John Baldessari: I Am Making Art
I find this video to be actually really funny. I believe the artist’s intention was to mimic that everything and anything can be “art,” but also creatively mixing sarcasm and reality. John is doing nothing different that would otherwise consider his video not art. I like how John effectively can crack a joke while being able to effectively create artwork at the same time. I wonder what his true intentions were because this can be interpreted in many different ways. He has really no specific use for the camera in this shot. The camera is placed well enough that you can see his hand movements and a dull backdrop. This video looks to be quite old but the effect of that makes it pop a bit more, especially when you pause the video when he lifts his hands and does certain movements.
Stan Douglas: Television Spots
This video was probably the most interesting that I was able to watch. The video mimics TV ads but I can’t really explain why I perceive it as such. Even before reading the description this was my first impression, granted the opening screen did tell me they were television spots, but without that I would still come to the same conclusion. When an ad plays we expect there to be something sold, it is an instant reaction. While watching these clips I felt like something was missing, but after watching a few in rotation it was almost like mini stories. I tried to think about what situation was going on in these short instances and I thought that was different and interesting. The video was open to interpretation and maybe the artist had that in mind.