Susan E. Evans - Projects Moving

2. Projects | 2b. Moving

This Video Is A Jail 2008

Confined to this frame, this bandwidth and your speakers I am judged and categorized. You see me, hear me speak and
sense that you know who I am. My worth is tied up inside this short video...will you watch? will you comment? will you link? will you subscribe? Will you friend me?

To Catch a Witch 2006

Before adopted and named Susan Eileen Evans I was born Denise Jane ( Juana) Ramos. According to Mexican Folklore, only men named Juan and women named Juana have the ability to catch a witch. Conversely, the power of a witch cannot be exerted over a person named Juan or Juana. A witch cannot sense the presence of Juan or Juana to they may be able to trap them by drawing a circle on the ground and throwing their shirt, turned inside out, into the circle. In this performance at the top of San Bruno Mountain State and County Park I attempted to catch a witch.

A Caged Bird 2005

A caged bird has nothing but the will to escape. In desperation it beats its wings and flings itself against the bars; for the cage's latch can only be opened from outside, and the bird's owner holds the key. And even if the bird escapes it may perish, having no knowledge of the world. Out there its innocence is its greatest enemy. But perhaps a passer-by will see that cage, and the bird within struggling to escape, and will bend the bars apart so that the bird can squeeze through. And the passer-by, now a friend, will show that bird the ways of the world so that finally it can fly alone.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 12 minutes 29 seconds
Original Format: Mini DV

Views 2004

First developed in the late 18th century, panorama paintings captured 360° views of landscapes and historical scenes and represented a new pictorial expression. Individuals for the first time gripped with a fever to experience the horizon and geared towards seeing without obstruction in every direction arousing a sense of hope, allowing the bourgeoisie to see things from a new angle and to infuse the horizon with the promise that Paradise was just beyond sight. Whether we choose to see it or not, every landscape has its own unique texture, rhythm and scenery. Views is an exploration of panoramic scenes, vistas and the inherent magic of each place, it is about history, memory, longing and an appreciation for the space that surrounds us.
Link to QTVR images here.

Sipapu, 2003

Symbolic as both a portal between worlds and a means of communication with spirits, Sipapu is a metaphor for the glowing screen, which has replaced the storyteller in shaping collective memory. We return to the community fire, now digitized, for telling tales, remembering and sharing vision. Themes of race, genetics, identity, fear, hate and the future are amplified into a succession of money shots, twitch reflex action and visceral thrills strung together in time unified by the classic story structure. The audience is left to draw their own interpretations and conclusions based on their understanding and experience of contemporary culture.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 9 minutes 41 seconds
Original Format: Mini DV

Sticks and Stones, 2003

In a time of increasing rather than diminishing marginalization, Sticks and Stones is a re-examination of the 1971 feminist anthem, I am Woman by Helen Reddy. Standing before the camera society’s labels and stereotypes create a narrative over the top of my image allowing the viewer to label as I say each word. Sticks and Stones is an act of defiance directed at the media machine, and the attempts to shape, structures and control the female image. My acknowledgement and reclaimation of identity is unwavering. I am not afraid of words. I transcend resilient. I am woman.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 2 minutes
Original Format: Mini DV

See TV, 2003

Influenced by the television spectacle, this project is both conceptually and technically a deconstruction of contemporary mass media culture. Themes of identity, communication, representation, commodification, seduction, sensory overload and hype are satirized and critiqued. The audience is denied the image that they desire and are left to draw their own interpretations and conclusions based on their experiences with mass media communications.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 3 minutes
Original Format: Mini DV

Contextualizing, 2003

This project is made in the spirit of the Public Service Announcement poking fun at the notion that many people believe what they see on TV as real. This is a 30 second reminder that what we consume in contemporary mass media is a construction or simulation that we are asked to believe as truth.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 30 seconds
Original Format: Mini DV

The Story 2002

No event in history has had the media coverage as the 9.11 terrorist attacks. Media images, sound bytes and digital video clips are mere isolated fragments pieced together for ‘us’ constructing a historical narrative thus shaping collective memory of the events and defining our history. As participant and witness, The Story defines the times thus writing the past. In true documentary/journalistic form, it is often that which is implicit in images that make them so poignant rather than that which is explicit. As with the scary film we find ourselves most afraid of that we cannot define and that which we cannot see.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 3 minutes
Original Format: Mini DV

Clean Controled Beautiful 2002

This project was a performance held at New Smyrna Beach Florida and evolved into a two channel video installation speaking to the rapid development of Florida's natural areas and the disregard for plant life unless it is clean and controlled thus becoming beautiful. One Channel is of me digging up the palm tree, potting it and cleaning it, the second channel is of a sunrise on the newly potted palm tree.
Category: Experimental/Narrative
Running Time: 30 minutes
Original Format: Mini DV

Message 2002

Interactive
link to project here

4.33, For John Cage 2003
link to project here