I always enjoy going to lectures at VCU, but some I feel are more stimulating and interesting than others. Today I attended Paul Pfeiffer's lecture and found it interesting that he was grouped into the category of sculpture rather than video artist. Pfeiffer's work involves appropriating appropriated films that vary in lengths and played over and over again on a loop.
One of my favorite series he created was his "24 Landscapes" in which his source was a number of found images of the beautiful Marilyn Monroe removed through the photo editing process from beach scenes as if to imply that these landscapes were about her even in her omission. Although she was physically moved from these images, she is still directly associated with them. Pfeiffer stated, "the origin of these pictures are both important and not important- it's counterintuitive. The intention was to take these images and manipulate them, but also to call attention to the origin of the photographs...but once that information is lodged in your brain, that information is there forever...You forever associate those images with that which is omitted." In the case of the 24 Landscapes, there is no evidence that would lead you back to Marilyn Monroe, other than the fact that those photos once contained her image...as a result you will forever associate these landscapes with her.
"I like the absurdity of taking a still or almost still image and calling attention to the fact that what I am doing is intended to be something that is viewed more as a still." - Paul Pfeiffer
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