Cheryl Donegan’s Kiss My Royal Irish Ass and Brendan’s vacuum video were similar in that they were both comedic art pieces.
Why and how does that function in your work?
BL: I chose the vacuum because it’s an off-putting inanimate object that is ignored until it’s needed to clean up a mess. No one expects a vacuum to be funny. I set out to convey that you can have a little fun while doing chores, hence my futile attempts to suck up all different kinds of objects and my comedic timing with the dialogue “Aw, dammit!”
You and David both told stories of an object is a fun way, which I really enjoyed. I usually find inanimate object boring and hard to make a connection with. You both did a good job at using them to evoke emotions within your audience.
Tell me more about how you see this connection or another connection to video art history/media culture?
BL: Thank you, I agree with your comparison to David’s work. I wanted to make the viewer aware of their connection to a vacuum while using it, and how it becomes an extension of yourself. Like David, I accomplished this through the use of point of view. David and I both infused our sense of humor into this use of POV, which is a way of conveying that in order to have fun with an inanimate object you have to be in a fun mindset.
This video was done so nicely in a comedic tone. How would you have done this video if you needed to evoke a tone of sadness to your audience?
BL: In order to evoke sadness, I would have focused on the self-destruction of the vacuum and myself instead. Maybe the vacuum would get clogged or stop working. I would probably add in more dialogue showing my disappointment with the vacuum and overall aggravation with doing chores. This would convey completing chores as an insurmountable obstacle. I would have to overhaul the entire video but I think some of the benign clips would work for a sad version too.*