality and where we draw the line between the two in a world that is increasingly contrived. Everything from our words, foods, and lifestyles have become so hybridized and manipulated that it makes it seem as if nothing is truly real.

.

Shabby but Thriving by A.K. Burns is a 36 minute video instillation at the New Museum. It features two projectors, two overlapping screens, and the viewing area is furnished with a stripped and gutted couch that has a blue under glow, and foldable stools. The intentionally dingy floor was also smattered with spilling bags of dirt, and white and neon yellow fishing lines extended from hand ornamentation on the walls. The two screens were set up in such a way that at times only one would be in use, sometimes there would be two different scenes playing at the same time, and other times the two screens were used in unison to create one whole image. Having one big screen and one smaller screen at an angle drew emphasis to important details and helped guide the focus of the viewer. The scenes were shot it in the New Museum’s 231 Bowery space, a prewar building adjacent to the Museum that houses the artist-in-residence studio.

The film had multiple subjects. In one portion it would switch back and forth between a semi naked white woman and a cross dressing black man taking out heaps of garbage through a basement and down a narrow stairwell. In another portion, there were children interacting with their environment in an empty off-white room, save for a couch. Both children dress in clothes that match the upholstery of the couch. One child is a girl wearing seashell pattern clothes that matches the couch as she plays with an aquarium. She grabs at the fish and sand in a way that is playful but childishly aggressive. It seems like she is trying to dominate this small ecosystem with what little power she has. The couch and the way she’s dressed contribute to a feeling of nostalgia, so that it almost feels like you are peering in on someone’s home movies from the 80’s. The other child featured in this project is a young boy with glasses wearing yellow plaid that runs around the room sometimes trying to swat at a fly. I was not able to tell if there was anything actually there, and the child himself also seemed confused and uncertain of what he was doing or why he was doing it. This contributed to theme of trying to exert control over surroundings even if it is to no end. Within the emptiness, the two children find things to give their day-to-day existence meaning, even if it harms things that are alive or imaginary.

Each subject interacts with his or her desolate and shabby environment in ways that are electric and dynamic. The blue under glow of the couch and the blue lights within the film made this otherwise nostalgic seeming piece become futuristic. The combination of found and constructed interiors blurs the line between what is real and what is imagined and felt. The description of the exhibit explains that the piece “ is organized around five elements: power (the sun), water, land, void, and body.” What really stuck out to me about this project was the way in which it drew attention to the ways we interact with our environment in both positive and negative ways. I am also drawn to work that explores issues of classism.