the great race

The Great Race, 3:45, 2004
Three Channel Video Installation

The Great Race was filmed in the cornfields of Northern Ohio. Using the metaphor of reality TV shows such as Fear Factor, we are exploring our relationship’s contradictions of loneliness, comradery, fear and security. The media affects our everyday lives and particularly this barrage of reality TV shows in most recent years. People’s personal lives are exposed through romance contests, body and home renovations, survival tests and endurance races.

There are three video components to this project: Team Stephan, Team Mary and Mary and Stephan together. In Team Stephan, Stephan is running through the yellow, dried up cornfields looking for Mary. He is running against a clock in a race against Team Mary, who is also running through the cornfields, but she is looking for Stephan. At different points, Mary’s voice will interrupt Team Stephan, telling him to “stop” and “go”. The video freezes at these points giving the viewer a steady look at the person racing. Similarly, Stephan will interrupt Team Mary with “stop” and “go”, freezing the time. Additional audio consists of rustling sounds from the cornfields and a digital music loop reminiscent of the music that is played in the reality TV shows. The third video image is of Mary and Stephan standing back-to-back in the cornfields swaying and then running away from each other. The repetition of images on several televisions reinforces the multiplicity of images that come into our lives through television. The race is pointless as it is controlled by each other and against each other in a field of nowhere.