So Many Tiers...

I am continuing to look at video art as the core medium of my work.  So, as such it makes sense to look at artists who have done the same. I recalled names that educators such as Brian Weaver, Lee Merrill, Brandon Hudson, and others have shared with me.  I am researching and seeking to understand expressing identity as an African-American, and inner turmoil that has brewed over decades, as an aspect of my self-portraiture.  It is an even greater challenge because the processing of all of my experience has been affected by MPD, though I never knew until recent years.

On another note, for about a year or two I've been haunted by the memory of a work I'd seen, but cannot identify...I've also drawn a still of the video and asked at least a score of educators, MFA's, and MA's.  No one could recall ever seeing anything like it.  Perhaps it is a figment of my imagination, or a distorted memory.

Either way, I've looked at works from well-known video artists such asNam Jun Paik, Tony Oursler, and of course Bill Viola, and Carrie Mae Weems, to try and understand my own ideas and feelings.  I am looking at how they can use symbology, as well as how they use performance effectively.

The research has influenced this piece, I started out calling 'Selfie'...For now I've moved to calling it 'So Many Tiers.'  This work represents a view of my life cumulatively.  Looking expressly at what that lifetime, principally what its thinking felts like. 

The work is in progress, however, here is a preliminary view of what is very close to what the work will be like when completed.  Things like timing, music, and the blended apparitional imagery will likely be adjusted or changed.