T-Rock

Ellen Brooks

1986 - 1987

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The video installation St. Cecilia comprises the following: two video projectors, suspended from the ceiling, each projecting separate (one left, one right) side-by-side videos that meet in the center. The videos are on two DVDs that play on Pioneer Industrial DVD players. Also hung from the ceiling are a pair of "Audio Spotlight" speakers, each playing separate soundtracks; the tracks can be heard clearly only when standing directly beneath the speakers. The videos are synched with a Dave Jones synchronization unit. The two videos contain footage of a choir singing, as do the soundtracks. All of the aforementioned equipment was acquired specifically for this piece, per the artist's instructions. A subwoofer speaker, placed at the wall directly beneath the projected video, plays the low end of the soundtrack(s), making the choir's voices audible, but the words indiscernible, as one approaches. A floor rug is positioned beneath the speakers, both to aid acoustics and to tacitly lead audience members to stand on it (and therefore discover and listen to the separate soundtracks).
Man brushing teeth in bathroom.
Tobacco Drying, Iwate-Ken, Linda Butler, gelatin silver print
A sculptural installation that comprises a 4 x 8 foot section of commercial lattice, painted flat black and leaned vertically against the wall. A large framed black and white photograph hangs on the lattice; its image (of a girl and a kitten) is printed in negative. Placed on the floor in front of the lattice are a pair of sneakers, an unglazed ceramic goblet, and a wicker chair that has been painted white.