Jon Flax
about-1
contact: jon"at-symbol-here"jonflax.com
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CHOSEN AND DISCARDED FORMATS
H.264 is the standard video coding format on the internet as of now. It was introduced in 2003 and is supported by most browsers, video-sharing websites and media players.
VCR
The Philips and Grundig VCR system was introduced in 1972 and marketed in Europe only, for the PAL/Secam system. VCR has a full PAL resolution. It was discontinued after 1979.
VX
The VX system was introduced in Japan by Panasonic in 1975. In the USA, it was distributed under the Quasar brand, and the video recorder was dubbed “The Great Time Machine”. By 1977, Panasonic had joined the VHS manufacturers group.
VCordII
VCordI was released by Sanyo in 1974 and could record only black and white. In 1976, Sanyo introduced the color format VCordII. It was the first consumer system to offer two recording speeds.
VK-30
Introduced in 1977 by Akai as a monochrome system with 30 minutes recording time, the VK system was short-lived, although recording in color was possible with later video recorder models. VK was produced for PAL and NTSC.
While cartridge and disc formats seemed suitable for the project, recording proved virtually impossible. Free reels systems generally don't match the aesthetic of the installation. Of the remaining analog video cassette formats, U-matic, Betamax and Video2000 seem too common, in that some people have heard of them, while CVC is too small.
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GIZA QUASAR
ABOUT ░░░
ABOUT ▓▓▓
GIZA QUASAR
in 4000 characters
- GIZA: an Egyptian city; site of pyramids
- QUASAR: an extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object
SUPPORT
GIZA QUASAR was migrated by
CLAUDE VANDER CAMMEN (Brussels)
REINHARD KÜHN (Schwanewede, Germany)
TAK KOHYAMA (Tokyo)
The GIZA QUASAR theme was composed and produced by GUY SALDANHA.
Cheers to TIM VITALE and RICHARD DIEHL.
SPARKS
Animacy
According to most children and some ancient beliefs, objects have an inherent soul. In Japan, the shintai are physcial objects, in which spirits reside. Commonly, they are kept in shrines, stored in box after box, without ever being sighted by anyone. The older the shrine, the more meticulously the shintai is obscured. In many cases, the identity and the appearance of a shintai has been forgotten. Shintai are only temporal repositories for spirits. Some may be empty, others may still be animated.
Infinity
In 1973, NASA launched the Pioneer 11 spacecraft. It was the first robotic space probe to encounter Jupiter and Saturn. The collected data on the environment around the planets was transmitted to Earth and saved on magnetic tapes. While the tapes remain in pristine condition, they are today unaccessable, as the electronic reading devices have ceased to exist.
Pioneer 11 and its twin probe Pioneer 10 are well-known to space enthusiasts for the Pioneer plaques.
Among other engravings, these golden tablets depict nude figures of a human male and female. They are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form that may intercept the space probes.
In 1977, NASA included a golden phonograph record and a record player aboard the Voyager spacecraft. The disc contains sounds and images from Earth and its inhabitants. However, due to criticism following the Pioneer plaque, NASA this time refrained from displaying nude humans (photograph no. 33).
They did however include this.
THEMATIC STATEMENT
We find comfort in the notion of consistency. Like pyramids in a sand storm, some things shall remain immortal forever, underwhelmed by any circumstances.
These days, digital systems radiate a sense of calm. Files can be cloned and persist in eternity in infinite reproductions, as part of their DNA. They hardly mind temperature or humidity, and you won't need gloves when you unpack them.
Disruption and Residue
The proposition is to disrupt files existentially, to shake their system, literally. In order to do so, physical rearrangement is necessary. Four H.264 video files have been transferred onto obsolete video cassette systems, and all related digital files have been deleted.
The sequences receive tangible bodies that encode them. By disrupting the direct communication with the recipient, the animated episodes and their plastic shells gain in perceived value and intrinsic suspense. While all digital traces are eradicated, GIZA QUASAR potentially lives on in the residue of decayed systems. As its readability vanishes, questions emerge on dependency and immediacy between art and technology.
SETUP
The presentation of the work consists of four video cassettes and four posters.
The poster designs are based upon the video cassette packagings.
OUTLINE
GIZA QUASAR is an animation series. It consists of four episodes, each of four minutes in length.
The series is named after a fictional star.
The crudely animated episodes tell adventure tales around GIZA QUASAR, its capital Fuga City and its inhabitants. The series has been taped and stored on four video cassettes, one distinct video cassette system for each episode.
Episode 1: "The Interstellar Scan" on Philips VCR (video system from 1972)
Episode 2: "Matsushita reveals Giza Quasar" on Panasonic VX (video system from 1975)
Episode 3: "The Duplex Entity" on Sanyo VCordII (video system from 1976)
Episode 4: "Princess Luma’s Lost Companion" on Akai VK-30 (video system from 1977)
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