How To

Working from the idea of “informational” videos, How To presents five individuals who describe obscure activities.  Instead of providing useful, objective lessons the videos reveal more about the subjects’ personal idiosyncracies, obsessions, and values than about their specific area of expertise.  Their passion displaces the purported instruction.  Through the manipulation of the material, public presentation is re-constituted to reflect private experience; objective presentation manifests as subjective representation.

The video components are:  How to Cowboy (a cowboy demonstrating how to hobble a horse), How to Construct (a pastry chef constructing a client’s house in gingerbread), How to Catch (a surfer describing how to catch a wave), How to Communicate (a presentation-skills instructor advising bankers on communication), and How to Call (a hunter describing the use of a turkey caller).  Each component is 5:22 minutes in length.

All five video components (looped in varying order) are projected simultaneously.  The audio shifts focus in a subtle, random mix creating an interplay between the five subjects.  At one moment the viewer is aware of a specific individual and in the next the viewer is aware of a greater relation between the individuals.  Similarities in the presentation of intimate knowledge (of a chosen activity) suggest a common language of personal expression.

5 channel video, projectors, dvd players, speakers, amplifier, audio mixer, 26:50 minutes, 2004