Associação Cultural Videobrasil

Van Gogh TV

1. The Situation

The purpose of European culture should not be define a society that identifies itself only in economic terms. It must go beyond this and initiate a dialogue between the individual spheres of society to inspire a visionary approach to culture.

The restraints of economic necessity demand a particular perception of reality. The media are no longer intermediaries, but rather means that are subordinated to the economic sphere.

Economic success as the ultimate culture value, justification and source of meaning for every society transaction.

Lived reality becomes unbearably slow and boring in face of the accelerated simulation of reality as it appears on the screen. The problem begins when people attempt to keep pace with the velocity of the moving image. Loss of models and values, loss of belief and identity - the result is unoriented comsuption.

2. The Consequences

Our own atelier, the Media Art Lab, acts as a planning, production, diffusion and broadcasting center. Its economic structure enables full mobility and flexibility. By using individual and team work models that take up new jobs and functions, we have avoid the current trend towards specialization.

We have begun a research on live broadcasting, stressing the electronic and human interaction. This means live TV at three different levels: the production team, the live stage and the audience. Acting as the forefront interface between the avant-garde and the industry, we are the meeting point for these extremes, where a common attempt at inspired experimentation may take place. Hare is where technology is tested to its limits.

3. Comments 

Right now, the main task of the Media Art Lab is to present a challenge to the media, in order to estabilish our social and cultural standing as artists and to put into practice artistic ideas. Our atelier will act as a source of inspirations for the recreation and entertainment monopoly, which is now exclusively profit oriented and dominated by administrative bureaucracy.

Project Pompino

1. Television Participation

The game "Hotel Pompino" was developed as a consequence of a live television project by Van Gogh TV in order to communicate even more directly with the spectator, who becomes a participant instead of just a spectator. Participation can be accomplished by personal apperance in the program, over telephone, over video-telephone or through the mail box.

2. Direct Television Democracy

The spectator can become a participant with cabble or satellite dish to receive the 3sat broadcast. Video-phones have been installed throughout Europe by Ponton, allowing the spectators to switch on as commmentators or jury members. Computer users can send in written text with electronic mail over telephone lines.

The Stage

The Action takes place on different stages.

1. The blue box

2. The live stage

3. The table

4. The network

In the blue box, the candidate must orient himself in a digital world. On the live stages it is mainly a matter of unmediated, personal tasks that are adapted to given themes and surroundings. The user must master detailed and active tasks in the micro - and macro - spheres that are set out on the table. The connection between various places in the world is achieved with the network (telephone, video-phone, mailbox, news-ticker).

Winning = Broadcast Time

One any day numerous candidates will play against each other. The candidate must react within a complex structure of participation, following rules that are specific to the game and he jury. Points are played for 0 to 6 points can be acquired for a given jury cand game situation. At the end, the person with the most points wins. The first prize is free broadcast time vaires from 5 to 15 minutes. The candidate can do as he wishes during this time and many even make use of the technical facilities of the studio. The loser is swallowed by a computer-animated waste-disposal unit and his participation is for the time being at the end.

The Game With Imaginary Words

The classic goal of every game is winning, losing, and entertaining. In addition, the participants of Hotel Pompino experience daily situations in imaginary game and picture worlds. And that's algo a reason for the subjective aspect of the game.

A New Eloquence in a Public Space

Van Gogh TV wants to offer the spectator an opportunity to go beyond the simple choice between favorite shows. Play situations are available where he can express himself in a unique way with images and sound. With this opportunity, Van Gogh TV sees the opportunity for a new people's art that renewal throught the public media.

Van Gogh TV considers as its main objective to assist the spectator to overcome his roll as manipulated commodity of the media, who cynically calculate how information can be made palatable in order to spell paid commercial advertisement - the real basis for the existence of media.

The function of the media is to act as a buffer for a social politic that no longer answers for its actions. Instead the spectator is given the information almost in time, but actually too late react. The spectator becomes an alibi, because he knew everything but did not do anything. Television is means for controlling and influencing the people using the Trinity of hipnosis, compulsory comsumption and bad conscience. "From Steuermann zum Steurzahler" (from Dr. B. Eiderberge).

The moment that all being and striving is recognized as senseless is the time to turn on the television.

The Live TV Concept

"The interconnected interplay of technical and creative potential is what interactivity is".

Since the "performance-experience", it is a central tenant of media art that means of interactive be used to investigate new spheres. The fluctuation of all things that no longer show themselves as such, as fluctuating appearances, are to be reproduced in new ways. The work process will again be an important part of artistic work. The democracy of technology will return to the screen. Video and computer images will be projected that are pertinent to the themes and action of game.

Television Art and Media Eloquence

The main artist interest of Van Gogh TV is to find a new TV language one however that does not lose its sense os ongoing process.

Experimentation is the highest law

A chance in the work is the increasing cooperation of other artistic disciples with each project. Teams, consisting of international artists, work with themes that are related to the medium of Television. Just those classical artistic disciplines (drama, set-and costume-imagery), must developed their own languages. With the live character and the corresponding acceleration in of the sequences of events, technology becomes the most critical part of the broadcast. Live broadcast aways have to count on breakdowns and hitches, and this should be looked upon as an essential part of each broadcast. On the other hand, the new TV language must be understood by TV audience. We understand this language as being sound and picture simultaneously and therefore an artistic answer to the modern world. Live is art.

8th Fotoptica Internacional Video Festival. 09 a 15 de Novembro de 1990. p.18 a p. 20.