[ISEA2000] Artist Statement: Eddie d. — Poem#10

Artist Statement

Television is all talk, which is of precious little meaning. In his ‘poems’, eddie d has adapted the remaining dross —this «televisual waste-in-space» into an audio visual poem.

Experimental Video, 1’30”, Netherlands Media Art Institute-MonteVideo / Time Based Arts, Netherlands, 1999

Poem #10: The truth about pinguins.

Television is all talk, which is of precious little meaning. From the daily brew of sight-and-sound produced by the medium, we distill what we wish to see and hear, and totally disregard the rest. In his ‘poems’, eddie d has adapted the remaining dross – this ‘ televisual waste-in-space’ – into an audio visual poem. Hollow words, fixed expressions and meaningless gestures form the framework on which this video is built. Whereas in eddie d’s earlier works, the main theme involved the sound of the things, here the emphasis is placed on words. Clattering pans and plopping bottles have given way for the rhythmic repetition of opposing terms, such as: adjusted – maladjusted, sanity-insanity; or contradictory figures of speech oxymorons) like: cruel kindness, falsely true, etc. When taken out of context, either in a sentence or a story, these words become pure sounds, snatches of resonant tones which, with their own rhythm and intonation tell a very different tale. The poems are a series of works but are all to be seen as independent works. Available with subtitles that add an interesting extra dimension to the spoken words. [source: https://www.li-ma.nl/]

Video: https://www.li-ma.nl/lima/catalogue/art/eddie-d/look-at-this-poem-10/4976#

  • Eddie d (b. 1963) graduated in 1991 from the Media Art Department at AKI Enschede (Netherlands), being based in Amsterdam since then. His work has been shown in several exhibitions across Europe and has frequently been screened on television. eddie d’s playful and humorous works employ ‘found’ TV clips as well as staged recordings of ‘everyday’ situations or objects in motion, editing them into fast-paced, repetitive compositions. The pieces focus on forms of language and sound and are characterized by catchy, syncopated rhythms that reference contemporary sampling culture. The use of images of Dutch and other European politicians addresses a specifically regional context, while the reduction of the speakers’ words to comical and meaningless patterns critiques the way in which media formats control content and meaning on a global scale. [source: https://www.li-ma.nl/]