Salt BallSalt Ball Video Work. This performance was filmed at the Bonneville Salt Flats, UT.
Salt Ball It’s a combination of the arena, players, and the fans that create the spectacle of sports. Every site has its own specificity, which is determined by actions that have occurred at this “place,” current as well as historically. I’d like to define action as being something that can be manifested physically as well as conceptually, for example Dodger Stadium is simply composed of architectural tropes which have been present for thousands of years, it’s the Dodgers, the players themselves that give the site meaning. History is informed by surfaces of information that have been composited over and over again which make up the present. This project began with the gathering/creating of props, and a journey to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Toole County, Utah. Once at the Salt Flats I filmed a performance of playing one on one baseball in white painters suits on the flats in 100-degree heat. I was fascinated by the history and materiality of this site; its surface is naturally composed of densely packed salt. This place served as a blank canvas to emphasize the repetitive body movements that occur in sports activities. Making the trip to this site emphasizes the absurdity of what it means to be a sports fanatic. A sports fanatic goes through great lengths to feel connected to the event. It’s a combination of the players and the fans that create the spectacle of sports. The objects I created were informed by my experience making the film. They are monuments to this time. The time is preserved within the objects. Salt is used as a preservation tool. History is informed by surfaces of information that have been composited over and over again which make up the present. |