Wrapping up the New Art Examined show at the Arlington Arts Center, below are six more images I’d like to discuss. I’ll have one more post about the “Black Factory” that I happened to see at the AAC on Saturday as well.
Daniel Busey’s (American U.) “King Me” is an interactive installation that caught my attention. When you approach the piece, you’re not quite sure what you’re in for. When I walked in front of the camera (as seen in the second image above), I found myself involved in the Rodney King beating. That wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. The question became, why am I here? Am I supposed to be a newscaster reporting on the event? If so, what should I say? Why am I reporting on it long after it occurred? On the other hand, am I “involved” in the beating? Do I have my back turned on police brutality? What am I supposed to do about it?
Though the piece has a bit of corniness to it – doesn’t it remind you of some tourist trap photo booth at a theme park – it does ask some interesting questions. My question to the artist: why use footage of an event from many years ago? Why not something current instead?
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