Quiddity, video documentation
Merle Addison
February 22, 2003
Creative Access Description
Colour digital video of a performance opening with a close up of a sheet of sandpaper on the floor shot from above. The lighting is red and low, creating shadows around the edges of the shots throughout the video. A bass drum beat begins at sparse intervals, speeding up and holding at about 2 beats per second a few minutes into the performance. A small amount of water is spilled over the sandpaper and a man's hands enter the shot from the top of the frame, holding a piece of soapstone. The hands methodically polish the sandpaper with the stone in figure eight and overlapping circular patterns repeatedly, etching lines into the paper. After ten or so minutes of this action, the camera and tripod are repositioned to a wider shot of a gridded wall of rectangular windows that have been covered. On the wall is mounted a square screen, about three by three feet in size. The man, a thin white person with a long braided ponytail, wearing glasses, a white t shirt, and dark coloured pants, approaches the screen and tears away two layers of paper as the drum beat continues. He then rubs the screen with a towel in the same figure eight and circular patterns, pausing to periodically dip the towel in a bucket of liquid on the floor. An image gradually appears on the screen: a close up of a rose. Once finished the man steps to the side and picks up the soapstone, wiping it clean with the towel before throwing it on the floor with an audible clatter. The drum beat abruptly stops and the man exits the room, the camera rotating to follow him through the audience, who begin to applaud shortly thereafter. The man then returns to the performance area and the music transitions to a Scottish work song that the man bobs up and down to for a few seconds before thanking the audience and technician. The audience applauds, the man walks away, and the camera turns to focus again on the image of the rose.Description
Video documentation of Merle Addison's performance Quiddity.Identifier
2003.0222 QUI V001Extent
1 DVD, 00:25:00Language
Artist
Merle AddisonRelated program
Quiddity (Related)In copyright. For uses beyond Fair Dealing, research requests, corrections, takedown requests, or other inquiries, please contact grunt gallery: archives@grunt.ca