In watching all the screens play in sync and the subject moving around on the screen I related it to myself and imagined myself being behind the screen doing the same actions and motions. I tend to try to put myself in video pieces that I come in contact with so I began feeling a sense of carelessness and release of frustration.
I think it matters that this piece is being played specifically in Times Square because it is a much more mainstream and public platform, not just for those familiar with the artist and the art world. It’s interesting because it is there for only a moment and then it disappears leaving the viewer wondering what the context of the pressing of the face against the glass was.
While watching the video I noticed only a few others watching on, while some people ignored it and kept moving. Another group of people were even screaming and distracting from the video because they didn’t bother to look up. It was also interesting that the screens finish by saying “Midnight Moment” when the videos started playing at 11:57 and were finished a little bit before midnight.
After seeing Rist’s show at the New Museum, I can see how her work appeals to a larger, growing audience and completes quite outrageous feats that makes you ask the question of how she accomplished it.
