(Source taken from: https://thirdspacenetwork.com/annie-abrahams/)
Title: The Big Kiss
Artist: Annie Abrahams
Medium: Webcam performance installation art
Year: 2008
The Review
On October 10 2008, Annie Abrahams set up a live video shoot of her and Mark River sitting on opposite ends of a partition, simulating a kiss over a split video screen.
(Source is a screen shot from: https://vimeo.com/2070207)
From the image we can see the two artists manuvering their faces in front of the camera while looking towards the screen to see if their faces were match up forming a ‘kiss’. The live video consist of the both of them sticking their tongues out and pressing kisses againgst each other as though they are making out with each other physically.
According to the website thirdspacenetwork, Abrahams’ works explores the ‘intimacy’ and even ‘sexuality’ of humans ‘in the “telematic embrace”‘ which is the internet, and the idea of ‘being alone but together’. It draws parallels to how the millenials of the 21st century have used their technology like snapchat, skype, etc to have real time conversations with each other despite being in different locations. It is almost as if conversing with an object and not an actual person.
As mentioned by Randall Parker in his writing ‘the third space’, people can assume their internet identities in a ‘reinvented world of their choosing’. They can take walks with each other, converse with each other, initate acts of intimacy, etc without actually touching. It becomes this invisible barrier between two people that keep them apart, but still together at the same time. As a result, this ‘portal’ which allows us to see each other in different locations has the potential to become surreal or fantasy like because it does not show the ‘utimate truth’.
If we cross reference this work, with Nam June Paik’s ‘Egg Grows’ we can see a similarity with this idea of the third space being ‘decieving’.
(Source taken from: http://kmccarth.umwblogs.org/2015/01/26/nam-june-paik/)
From above we see an egg being broadcasted in real time ov various Tvs placed in different positions and of different sizes. As a result the images of the egg become distorted to fit the TV screens, making them bigger then usual, or positioned weirdly.
In conclusion this becomes an alternate reality that conincides with the actual reality we exist in, however, it has far more potential to be manipulated into something that we want to see of want others to see.
Sources:
- http://bram.org/toucher/TBK.html
- https://thirdspacenetwork.com/annie-abrahams/
- Paker R. ,The third Space, http://www.randallpacker.com/third-space/
- Video recording of ‘The Big Kiss’: https://vimeo.com/2070207
You raise some very interesting and compelling points about the “reality” of what we see online. You are right, this distortion of truth and authenticity is a significant aspect of the networked experience. So the question to think about is how to this loss of the real impact intimacy and social relations online? This is what Annie Abrahams is asking. Also, an important element of the third space is the idea of the collapse of distance, which I discuss in my essay. So think about how the third space bring people together from difference locations into a third, networked space.
HI :)) I love the title hahaha it’s so eye-catching. I really liked how you cross referred to the Eggs artwork to show the idea of the distorting reality, and yeah I haven’t actually looked at The Big Kiss so your summary was really quite comprehensive in explaining it to me haha