(Mis)translation in the work of Omer Fast
Continuity (2012) Omer Fast
Documentary and Alienation
Video documentaries
have an immediacy due to the tendency of video artists or directors to maintain the original “rough” looking footage.
Therefore, it is assumed that the original footage was not edited in the same way as a film.
Documentaries challenge audiences to think about ideologies in which they believe, who created them and why, and also to decide what ideologies they would prefer to see set in place
The medium maintains a continual assertion that it can and does provide an adequate representation of reality
viewers tend to believe this assertion, and this is especially true when it comes to reality television
Fast overtly manipulates meanings within his video - manipulates the way viewers understand their relationship to the documentary genre as a whole.
Omer Fast - make use of the uncritical acceptance of factuality that audiences apply to his documentary-style videos
critical viewer is created
connection to the onscreen subject is interrupted by continual changes in the meanings of the subjectís monologue.
Bertolt Brecht - Verfremdungseffekt / V-effect
(Mis)translation
➜ changes the intent of the original footage to take on new meanings through his interventions
⬥ he edits or dubs the videos in such a way that the viewer can see that the material has been changed from the original footage to form a newly spliced-together
end-product.
➜ When a viewer cannot identify with a subject onscreen and thus empathize with the subject, she stands apart from whatever ideology is at work, and can then critically evaluate whether this ideology is correct
Postmodern Theories
Roland Barthes’ - “death of the author”
In postmodern society “reality” does not consist of nature, rather, it consists of man-made constructs, or culture.
a series of symbols, or a man-made language
Photography
is one medium especially influenced by anti-authorial concepts.
Cindy Sherman
play between fact and fiction
viewer unfamiliar with Shermanís work would surely take the stills to be originals
Plays with understanding of “a copy”
Douglas Gordon
Omer Fast
Juxtaposition between true and false
presenting viewers with both source and copy
Give viewers more control in deciding what they believe
investigation into the “true” creator of artwork
Fast used the specific features of the video medium to outline “truth” in his visual imagery.
Jean Baudrillard's theory of simulacra
attempts to clarify “truth” by differentiating between the “true” (originals) and the “false” (copies) found in ordinary life.
Simulacrum
“It is a generation by models of a real without origin or reality . . . It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real.”
To keep the public unaware that their lives are not based on “real” ideas and imagery, spectacular things need to exist (such as Disneyland) in order to maintain “real” life’s claim to authority.
It is no longer a question of a false representation of reality (ideology) but of concealing the fact that the real is no longer real, and thus of saving the reality principle.
Omer Fast
uses his videos to expose simulacra and draw attention to them, revealing them in places where the audience is unaware they exist
refers to the slippage that can occur between the “fake” and the “real” in a literal manner
manipulating his videos in such a way that the viewer is presented with two options for reality, or, conversely, two "unrealities"
Umberto Eco's interpretation of the hyperreal
an aspect of consciousness in the postmodern world
can be defined as an instance when the real is confused with the fantasy, and people engage in the fantasy without acknowledging that it is not the reality
postmodern individual actively choosing to engage with an artificial substitute in place of an actual activity, state of being, or object.
Omer Fast
incorporates hyperreality into his video - (mis)translations that he creates during the editing process
de-contextualizes - adds to the confusion within this already chronologically confused video
Conclusion:
exploited the perception of “truth” that inherently comes with documentary-style video and television
Brecht’s V-effect can be seen in Fastís artwork as he attempts to change his audience members into critical judges.
Alienation is a useful tool for educating an audience
Bodle, K. (2007) ‘(Mis)translation in the work of Omer Fast’, LSU Master's Theses. 4069. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aca2/1ceb5f285ac73eae0a114a86e82c8f180f73.pdf
The Casting
The Casting (2007) Omer Fast
four-channel video installation projected on two double-sided screens
American soldier telling the artist two violent stories:
One about a self-harming girl he met in Germany
And about a traumatic experience from his time in the Iraq war.
Front Side:
Reenactment and reconstruction of the two stories
Back Side:
Obviously edited footage of the artist’s interview with the soldier
examines the conventions of media reportage, storytelling and historical representation.
Tate. ‘Omer Fast: Level 3: Room 8’, Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/omer-fast
Other References:
Berwick, C. (2009) ‘The Truth Is Out There’, New York, December 10. Available at: http://nymag.com/arts/art/features/62638/
Maier-Rothe. J. (2017) ‘Omer Fast in Conversation’, Ocula, May 26. Available at” https://ocula.com/magazine/conversations/omer-fast/
Rebhandl, B. (2008) ‘Omer Fast’, Frieze, April 1. Available at: https://frieze.com/article/omer-fast?language=de
Redford, D. (2017) ‘Productive Confusion: Omer Fast on Continuity and Remainder’, Crosscuts, September 22. Available at: https://walkerart.org/magazine/omer-fast-interview-continuity-remainder
Scherffig, C, M. (2016) ‘ND/NF Interview: Omer Fast’, Film Comment, March 21. Available at: https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-omer-fast-remainder/
Scrimgeour, A. (2016) ‘PORTRAIT OMER FAST: In the Light of Doubt’, Spike, Available at: https://www.spikeartmagazine.com/en/articles/portrait-omer-fast
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