click
on image for excerpt
Closed Circuit, video
trt: 3:45, exhibited as continuous loop, 2007.
Beautifully
shot in Hi-definition video, Closed Circuit
is
visually reminiscent of the set of a late 1960's television program.
The location is a home
that is an actual current residence in which
neither furniture nor objects have been moved from their original resting
place in 40 years. In Closed
Circuit a rotary telephone flies in
an endless loop
around the house, exploring and seemingly searching for a spot to settle,
but never finds one. The music composed by Taylor
Haskins gives a feeling that something is about to happen,
but it never quite does.
Inspired by the opening sequences from the pilot of the television show
“Columbo” in which a musical score guides you through a
crime being committed, Closed Circuit surveils a similarly
visually lush environment (as was common to this program), but steers
without a plot. Closed
Circuit places the viewer suspended
in time and simultaneously moving forward as he follows the path of
the phone. The video uses
an endless loop, both visually and musically, to create a simple form
that reveals its complexity through repetition, rather than a defining
moment. The title Closed
Circuit refers to the
loop, while also calling to mind television surveillance systems that
document without a human presence.
Credits:
Director
of Photography: Manuel
Billeter
Assistant Camera & Lighting Technician: Ludovic
Littee
Composer:
Taylor Haskins
Bass: Josh
Davis
Clarinet & Flute: Andrew
Rathbun
Vibraphone: Lalo
Drums & Trumpet: Taylor Haskins