Learning Sprint 3 | Beyond the Visual: Blue and Untitled
- In her article, “Derek Jarman’s Blue: Negating the Visual”, Jenna Carine Ashton states “The auditory comes to replace the visual; with Blue there is a sensory tussle as we are forced to listen.” Reflecting on your own experience of watching Blue, do you agree? Why/why not?
- Consider this work in relation to González-Torres’ Untitled (A portrait of Ross in L.A.). How do these works engage the senses of the viewer to create a relationship with the subject of the work?
When I first viewed Derek Jarman’s Blue, I was overwhelmed by the sheer purity of the blue. But I disagree with Jenna Carine Ashton, because there is no sensory tussle here as I gradually adjust to the blue in front of me. This feeling probably varies from person to person, but in my case, my brain actively shifted my attention to my hearing, and my vision was diminished by myself without my noticing. I listened to the monologue in the film as the soundtrack switched from heavy to ethereal acoustic guitar sounds and piano to the sound of the sea. I would begin to imagine plectrums scratching the strings of the guitar, the hands of the player playing the piano, waves lapping at the shore and sea birds chirping across the sky.
Unlike Blue’s aural interaction, Félix González-Torres uses the sense of taste to interact with the audience through the installation Untitled. The work provides 175 pounds of candy, the weight of Félix González-Torres’s partner, Ross Laycock, when he was healthy, and visitors can take candy from the pile. The decrease in candy is also symbolic of Laycock’s slow loss of life to AIDS. But when the candy is replenished back into the pile, it is as if Laycock’s life never disappeared. As Rondeau says, “metaphorically granting perpetual life to Ross.” This work made me appreciate the romance of death and life.
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