Narrative Arc

Griffith University, Queensland College Of Art

On a warm Tuesday afternoon I trotted down to the QCA (Queensland College of Art at Griffith University) to investigate the new and exciting artists they had on show. As I entered the Gallery I was immediately presented with the first piece of work by Benoit Maire. A T.V showing white noise with a pair of headphones beside it, to listen into some sort of audio compilation. I wasn't all that interested so passed it nonchalantly and picked up a brochure instead.

 I came to realise that this was an audio visual exhibition and was a tad apprehensive because I wasn't quite sure what to expect. All that aside, I decided to enter the dark brooding entrance way to take my chances.

 Whilst trying not to trip over my own feet in the darkness, I walked around and peered quickly in at the three separate projection screens that were showing pieces from first Deimantas Narkevicius, then Ann Lislegaard and finally a movie by Carter. Fumbling for a seat I sat down and read a little more about the artists to choose what screening I was going to watch. I decided on the American artist Carter who in 2009 made a 63 minute long short film showing solely the actor James Franco. I'm quite a fan of Franco's acting so was quite excited. With a bit more further reading of the plaque that was just outside the door of the screening it said that Carter had made the script out of different lines that Franco had used in his previous roles. He had also told him to flatten his performance and only give 50% effort. This was intriguing to me and I was interested to see if he could pull it off. I entered the room and sat alone. Surrounded by empty chairs and the feeling that maybe I should of chosen something less complicated I awkwardly became comfortable. The movie was already half way through but I doubt I would of been able to follow any main plot because of the unique techniques being used. The combination of using very little music and grey, blue colour tones gave the movie quite a sombre effect.
After sitting through what felt like an eternity (20minutes) I was becoming restless. Although I like Franco, the feeling of being 'trapped in a dream state' which Carter was trying to express was a tad overwhelming. Being able to hear audio from the other artists in the gallery was also distracting. Carter's film was beautifully filmed and watching James Franco wasn't a hard thing to do but in all honesty I found it a tad pretentious. I have the attention span of a goldfish so maybe it was just me but all in all I left the gallery with mixed feelings. It's good to open your mind to new things so the overall experience was in one word - okay.

Amber Bhujel