Thesis
Personal Statement
"Most people don't know what they want or feel. And for everyone, myself included, It's very difficult to say what you mean when what you mean is painful. The most difficult thing in the world is to reveal yourself, to express what you have to... As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all, we must dare to fail. You must have the courage to be bad - to be willing to risk everything to really express it all." - John Cassavetes
My goal in doing this project was to gain control over television.
As a very small child I was completely absorbed with Television. My mother says I would "go into" the TV set and when she called my name I wouldn't respond. It frightened her.
When I was about 5 years old, my mother took my brother and I to the house of a family friend. He had a video camera and monitor set up and we delighted in seeing ourselves on TV. We had conquered the medium.
I also remember seeing a Little Rascals episode that had an effect on me. The gang goes to see a movie premiere, but are chased away by the cops when they get too close to the action. They decide to create their own premiere with the use of Waldo's movie camera. In order to solve the ever-present problem of synchronized sound in film, they stand behind the screen and speak the character's lines. Somehow the combination of the power and authority of pre-produced footage with the immediacy and danger of live performers.
A little later on I became intrigued by video games. But I'm not really a gamer. I don't really care if I win or not, or how many illusionary points I can score. My interest in video games, like my later interest in Interactive Telecommunications, comes not from any interest in computation, but rather from a desire to be a part of an all-powerful medium rather than a passive observer.
I set out not to recreate these experiences but to transcend them.
Comments or questions? Email to info[AT]henryharvey.com.
Copyright Henry Harvey 2006.