Time-based Project- "Whiskey"

I researched Eleanor Antin. I really love her work in that it is time based but it is a still image. Just as she refers to her work at a still video. She does a great job capturing a moment in history as if it were taking place right then and there. There is so much movement in her images as well. I was most interested in the history aspect of it. She will take moments in history of certain cultures and recreate them, which I find very clever and fascinating.

My project consists of a man who is singing for money. He brings his instrument everywhere he goes to try and earn a buck in old ireland. The art of singing on the streets to earn money is called busking. This was very common in city streets of which many irish men were dirt poor. I recreated the history of busking in ireland in my piece by showing a man going place to place constantly singing his songs to make a living. I chose the irish culture because that is my heritage and it is a huge part of my life.

Like I mentioned earlier, this relates to the work of Eleanor Antin because she did some work on history; how it is perceived and remembered. History repeats itself and that is what she did, which is, in turn, what I am doing by using her as my guide through the process.

To me this piece conveys an upbeat and good-feeling mood because of the beat of the song. If you really observe the piece and know the history behind it the piece almost becomes a sad desperate cry for help. It has to do with a poor guy singing his songs just to be able to eat. The Irish went through a lot just to reach the equality that they have in the world today. Because of this reason, the buskers have many sad lyrics in their songs longing to see their loved ones again.