The Cinema Effect | Hirshhorn Museum

New York, New York, New York, New York (Mungo Thompson, 2004)
I hadn’t realized until I had read the Realisms pamphlet that the images that appeared to be scenes in New York were actually Hollywood sets, which was both baffling and amazing.
The placement of the shots were varied – angled shots of apartment buildings in open, airy surroundings – and presented the feeling of how it would be if you were walking around empty New York City in the morning…that is, if it were actually New York. In this case, attention to small details (like palm trees in the background and fake fruit) is key.

A True Hollywood Story! (Francesco Vezzoli, 2006)
Vezzoli did an excellent job in satirizing the unnecessary dramatics that E! True Hollywood Stories are usually presented with. Celebrity gossip is taken so “seriously” in America, and is shown through heavy repetition of topics (Francesco’s obsession with divas) and the effort put into the show, such as interviews with celebrities and friends, dramatizations of actual events, and close-ups of pictures – as if they were actually trying to get an exaggerated point across to the viewer. Going along with these ideas, and Hollywood’s fascination with sex (and gladiators), makes one realize how ridiculous the fascinations are with celebrities.

Mother + Father [Mother] (Candace Breitz, 2006)
The idea for this piece – having six different screens with six different actresses from different movies talking about motherhood – really blew me away. Each person’s placement was perfect, and made it look as if they were all interacting with each other. What made this even better was the fact that most of the clips put together were talking about the same topics and responding to each other, as if they were mothers sitting together over coffee. Every move each actress made was set in good timing, playing off of the other actresses in a way that made it almost impossible to keep your eyes away from the screen.

John (Ian Charlesworth, 2005)
One of the major things I did not like about John was that the actor was trying too hard. It was visually stimulating to see John try and act out everyday situations, but instead come off as an extremely exaggerated version of himself. The contrast between his acting and his placement in the solid, quiet background was interesting, but that was about it.

gercegin geri donusu (The Return of the Real) (Phil Collins, 2005)
The best thing about The Return of the Real was the ability to see both the interviewer and the interviewee interact with each other. Both screens were polar opposites of the other -- the interviewer's background was chaotic with screens and cameras, and was composed and relaxed during the interview; the interviewee's background was a solid blue screen, and seemed extremely nervous and tense the entire time he was being recorded -- which made the interview feel different than if we were to see it from one side only.

Mother + Father [Father] (Candace Beritz, 2006)
I wasn't as impressed with the Father part of Mother + Father because it felt like it was lacking the interaction that the Mother section had. The scenes felt choppier, which disconnected each actor from the other. Although the topics mentioned were similar, I had a harder time seeing them together as a whole.