Steve Mcqueen

The artist I have chosen is Steve Mcqueen. He is a British artist born in 1969. He works in video, photography, and sculpture. After looking at examples of all three of his media, I can say that I enjoy his videos the best. Like many new media artists he explores the relationship between art and the viewer while also asking questions through his art.

The first piece being discussed is a video called “Dead Pan”(1997). In this video Mcqueen himself is standing with his back to the camera and the front of a house falls on him with the window hole perfectly placed so that he is unscathed. The piece is black and white; this gives it a sense of timelessness. It also appeals to me because of my affinity for black and white photography. The video has a photographic sense to it because of the quality of imagery and the perfect contrast. Many of the videos we have looked at in class have been blurry but this video is crisp which makes it easier to watch. The most interesting part of the video is that in the middle of it the shot changes and moves Mcqueen’s feet and shows what just happened from an entirely new perspective. I had to watch the video a few times to realize what was going on. It appears that we are looking at an entirely new set of events when in reality we are watching the same event take place from a different viewpoint.

The camera stays on the feet for a few seconds before the house drops. It is just long enough to make the audience wonder what is going on. It’s uncomfortable to stay on still frame for a long time in a video. The uncomfortable quality is very important to the video and it is a technique that many new media artists use. The video did not make me ask any questions but is more a fun thing to watch. It is generally projected on a large white wall and has an overwhelming and jarring effect because of the house falling. It is my favorite of the new media videos I have seen.

I chose to discuss a video piece by Mcqueen because I do not think his photographs are as strong. It is hard to tell what many of them are and they come across as random to me. His video works are successful because they focus on one thing such as a close-up of an eye in “Charlotte” or a house falling in “Deadpan”. His photographs are boring to me. The photograph “Current” was my least favorite. It has a good quality in that it makes the viewer try to figure out what it is of. Unfortunately it seems that that is the only good quality in the picture. I do not like photos that are only meant to make one ask questions and have to esthetic qualities. All in all his videos are very interesting and esthetically pleasing but his photos lack some important qualities.