Final Essay: Laurie Anderson and Angie Bonino
Throughout the semester, we have
analyzed the artwork of various artists relevant to today’s world that have
made contemporary art. Whether it was digital art or traditionally made art,
all of these artworks still carry a significant message. For the final paper, I decided to compare two
contemporary electronic artists: Laurie Anderson and Angie Bonino. Born on June
5th, 1947 in Wayne, Illinois, Laurie Anderson is an “American
performance artist, composer, and writer whose work explores a remarkable range
of media and subject matter.” (Britannica Academic, 2016) Furthermore, Anderson
is a prominent figure in the “product of New York’s avant garde art scene.”
(Larkin, 2006) On the other hand, Angie Bonino, born in Lima, Peru in 1947, is
a contemporary artist whose work focuses on “multidisciplinary, audiovisual,
performance art, installations, and the Internet platform. (Intergrid.cat, 2016)
Both of them seem to be highly successful artists; Although these artists use
similar art mediums, the work they conceive is extremely different. The two art
compositions that I will be analyzing are “O Superman” by Laurie Anderson
(1982) and “Mr. President” by Angie Bonino (1999).
The
first electronic art video, “O Superman” by Laurie Anderson, is from her 1982
debut album, Big Science. It features
an eight and a half music video to her song “O Superman,” and the music video
is of contemporary art value. Throughout the entire song, Anderson is heard
saying, “ha, ha, ha, ha” in a rhythmic tone, and this seems to be the basis of
the entire composition. The music video begins with a white circle in the
middle of a black background. The song begins and Anderson’s robotic voice can
be heard; the video quickly pans out to focus on herself singing the song. Anderson
alternates between singing “ha, ha, ha” and the actual lyrics of the song. When
she sings the actual lyrics of the song, she has physical movements that
represent the words. In my opinion, the overall music video is quite creepy,
eerie and somewhat lonely. The robotic voice and the repetitive ha’s gives off
a creepy, yet calming effect to the listener. Overall, the video is pretty
plain and concrete. Most of the time, Anderson is simply standing in front of a
solid color background or projector and singing to the camera. Lyrically, the
words of the song are more abstract than anything. At first, I did not really
understand what message she was trying to portray, for it seemed like she was
just saying random phrases.
On
the other hand, Angie Bonino’s electronic video art “Mr. President” was made in
1990 and included in her album Colección
Micromuseo. For the most part, it seems like this video is in the form of a
stop motion. The video looks like it is various photos put together to play in
a video because of the repetitive and sharp moves. The music is up-beat and
fast speed. In my opinion, it reminds me of background music similar to a 90’s
videogame such as “Crash Bandicoot.” In the middle of the video, there is a
random moan that the listener can hear. Towards the end of the video, Bonino
says in a creepy sing-song tone, “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.” While this is
happening, it seems like a woman figure is popping out of a cake. Visually, the
beginning starts with an authority figure on a podium surrounded by
microphones. The next image is of a girl kissing the same authority figure and
being thrown back. Next, an image of the authority figure and two other figures
are seen on a pedestal, and he is seen hitting the other two figures with a
hammer. The last image is the authority figure growing muscles and changing hairstyles
before it transitions to the cake scene. Within the whole video, the background
is a static pattern, similar to a television without any cable.
To
compare the two artworks, they both have similar aspects to them. It is evident
that both artists used digital technology to make their videos, and both videos
have a musical aspect to their performance. The listener can obviously see that
both artists are trying to convey a message. Perhaps, Bonino is trying to
convey a message of an authority figure abusing their power, while Anderson is
trying to convey a message of loneliness and alternating conversations with one’s
self. In my opinion, I can tell that both videos have abstract visual art
aspects. While Bonino’s video art is illustrated and in a stop motion format,
Laurie Anderson is physically in the music video herself and reenacting some
actions. Furthermore, both artists’ concept or idea behind the art is directed
towards one person (Mr. President in Bonino’s art and a narrator in O
Superman).
Moreover,
there are various differences between the artwork, perhaps even more
differences than similarities. As said before, Bonino’s video art is more
illustrated, blocky and stagnant. Instead of using real people, it seems like
Bonino used construction paper or other physical objects to display visual art.
On the other hand, it seems like Laurie Anderson filmed herself physically with
a projector and solid backgrounds. Musically, the two soundtracks of the videos
are vastly different. In “O, Superman,” the soundtrack is more robotic and
futuristic like. Anderson’s robotic voice, staccato notes and harmonies make
the song seem futuristic and out of this world; it definitely gives off a
calming, soothing tone. Anderson’s harmonies and poetry like lyrics is
different than Angie Bonino’s limited words. In “Mr. President,” the music is up-beat
and seems like something out of a video game as said before. The soundtrack is
fast paced and uses instruments such as a xylophone and other percussion. Bonino
also uses sound effects such as clapping, kissing sounds and a moan in the
soundtrack. In the middle of the song, the tone dramatically changes when a
deep violin can be heard. Then, it goes back to the up-beat videogame music and
includes even more sound effects.
Furthermore,
there is a difference in execution between the two artists. Bonino chooses not
to show her face in the art video, while Anderson is seen singing throughout
the whole video. It is evident that these two videos would be played in two
different settings. I believe that Bonino’s video can be seen as propaganda or an
advertisement, while Anderson’s video seems like it would be played in an
exhibit on a television screen. In addition, Bonino’s art video is very straight
to the point since it is simply one-minute long. There isn’t much repetition
and the images are stagnant when put together. In Anderson’s video, there are
various times when there is repetition such as when she reenacts physical
movements and lyrics.
Overall,
I think that both art works have similar aspects but various differences to
them. Nevertheless, both have artistic value to them, and I can definitely
appreciate the effort put behind both music videos. At first, I thought that
both videos were rather strange, but after watching it a few times, I could see
the message that each artist was trying to convey and I saw the positive in
each video. I am able to say with confidence that one can compare and contrast
both artists. While doing this, I was able to critically analyze and notice the
distinct differences in each video as well as notice small similarities. In my
opinion, each artist definitely put effort into their art and stayed true to
their medium of digital art.
Videos Mentioned:
Bibliography
Larkin,
Colin, ed. Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 4th ed. Oxford University Press,
2006.
Britannica
Academic, s.v. "Laurie Anderson," accessed December 19, 2016
Intergrid.cat.
"Angie Bonino - Artists - Video Art World." VideoArtWorld. Accessed
December 19, 2016.
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