Edward Rankus - In the Sun Room

A chamber drama set in the confines of an apartment's sun room, this video further explores visual themes and obsessions found in my earlier works and adds in a few new ones for good measure. Earlier motifs seen here are lightbulbs in pendulum movement, tabletop antics with simple household objects, Christo-like fleshy textures, sketchbook pages torn from their binders, book pages, bookshelves, and flowers. I play a vaguely Walter Mitty-ish figure, who imagines himself as a conductor, as Orpheus, and as conflicted characters in a Greta Garbo movie. A picture book of famous paintings is used as a matrix in which to create ironical juxtapositions, which aggravate my character. Illuminated book pages of William Blake are strewn about to further comment on and reinforce the underlying themes. This is a work exploring dualities: blue light/red light, left side/right side, male/female, desire/revulsion, conductor/performer, constriction/release, rumpled red bathrobe/elegant black Zen robe. While Orpheus strums his lyre, I fumble with lightbulbs. A sparse, mostly percussive sound enlivens the audio track.

DigiChannel | September 4, 2007

Tags:. .paintings. .edward. .constriction. .simple. .explores