TRAMAGE

of GUITON Jean-François

GERMANY, 1999, 00:12:00

Production : GUITON Jean-François
Genre : Video art
Keyword : Allegory, Rhythm, Vision

Summary :
Rhythm is the theme as well as the form of the videotape "Tramage". Its elements are constructed and
played out through a time measure resembling the busy tempo of city life. To begin, stripes of light are drawn
through the two sides of the black empty screen; their unpredictable crossings and untimely collisions lead to the appearance of an opening and closing tramway car door in the picture. Simultaneously, the rhythm unfolds in an unsynchronized sound bar. Squeaking, sucking, the noise of a passing train : all these different noises put together a soundtrack that sometimes falters, sometimes accelerates, diminishes and increases in volume, or simply falls into silence. The pictures unfold through this discontinuous sound arrangement. In the repeated sequences of passing buses and trains we fleetingly catch the glance of a woman looking through a window, who immediately turns away. All there is to see is caught up in its own passing. (Antonia Birnbaum)
"Tramage"'s interruptive and disruptive repetition of the city dweller's impressions revives the moment of experience in our perception.

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