Documentary Transforms into Video Installation via the Processes of Intertextuality and Détournement Caitilin de Bérigny Wall (onaclov) University of Canberra School of Creative Communication Division of Communication and Education November 2006 Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Canberra, May 2007.
Caitilin de Bérigny Wall All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author. Caitilin de Bérigny Wall ii
Table of Contents Abstract..iv Certificate of Authorship of Thesis v Acknowledgements vi Chapter 1: Introduction Actualities 1 Defining Documentary: Representing Realism, Boundaries between Fiction and Non-fiction in Early Cinema 9 Documentary and the Modernist Avant-garde...21 Documentary Modes of Analysis...33 My Work Documentary, Installation and Video.44 Chapter 2: Transformation of Documentary to Installation Art Introduction 52 Documentary in Video Installation: Nam June Paik..53 Documentary in Photographic Installation: Christian Boltanski 60 Documentary in Performance Installation Art: Stelarc..66 Documentary in Video Installation: Susan Norrie.72 Chapter 3: Installation Islamic Intertext Introduction.79 Islamic Intertext: Hijacking Documentary..82 Situating Looping Heterogeneity 90 Islamic Intertext three phases of the installation 101 Hijacking the Hijacked Other 105 Artists Hijacking Documentary.112 Conclusion.121 Flimography/Installationography..124 List of Illustrations 127 Appendix: (Review of Islamic Intertext: Canberra Times).. 129 Bibliography..130 iii
This thesis investigates how the genre of documentary transforms in video installation via the processes of intertextuality and détournement. Abstract: My argument is that documentary texts can be transformed into artworks via the processes of intertextuality and détournement, when they are exhibited as video installations. I argue that early 1920s modernist avant-garde painter-filmmakers shared with contemporary documentary video installation painter-filmmakers particular tendencies, characteristics and interests. The bodies of work in each period explore the generic properties of documentary through (primarily) abstract visual associations, rather than through a conventional linear space. Important 1920s modernist avant-garde films by Dziga Vertov, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Joris Ivens, Man Ray and others will be considered in highlighting the relationship between documentary and avant-garde cinema. I use this discussion as a basis for examining my own work: for the creative component of this thesis, I filmed and edited a three screen video installation. I interviewed 67 Australian Muslims and used these interviews to explore the use of documentary in video installation. The theoretical framework I used is based on the following: Julia Kristeva s notion of intertextuality, derived from Mikhail Bahktin s work on dialogism, to interpret how documentary texts take on conventions appropriate to other genres; Guy Debord s concept of détournement to provide a theory for the reuse of pre-existing artistic elements found in documentary film; genre theory to interpret interactions between documentary texts; Ludwig Wittgenstein s notion of family resemblance to explore the indistinct boundaries of documentary; and Pascal Beausse s analysis of how artists have hijacked documentary. I also draw on Bill Nichols s analytical framework of documentary modes (poetic, expository, observational, participatory, performative, reflexive) to explore documentary in cinema and installation art. The documentary genre is not habitually discussed outside film, television, photography or the web. My research demonstrates that the genre has found its place in other areas of artistic practice and can also apply to medium of video installation. iv
Certificate of Authorship of Thesis Statement of Sources I declare that the work presented in this thesis is entirely original and my own work, except as acknowledged in the text, and that the material has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. Signed: Caitilin de Bérigny Wall Date: v
Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the support I have received in writing this thesis as well as assistance developing the creative component, Islamic Intertext. I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to a number of people. I would firstly like to thank my cousin Sarah Walls, for her generous help editing, as well as her support, and for the tedious task of proof-reading. Her enthusiasm, advice in French translation and editorial help were vitally important. I would equally like to thank Professor Jennifer Webb my primary supervisor for her theoretical consultation as well as her innovative ideas for the project. Her constant support was inspirational. I would also like to thank Dr. Alaine Chanter, Dr. Greg Battye and Dr. Ann Willis for their advice during my candidature. My sincere gratitude extends to all the 67 Muslim interviewees (in Australia and Canada), who took time out of their busy lives to talk to me at length. Without their support and permission for extensive video interviews the creative component could not have been made. I would also like to mention, with grateful appreciation for their technical assistance the following people at the University of Canberra: Brett Butler for his help constructing my design of the creative component. Michael Tutalo for his constant technical support executing the video installation. Kevin Hingston for his help and technological consultation. Dr. Alistair Riddell from the Australian National University generously gave his technical expertise with sound assistance in the installation. Screen Sound Australia helped this research by obtaining numerous early Modernist avant-garde films (on 16mm film), as well as permitting me to conduct research in their library. I would also like to thank the library at the National Gallery of Australia for permitting me to conduct research in their research library. I would like to thank the Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Australian National Capital Artists ANCA gallery, McGill University in Montreal, and University of Technology in Sydney, The National Museum of Australia for enabling me to exhibit the creative component of this PhD, and the Canadian journal and new media website Hyperrhiz for accepting the creative component for publication. I thank Cristina Cornioley for being an inspiring yoga teacher. Finally, I would like to mention with gratitude my beloved father James Wall who sadly passed away during the second year of my candidature; his love and support are a great motivation for me. I would also like to thank my mother Geraldine Wall for her encouragement and kindness. vi