Turning the six-hour and seven-hour events into fifteen-minute videos, Greenberg loses the durational aspect and the viewer\u2019s physical connections to the performers. Yet, the loss feels inconsequential, replaced by skilled manipulation of perspective, pace, and sound, revealing facets of the original experiences that the viewer likely missed, while also heightening specific moments. In T\u042fUTH, the sword sparring is mostly gentle, but the video zooms in on wounds on the figures\u2019 legs\u2014details likely difficult to see were it not for the close vantage point. Likewise, in LE MIROIR, the camera homes in on the snake\u2019s scaly skin and slow movements, emphasizing its strength and the precarity of its placement on the performer\u2019s body, sometimes even on their neck. In both works, Greenberg pans to the expressions of the figures, pausing on their eyes covered by white or black contact lenses. And, of course, the shortened versions allow the viewer to see the artworks\u2019 narratives in their entirety without standing for six or seven hours, albeit capturing select moments from the full piece.<\/p>\n
The soundtracks of both video installations add to the drama of the works. While LE MIROIR builds to a haunting crescendo that borders on visceral, T\u042fUTH contains sounds reminiscent of video games, as if showing characters in a surreal, absurd performance. In the background of T\u042fUTH are guests watching the piece unfolding at Powerhouse Arts, chatting with one another and sipping drinks from the bar\u2014a stark contrast between the people sparring. Documented in the video, the audience on the screen becomes part of the work, adding to the absurdity as we watch them experience the original piece from behind a conceptual fourth wall. In a way, the installation format of the two videos brings the new audience\u2014those watching from seats in the gallery\u2014into the work as well, surrounding us with screens that at times reflect the viewer as the clips cut to black, mirror-like surfaces.<\/p>\n
Together, the videos underscore the power of performance art. Greenberg sees beyond the physical experience of watching a durational event in person and seamlessly translates the same provocative, moving stories into a different format. It\u2019s easy to lose the essence of a performance in its documentation. But Greenberg successfully avoids this, creating something entirely new, a welcome gift for those who didn\u2019t experience the original event and an enticing invitation to witness the next one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Turning the six-hour and seven-hour events into fifteen-minute videos, Greenberg loses the durational aspect and the viewer\u2019s physical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1149,3458,3457,3459,3456,2878,98,3461,3462,100,99,3455,17,1117,3465,749,2538,9,3463,24,63,3460,3464,905],"class_list":["post-335897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-art","tag-art-books","tag-art-critic","tag-art-reviews","tag-artists","tag-books","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-art","tag-brooklyn-culture","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-contemporary-art","tag-culture","tag-dance","tag-fiction","tag-film","tag-music","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-art-scene","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-phong-bui","tag-poetry","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}