BLOG ENTRY #2, At Midway

Name of work: Before the Sun
Date of creation: 2010

Artist: Karthik Pandian

Subject matter: A film screen repeated scenes and sound inside a dark room.
Medium/Media: Video recording, films, dirt, seashell and glass.
Form/Formal qualities: The placements of the film against the two opposite walls are diagonal to each other and on the top view of the dark room the film is being played in a continuous repeated stripe. The size is done big and put inside a dark room.
Content: The color of the sunset and dawn which is set to the mood of the dark room is unique. The images shown in the film is moving from left to right and right to left making motion of the body language. The dirt to the plate form of the film stand is significant to the place of the setting in the film. There are also shells alongside the dirt.
External Information: Filming the setting to the place is in the mountain. The film of the images is people who is or is not aware that they are being filmed, are moving and having fun. The film is screen on both ends of the walls to portray the west and the east of the sun setting and dawn. The sounds are from the taping of the film, it is nothing important to the art itself.

(The sketch on the left is done in process journal, by See Vang on October 4, 2010 in pencil.)

The artwork, Before the Sun at the Midway came forward to me as a negative thought. As I walked into the dark room of sounds that were like a horror haunting on the door, I was frighten by what I was going to see next. I came deeper into the dark and saw the two films on opposite ends being screen and the one to my left was the bright red orange sun, I stared at it without winking. After a while I came to realize that it had human figures and it was moving and the setting to the place reminds me of the native who did farming.

After watching the film and exploring the environment the art was in, I felt that I didn’t like this piece of art. The sound kept bothering me and it just keeps pushing me to think the piece was done to warn someone of a suicide attempt. I felt more focus on what I heard than what I should have seen. But even though it was annoying to hear the sounds it was making, it pulls my curiosity to why the artist didn’t just make the film silence. That would have at least made a different approach, as a positive though about fun and excitement.

http://midwayart.org/exhibitions/10_05_karthik_pandian/

Before The Sun by: Madeline Murnion

Before The Sun
2010
Karthik Pandian
Before The Sun was made by Karthik Pandian. The art work displays a two channel looping 16mm film installation with optical sound, rammed earth, shells, mirrorpane glass and mason's line. The art work displays a contrast between the rising sun and the setting sun. On the east wall a video is streaming images of the rising sun. 
On the west wall another video is streaming pictures of the sun setting. The streaming video is taken from Indian burial grounds in California. The base of the piece is made out of rammed earth. On the rammed earth there are two translucent pillars filled with dirt. On the dirt are projectors streaming the video of the sunset and sunrise. In the gallery displaying the art work the room is completely dark, which emphasizes the visual quality of the video. The texture of the rammed earth is an interesting bonus to the art piece. The art piece is symmetrical and gives good balance. 
 The art piece is interesting and worth seeing. The quality of the the art work is well put together and visually appealing. 
My response: As I walked into the room I didn't understand why it was dark. I was a little frightened by the noise going on. I thought the "scraping" going on, sounded like an evil laugh. The room was chilling and the dynamic of the room to the art work was awkward, especially to walk around. I initially thought the rammed earth was floor boards. My eyes couldn't adjust right away so I didn't feel comfortable walking around. I thought the video streaming was very interesting and I was excited to learn more about it. 
-Madeline Murnion

Before the Sun

As I entered midway I was fairly cautious, were we supposed to walk into the pitch black room ahead? Or was the gallery somewhere else? As we entered it took a few minutes for my eyes to fully adjust to the rapid change in lighting. There was a mound made out of packed dirt, formed into steps in the middle of the room that had two film projectors in glass pillars facing in opposite directions placed on top. Each of the two videos were projected onto two corners of the room, not on the flat walls, with the film strip going up into the ceiling through a grid of strings and back into the projectors. The videos were of people walking around native burial grounds, at sun set and sun rise. Though the mounds were not easily distinguishable in the videos. The mound in the center of the room was meant to symbolize what was being shown in the films, and was pointed to orient with north, south, east, and west. The whole room had a very dank cool and dark atmosphere. Everything seemed to have a stark contrast to the glass pillars, which I can only assume was intentional.

One thing that confused me about the videos was that on the sun set video when it changed clips there was a quick flash of green, instead of a smooth transition. This was the same for the sun rise, except it showed blue. Interestingly enough the aspect of the show that interested me the most was the program, it seems very cohesive to have the program be a vinyl record. This definitely goes well with the film that was being projected and brings together a whole analog theme. I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to have the record playing through speakers in conjunction with the films.

