Parkour, “a holistic training discipline using movement that
developed out of military obstacle course training.” Participants try to make
their way through environments as fast as fast as possible, using only their
bodies and environment, without being unsafe. This probably is not such a new
phenomenon, but it is new to the average person (not military oriented), which
is similar to digital media. It isn’t all that new (forms of it are, but the
basic idea is not), however it is still new to the average viewer. Both of
these are combined into the piece called Ser
y Durar, by Democracia. Ser y Durar,
which is Spanish for To Be and To Last, was created in Spain, using a group of traceurs, the name for those that
parkour. It is currently a video installation at the Hirshhorn in Washington
DC. It is in their black box theater, which means it is all very dark and you
do not know what you are walking into until the movie begins.
Democracia is known for their
“socio-political work,” and this is no exception. The traceurs all have symbols
on their red sweatshirts. According to the artist statement, these symbols
stand for working class, internationalism, anarchy, secret societies, and
revolution. On a more aesthetic note, the traceurs all wear these red
sweatshirts, with their hoods up most of the time. This gives the display a
uniformity, but also a hint of danger. Playing off the audiences’ subconscious
feelings, Democracia makes us feel a little bit of fear. Red: the color of anger,
of passion, and of blood, it makes us think of danger. As a society, we feel
more comfortable seeing people’s faces and heads, to us it is disrespectful to
leave your hat on inside and faces shouldn’t be covered because facial
expressions in our society are used as an extension to words and feelings. All
of this means that subconsciously, we believe that people wearing hoods are up
to no good, and this paired with the red uniforms make the audience feel fear
or at least uncomfortable, it may not be fear of the traceurs, but that uncomfortableness
could possibly be fear for them.
While not directly interactive, this
piece pulls the audience in by making them feel like they are running alongside
the traceurs. The viewpoint changes constantly within the twenty minute film,
from running along the ground and focusing on the feet, to taking in the
surroundings as if we are a traceur. Finally, there are multiple viewpoints
where we get to see the traceurs and their tricks. Sometimes the video slows
down, while other times you speed along as if you are running with them. The
last view that appears throughout the movie involves the surroundings. The
video doesn’t always focus on the people, sometimes we are looking at the
bricks or the headstones in the cemetery it was filmed in. Multiple times we
zoom in to the logos located on the sweatshirts. I got the impression of no
matter how many obstacles you make it through or over in life, or how fast you
are running through life, there is still a futility to it all. We are all going
to end up in that cemetery, or as ashes, basically dead.
On a more positive note, despite
this futility, the traceurs continue to run, and the camera continues to
provide us with different perspectives, all moving at a high speed. They follow
their motto, “never stop and never
give up.” We will all end up there, but may as well do what you can while you
are here!
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