Wednesday, January 17, 2007

There is an uncanny agency

There is an uncanny agency, an unnerving oddity, about ersatz humans--they intrigue as they delight, and delight as they leave one unnerved. Here, in this post, gleaned from the amazing drawn.ca site, one encounters something special. What makes this video special, if, indeed, you share my view (and god knows you are free to contest it), is just how archaic and human the technology is--how moving all the more that it is so.



Ron Mueck's work, also sited in the same drawn.ca story, is equally compelling.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:40 AM

    I think it is pretty intresting that it takes some 30 real people to make the one ersatz human do normal things. Along that line it seems like artists must put in alot of effort to make their medium, like words or paint, seem realistic. But at the same time, especially in regards to this model it almost mocks simple things we do like eat and make it this complicated process.

    Andrew Gordon
    English 493

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  2. Anonymous2:40 PM

    that song was beautiful

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  3. Anonymous12:11 PM

    The Little Girl Giant was so incredible to watch. I literally forgot I was sitting in the library and went somewhere totally different. The song, paired with the girl's movements, was just so serene and tranquil, I watched it twice.

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  4. I had to see more of this so I went to The Sultan's Elephant website. The link below takes you to the story behind the puppetry and video.

    http://www.thesultanselephant.com/thestory/thestory.php

    Beth Cain
    Enlish 493

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  5. Anonymous2:54 PM

    I just watched the video about the little giant girl for the second time this afternoon. I showed a friend of mine the video to see her reaction and also to see how I felt about it a week after having seen it for the first time. My friend's surprise and confusion about the purpose of the puppet and more so the filming of the little giant girl reminded me of how I felt in class last week. Regardless of its bizarre nature I know I wasn't able to turn my eyes away from watching it and I noticed that my friend, although "weirded out" was also as consumed.

    Euferose Correa
    English 493
    W: 4:00

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  6. Anonymous8:21 PM

    Being someone who is minoring in theatre arts, I couldn't help but compare the art form in this video to the ancient Japanese Bunraku theatre. A theatre form in which they use puppets to tell a story. There are 4 puppeteers and they spend 30 years training to be able to create a lifelike experience with the puppets. They take their art extremely seriously.It is a huge part of their culture and their history.
    While the puppets in Bunraku are much smaller than the one in this video, the work the puppeteers do and the passion behind it is just as serious and captivating.


    Rosanne Adamo
    English 493

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  7. Anonymous5:56 PM

    This piece of art goes right along with the underlining theme of our class. In the beginning we talked about fiction and reality and how sometimes that defining line can sometimes disappear. When you see this young girl, you know she is fake but does that automatically mean that you don't feel sorry for her? All of these people are watching and staring at her, and all of a sudden I felt sad for her and angry that all these people were making fun of her. But she is not a real human being? For me, I lost touch with the reality that this young girl was not real. This form of literature drew me in, and for a few moments I lost touch with reality and began to enter into a world and thought process where this young girl was real. I sympathized with her, because people were making fun and staring at here like she was a freak, but in reality she was just a young girl. The power of literature and art on a person's mental state is phenomenal. If you are willing to let the literature take you places, your mind will begin to think in a new and more creative way, thus giving you the oppurtunity to appreciate literature and the importance of it in a person's life.

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