Page 8 - Famous

 VIDEO PERFORMANCE
BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF CONTEMPORARY ART
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART KYOTO 1977

“HAND”
Between a simple act and
another action that is per-
formed correspondingly,
there is a slight “lag of the
action” that cannot be cap-
tured by the naked eye.
“Hand” demonstrates the
time difference and gap in
performing the action, by
shooting the very simple
act of knocking the door
and by televising the shot
images on the two monitor
televisions A and B. The
performer knocks at the side
of monitor A while watching
monitor B which is located
in an easy-to-see spot from
the performer, while the
video camera continues to
take the whole scene. As an
act of perception requires
“Ma”[lime and space] before
an action is performed, it
produces a net weaving
together all the nerves, such
as motor nerves. “Hand”
tries to project the meta-
phor of the spiritual struc-
ture of the very moment,
the slight interval between
time and space, by means
of digital network which
dismantled that duration of
time so enabled simultane-
ous transmission. The projection of “Ma” onto the monitors
also invokes another net within the body of an audience,
a web of perception, actively unveiling the unconscious
sensibility incorporated into an audience’s concept of time
and space. The video camera helps an audience discern an
exquisite interval between “the simple original act” and “the HAND #2, DOCUMENTA 6, KASSEL, GERMANY 1977 
8 FAMOUS
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS