Login | Register

Proximity and distance : an investigation on interiority in video art

Title:

Proximity and distance : an investigation on interiority in video art

McDonald, Heather (2009) Proximity and distance : an investigation on interiority in video art. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

[thumbnail of MR63025.pdf]
Preview
Text (application/pdf)
MR63025.pdf - Accepted Version
4MB

Abstract

This thesis examines how interiority is constructed in video art. Interiority is understood here to be an aspect of subjectivity that refers to self-reflection or self-regard. I argue that interiority is constructed as a psychological, spatial, and temporal phenomenon. The first chapter questions the theoretical links between narcissism and interiority and considers two videos in detail: Kate Craig's Delicate Issue (1979) and Rodrigue Jean's La mémoire de l'eau (1996). I look at how Craig and Jean construct interiority in their video practices as a psychological characteristic, and I draw on Sigmund Freud's theory of narcissism and Leo Bersani's views on interiority in my interpretation. Chapter Two addresses the notion of bodily space in video practice through a phenomenological perspective. In my analysis of Charlemagne Palestine's Island Song (1976) and Mona Hatoum's So Much I Want to Say (1983) in this chapter, I look at videographic space and bodily space through the lens of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's conception of space as something that one actively inhabits. In the third and final chapter of this thesis, I argue that interiority is informed by our conception of temporality. I examine the representation and manipulation of temporality in video by analyzing Gary Hill's Why Do Things Get in a Muddle (Come on Petunia) (1984) and Douglas Gordon's 24 Hour Psycho (1993)

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Fine Arts > Art History
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:McDonald, Heather
Pagination:vi, 91 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:Art History
Date:2009
Thesis Supervisor(s):Foss, B
Identification Number:LE 3 C66A35M 2009 M33
ID Code:976491
Deposited By: Concordia University Library
Deposited On:22 Jan 2013 16:27
Last Modified:13 Jul 2020 20:10
Related URLs:
All items in Spectrum are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved. The use of items is governed by Spectrum's terms of access.

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads per month over past year

Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
- Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
Back to top Back to top