Video Data Bank is proud to present the wonderful work of artist Laura Parnes. This two-volume box set features four video works that highlight her interest in the deconstruction of narrative film conventions, including her reimagining of Kathy Acker's 1984 novel, Blood and Guts in High School. Included in the set is a 44-page monograph containing an essay on the collection and interview with Parnes by writer and novelist Chris Kraus.
"Filmed on bare-bones sets put together in gallery spaces, the video is a model of how to bring off an ambitious project with scant resources, and also of how to respect source material while transforming it. And where Acker's novels have a quick-hit crash-and-burn intensity, Ms. Parnes video floats like a shark, forever hovering, but always watching and moving."
– Holland Cotter, New York Times, 2009
DESCRIPTION
The Only Ones Left (three-channel video installation*), featuring actor Jim Fletcher, weaves film noir and mafia genre references with CEO diatribes, while also exposing the conventions of the feature film climax. The three channels of video depict all plot points of the Hollywood film climax concurrently. The channels are arranged chronologically from left to right. This simultaneity draws attention to the familiarity of the subject matter and the inevitability of the violent consequences awaiting the characters. Central to the installation is a confrontation that pits brother against brother, as the gangsters must attack and kill their own in accordance with the code of "honor". As will all the Godfathers, the main character is willing to resort to violence in the face of significant risk of catastrophe (self-destruction and the destruction of the family). Further, his decisions are perfectly rational within the framework of his prevailing ideology and the institutions that embody it.
*This is a single-channel version available for screening rental or educational purchase. For inquiries regarding three-channel installation version, please contact us.