The Random Acts forum was about celebrating FACT Liverpool’s involvement with Channel 4’s Random Acts, opening up conversations about the future of Television within Art with speakers ranging from Producers and Commissioners to the Artists themselves.
After a short introduction by Liam Fogarty, independent journalist and broadcaster. Director of FACT, Mike Stubbs, gave thanks to today’s speakers and showed his appreciation for what Channel 4 has provided over the years in terms of Art and Broadcasting. Mike also presents his feelings towards Television in this Internet age “TV is where it came from and where it should remain”.
Tabitha Jackson, the commissioning editor for Channel 4 Arts, was next to speak, she began by addressing a series of questions that she put forward:
- Why does Art on TV seem so school like?
- Why only 30/60 minutes?
- Why always targeted at Middle Age white people?
- Where’s the element of surprise?
- Why can’t Television be Art?
Tabitha sees Channel 4 as an alterative voice and Random Acts as a creative strand full of lots of rigor and figure – the Random Acts strand itself being bigger than art. Random Acts distills and captures who we currently are and by being broadcasted post watershed it allows for no restraints. Tabitha concluded by showing us three very diverse Random Acts that have been broadcasted already, Kate Tempest’s radical slam poetry performance; to Phil Mulloy’s animation; to the breathtaking choreographed and atmospheric ‘Keep Dancing’ by Cristina Mollino, which featured an ice skater chasing her dream and never giving up.
Next up was Chip Lord, Co-Founder of Ant Farm, in conversation with John Hill co-founder from LuckyPDF. Ant Farm consisted of graduates of Architecture and in ‘68 with revolution in the air, they began the Media Van project designed as a new Grass Roots media production offering alternative coverage and counter coverage. This project was to be revisited in 2009 for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).
Chip and Ant Farm are probably best known for Media Burn, where they drove a modified Phantom Dream Car through a stack of reclaimed TV sets on fire. To date there has been 4 remakes of this iconic scene. Originally shot in 1975, Media Burn was created as a critique that re-contextualised power, it very much embodied the ‘Us ’n Them’ culture of the 70s and the news crews who reported the event when learning it wasn’t a real event were less than pleased which could be seen in the sarcastic manor shown. Chip later added that Media Burn wouldn’t exist today and that he “didn’t want to go there”.
Following on from Chip and John’s conversation was iKAST’s 1stintervention, featuring “Vadar” speaking passionately about how the older generation needs to embrace to the new technology. After this short intervention we welcome back John Hill to the front this time with fellow LuckyPDF member James Early to begin a presentation on LuckyPDF.
LuckyPDF describe their practice as recordings ‘not for TV’ and introduce us to their work by showing us ‘Remote Control’ were they invite TOWIE reality ‘star’ Chloe Sims to critique the show at the ICA in London re-contexualising Sims in an art context while making a bizarre tangent on the fictional lives these reality ‘stars’ lead.
LuckyPDF also present to us their closing to BBC’s Culture Show, shot at Frieze Art Fair. Mutually beneficial, not in just terms of exposure, they subverted the framework and handed over editorial control to BBC. Using audience description for the blind and collaborators that had previously worked for LuckyPDF doing a variety of random acts, including a nod to Media Burn by the running over a TV.
Before the Lunch break, it was time for the second of iKAST’S 2ndintervention. This time sadly due to sound issues, it fell flat and instead of being engaging it just felt awkward especially when “Cyber Kinder” started climbing over FACT’s seats to try engage the audience. After lunch we finally got to hear from Ronald Fraser-Munroe aka the man behind the mask, describing K3 media’s practice and introducing us to 4 shorts he had produced Ronald spoke about how it’s important to tell your story, as it’s what you are saying that’s important. A point I very much agreed with.
Artist Judith Barry and Omar Kholeif, Curator at FACT, provided the final conversation of the day. Judith began by explaining that she became interested in film after leaving an architecture course that she was studying. Changing her interests to film studies and freelance editing her first experience in Broadcast was working for MTV. MTV at the time was an entirely new concept it was a blank state in terms of TV context and entirely an open format. MTV soon realised that you couldn’t just have continuous music videos, they needed something to fill the gap. Approaching artists in the area MTV payed $3,000 for each ‘wraparound’ or ‘bumper’, which consisted of a fifthteen second animation which the artist could do whatever they wanted as long as they used the MTV logo. It was an open door policy and artists were often approached to come up with new wraparounds.
Following on from wraparounds was ‘Art Break’ this consisted of thirty seconds of dynamic and aesthetic conceptual art and got artists curious about broadcasting. At the time there was a lot of 70s sound artists and a real interest in relationship between music and sound and this was shown in their work. In the late 70s/80s, galleries began to take video art seriously and video installations began appearing in the likes of Gagosian and James Cohen Gallery.
In the first of two Panel Discussion’s taking place, we were joined by the producer of Random Acts Jacqui Davies and two Random Acts/FACT commissioned filmmakers: Zineb Sedira and Richard Billingham. In this discussion we learned more about how Random Acts functions, one film per artist consisting of twenty-five diverse films. Channel 4 decides the three-minute mark, which grew out of the three-minute wonder programme that was formerly aired. All the artists explained that they have found the time constraint difficult to stick to and felt that the interaction between the show and the viewer was very important even though they felt this was a contradiction by Channel 4 to how late it’s shown.
Jacqui Davies then explained her role as producer, Davies describes this as vastly different depending on the artists needs, ranging from discussions about form & content, to setting up shoots and actors. Davies also handles the post-production of the art, as she needs to stick to Channel 4’s regulations. The films themselves belong to the artists and are only licensed to be shown by Channel 4, the artist retains all copyright meaning that the artist can show this work in a gallery or make edits to the work. The work itself provides a vast difference of medium to engage with the media, Zineb’s work spoke of displacement and consumerism as well as travel and migration. Whereas Billingham’s work had a very didactic message in the moment and used his Random Acts to make a message on the planet and the way people communicate about artwork.
Following a short break we reconvene for the final panel discussion titled ‘The Future’ with Tabitha Jackson, Mike Stubbs, John Hill, James Early and Lucy Dusgate (manager of Quays Cultural.)
‘The Future’ addressed the formalisation in the media and curatorial process and how much do you want to trust the artist. A lively debate followed this and I have to agree that just because an artist has made it, doesn’t mean it’s the truth. As a result of this the outcome was decided that art and truth equals propaganda and that good art should equal lots of questions.
Lots of questions more specifically to do with Random Acts followed and how to get involved – the best advice was that to do your research and to look for the gaps in that market and what exists already.
To conclude, we are presented by an augmented reality performance by artist Jeremy Bailey about the future of TV. Which according to Bailey the future of TV is our face, using different motions such as blinking or raising an eyebrow, Bailey was changing channels. This highly humorous and light ending was the perfect way to end what had been an enjoyable day of exciting talks that made me strongly question my own practice as a video artist.
David Michael, Volunteer Media Team
