An evening of Norwegian video in San Francisco
October 21st, 2005.

Artist team Synne Bull / Dragan Miletic presented two video programs of Norwegian video art curated by Linn Ulvin/Hjordis Kuras (program 1) and Mona Bentzen (program 2). This work is part of an exchange planned by Bull/Miletic between Norway and the Bay Area.

The program was a general selection of various types of video work including animation, performative video, or what may be called "conceptual art" video, etc. This is a difficult task to accomplish; as what Synne Bull called a "Democratic" selection of current Norwegian artists showed, there is seemingly a mish-mash of more interesting works, with many less interesting ones.

One particular video I found worthy of review was Sverre Strandberg's "Energy Europa". The video begins with us following a hunter in a picturesque Norwegian icy landscape, with green foliage and rocky hills amidst the remnants of gun-smoke. He shoots, and where we assume he has shot appears a green spot in the snow. He goes over to inspect this amorphous blob and we hear him and the cameraman engaging in dialogue over the specimen: "nothing special?" "No nothing special" "ordinary?" "Yes ordinary", during which the hunter tastes the goo. As the journey continues the hunter shoots, inspects, tastes; all the while engaging in brief conversation with the cameraman. "It's fake? Don't you want to taste it?"

Intermittent between the finds, there is the appropriated soundtrack of Batman lending a comic climactic sense, the music generally coming in during shots of the hunter approaching the camera, and fading out as he goes out of view. In one of the final shots, the cameraman asks after a catch "is that something special? Is it perfect? Nothing to talk about?" We end with the success of the hunter, at finding the perfect specimen and holding his game in his hand (a glop of fantastically fluorescent green).

With elements of Werner-Herzog-ish faux documentary, sci-fi uncertainty, and ambiguous commentary by the participants regarding this futile seeming hunt for who-knows what, as well as beautifully shot footage—I end with saying it was a YES video (meaning good as opposed to bad).

Too see a complete list of artists and descriptions of their works from NORWYDEO
Go to http://www.bull.miletic.info/VEE