Performance

"The videowork of Nelson Henricks, though quite varied in treatment and theme, has worked toward the articulation of a single concern: How can love fly through the air and be received by me?"

—Steve Reinke

A woman is standing barefoot on a tile floor.  In slow motion, the investigative camera circles around her.  Her breasts are bared and liquid runs down her legs.  Bit by bit, every part of her body is shown, except her face, which remains hidden behind her hair.  The camera besets the woman, who remains silent.

This title is also available on Hester Scheurwater Videoworks: Volume 1.

This special box set, Jason Simon: Three Videos, includes a booklet with an in depth essay by media scholar Cynthia Chris.

"More than any other media artist, Jason Simon explores the inner reaches of American consumer culture in ways that are useful and astounding, familiar yet new.

A mother holds her child. Her face barely shows expression.

These five short videos examine the relationship between the female body and the camera’s gaze.

“In Scheurwater’s universe, there is hardly any room left for human warmth. The only living being that evokes a sense of pity is a dog. And the only hope that remains is the camera itself, feverishly searching for compassion in the remnants of decay.” 

-- Stan van Herpen

The Action Series finds our alienated heroes in desperate attempts to communicate and find a way out of their endless crisis scenarios. The two pieces share a domestic setting, though this is no comfortable home away from home. Rather, the ephemera of daily life becomes the conduit for possible salvation, as food is applied to the body and domestic rituals are repeated in a quest for closure.

Like a couple of kids pawing through a costume trunk, filmmaker Emily Breer and performance artist Joe Gibbons delight in trying on the attitudes and artifacts of culture. High culture and low —everything is fair game as far as these witty creatures of surreal collision are concerned. Breer's breezy, off-hand declaration, "I'm a postmodern superhero—watch me deconstruct!" perfectly captures the playful spoofing of academia and the anarchic spontaneity found in both artists' work...