Before the Sun

Before entering this installation, I was very anxious. Never before had i been to this location, I had been told nothing about what I was about to see. As i entered the Midway, I was emerged in complete darkness. It was the feeling you get when you first enter a haunted house, mystery, confusion. I stood completely still trying to adjust to the darkness, just as i do this, i realize the noise in the background. The sound so mysterious and almost haunting. I immediately grab my journal and jot down all of my thoughts. As i am doing this i notice a large block-like structure in the middle of the room. Atop of this structure I see huge glass rectangles housing old-fashiond cameras. An image of people enjoying a walk is on either side of the room. The film is very obviously worn and old, the sun in the images is in the center. The center is oh-so conveniently located at a corner of the room. As i slowly wandered around i noticed the pillar in the center of the room is coated in sand and, the bottom layer is inlaid with sea shells. As i sat on the pillar I noticed how cold and wet it was. I then became very uncomfortable and wanted to leave.

Before the Sun

Karthik Pandian’s solo installation at Midway Contemprary Art address archeology and architecture using many different types of mediums. The gallery was darkened so the focus was directed towards the two movies on the opposite sides of the walls. I the middle of the room there was a plaza of a cement like structure and it was in a diagonal position, making it difficult to walk around. The art was made to be interacted with, waling on top of the plaza was encouraged. There were two steps with shells adorning the sides of the steps. It was difficult to walk to the top of the plaza because it was so dark inside of the gallery. On top of the cement plaza there were two mirror made towers with projectors inside playing 16mm films. The film itself was strung up into the ceiling on a grid of red string. The films play on a continuous loop towards the east and to the west. The films have to do with the Monk’s Mounds in Illinois. The reason Pandian chose to highlight archeology and architecture in his piece is because he has always had an interest in the two very contrasting things.

Before The Sun- by Karthik Pandian

What would you do if you walked into a room and couldn't see anything but what looked to be a big platform with two projectors playing recordings onto the wall in exact opposition?
What would you say?

This is what happened to me on September 28th when my class took a trip to the Midway art gallery. My initial thought when i first walked in was "Whoa where am I and what is this". Walking around somewhat blind was interesting because I was still trying to figure out what exactly I was looking at. This was until my eyes adjusted and I started noticing little things, each projector were in a glass case that was like a light mirror. Standing in between the glass cases looking down I could see two reflections of myself and my actual self, this intrigued me, it was like I was standing next to two of my clones. This made me start looking in different directions and angles. When I looked up, I saw a giant red grid spread across the entire ceiling and thought "Is this even part of the exhibit". Finding out later that my question soon turned into a yes, because I noticed the film going through the projectors was running across the ceiling through the red grid. I was shocked to think how much time and planning must have took place to construct something like this.


http://www.midwayart.org/

Sunrise, sunset.

Before the Sun

Karthik Pandian

2010

Medium: 16mm film projectors housed in twin mirror pane glass towers, erupting from the surface of the sandy plaza.

External Information: Karthik Pandian lives and works in L.A., California. This installation was filmed in East Saint Louis, Illinois during an archeological dig at the Cahokia Mounds.

When I walked into the Midway Contemporary Art Center last Tuesday, my first thought was, "Really?"

Why is it so dark in here? I couldn't see anything, and I was chilled from the inside out. I could only hear the noise. I was so confused. What is this noise that was blasting through this art gallery? I did not have time to figure it out, because it was at this point that I stumbled into the plaza. I touched it, and it felt cold, damp, and sandy. Weird? As I was trying to get off the plaza, my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. I could see two projections cast on opposite walls of this huge room. Just as I was starting to warm up and focus on what was in front of me, chills ran down my spine. It was like bugs running out from under an old rug, and it was really eerie. As I said, two videos were being projected into the corners of this huge room, but now I could really see what was going on. On the east wall, the sun was shown in various stages throughout the morning, rising. On the west wall, the sun was setting. In both video projections, people and animals walked along the path, not noticing the camera. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Running, talking on cell phones. Flashes of red and blue disrupted the sunrise projections, and green on the sunset projections. I was strangely drawn to the sunset... and I still can't figure out why.

If you go to the Midway to see this installation (and I suggest you do if you have not already), maybe you can figure it out for me, or just figure it out for yourself.

www.midwayart.org