The Unusual Artwork of Rodney Graham

1. The Unusual Artworkof Rodney Graham Presentation by L. Forrest Winter

2. Basic Info. on Rodney Graham • From and works in Vancouver • Has done made many pieces of art over the past few decades • Uses mediums that range from photography to film, performance, sculpture, music, and text.

3. Recurring theme in his Work • Graham enjoys making what’s simple seem quite complicated • Often makes works “loop” continuously and not have designated stopping points • Fixated on psychologist Sigmund Freud and very interested in psychology

4. Famous Video Loops • Vexation Island (1997) • Short video in which a beached castaway gets knocked out with a coconut • The video loops endlessly so the blow is seen over and over

5. Famous Video Loops (Cont.) • Two Generators (1984) • 4 minute loop of river water at night • Water is never seen and heard simultaneously

6. Famous Video Loops (Cont.) • Coruscating Cinnamon Granules (1996) • Video of Graham burning cinnamon in his kitchen • Heat makes cinnamon crystals rise and fall, meant to depict birth/death of galaxies

7. Famous Video Loops (Cont.) • Halcion Sleep • Video of Graham being driven around Vancouver in the back of a minivan while passed out on Halcion pills

8. Famous Video Loops (Cont.) • How I Became a Rambling Man – a cowboy sings, rides off into the distance, only to come back to the same spot and sing again • The Photokinetiscope- Graham takes LSD, rides a bike around a park, comes back to same spot, takes more LSD and repeats

9. Text Manipulation/Looping • Reading Machine for Lenz • Graham took the first 5 pages of a 19th-century novel by Georg Buchner • He then rearranged the pages so that if you try to read it, you can never finish the first 5 pages

10. Photography Work • Graham was interested in the camera obscura throughout the 70’s and 80’s • He hung many photos upside down for display • In fact, he had a whole walk-in exhibit of upside down photography

11. Recent Works • Graham has a strong desire to not be “trapped” in a particular medium • He spent most of 2007 working on many different kinds of paintings

12. Recent Works (Cont.) • 2006 video loop “Lobbing Potatoes at a Gong” • Inspired by Pink Floyd concert where Roger Waters flung potatoes at a gong while performing • Graham is often inspired by music, due to his second career as a rock and roll musician

13. The Gifted Amateur • Graham is into role playing, to the extent of which he created an alter ego for himself that he calls “the gifted amateur” • His alter ego has just discovered art • Maybe it’s a way to make his art feel fresh again • or it’s a sign of developing mental problems…

14. Recent and Future Exhibits • Most recent exhibit- “Rodney Graham: A Glass of Beer” in Malaga, Spain in 2008 • An exhibit in Paris, France is scheduled for later this year • “Rodney Graham: Through the Forest” is scheduled to open in 2010 in Barcelona, Spain

15. Conclusion • Overall, the major theme in the artwork of Rodney Graham is repetition and confusion • It depicts repetition is a constant part of human life in interesting and unique ways

16. Sources • http://www.artinfo.com • http://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/10/rodney-graham • Humphrey, David. “New York Fax: Feb 3 ‘98.” Art Issues 52, Apr. 1998: 34-5. • Johnson, Ken. “A Mercurial Conceptualist who Remains an Enigma.” New York Times, 4 Nov. 2005. • Liang, Jack. “Another Day in Paradise: The Film and Video Work of Rodney Graham.” Parachute 95, 1999: 12-19. • Miller, Barbara L. “Re-evaluating Virtual Representation.” Art Papers 28-3, May 2004. • Steiner, Sheperd. “In the Studio with the Gifted Amateur: Rodney Graham Practices Painting.” Modern Painters 64-9, March 2007.