Selected Works: Reel 6

USA 1975, video, col + b&w, sound, 18:35 min

realized by:

William Wegman

keywords:

self-appearance, animals, humor

cast&crew:

other:

Dorothy Chiesa, Dave Crane, John McKnight

appearance:

William Wegman, Man Ray (the dog)

production:

WGBH New Television Workshop

available copies:

Electronic Arts Intermix - EAI:

video, sound

available for rent

synopsis: http://www.speronewestwater.com, 31 Jul 2004

Ball and Can
The Reel
Eyes of Ray
Dog Duet
Tube Talk
Stereo System
Video
Joke
Furniture

synopsis: Copyright Electronic Arts Intermix, New York. See the EAI Online Catalogue for further information about this artist and work [cinovid]

"Reel 6" includes vignettes featuring Man Ray, as well as those that focus on Wegman's deadpan monologues. Wegman also uses appropriated material, such as television soundtracks and New Yorker cartoons, as comedic elements. The irony lies in the gap between what is seen and what is heard, expectation and projection. Man Ray's obedience is exploited in a series of comic manipulations: Wegman adjusts and readjusts the position of the dog's leg with a string; Man Ray and another dog avidly follow an off-screen object in hilarious unison [Dog Duet]; for an extended duration, Man Ray catches a ball and drops it repeatedly, until the ball finally plops into a can [Ball and Can]. A close-up of the sleeping Man Ray recalls Wegman's lovingly rendered Polaroid portraits of the photogenic dog. Wegman also parodies audio and video "special effects," demonstrating an absurd "sound mix" and color effects in deadpan satires of futuristic technologies.

cinovid / oVid / Werkleitz Gesellschaft and the authors © 1996-2012