Thinking in Film : The Politics of Video Art Installation According to Eija-Liisa Ahtila

What is a moving image, and how does it move us? In Thinking In Film, celebrated theorist Mieke Bal engages in an exploration - part dialogue, part voyage - with the video installations of Finnish artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila to understand movement as artistic practice and as affect. Through fifteen years of Ahtila's practice, including such seminal works as The Annunciation, Where Is Where? and The House, Bal searches for the places where theoretical and artistic practices intersect, to create radical spaces in which genuinely democratic acts are performed. Bringing together different understandings of 'figure' from form to character, Bal examines the syntax of the exhibition and its ability to bring together installations, the work itself, the physical and ontological thresholds of the installation space and the use of narrative and genre. The double meaning of 'movement', in Bal's unique thought, catalyses anunderstanding of video installation work as inherently plural, heterogenous and possessed of revolutionary political potential. The video image as an art form illuminates the question of what an image is, and the installation binds viewers to their own interactions with the space. In this context Bal argues that the intersection between movement and space creates an openness to difference and doubt. By 'thinking in' art, we find ideas not illustrated by but actualized in artworks. Bal practices this theory in action to demonstrate how the video installation can move us to think beyond ordinary boundaries and venture into new spaces. There is no act more radical than figuring a vision of the 'other' as film allows artto do. Thinking In Film is Mieke Bal ather incisive, innovative best as she opens up the miraculous political potential of the condensed art of the moving image. 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The Politics of Legibility 87 “I Am Where the Sounds Are” 94 Beyond the Face 100 Psychotic Modeling and Psychosis as Model 103 The Camera as Narrator 107 Singularizing the Senses: Destroying Timespace 112 Being in Time? Philosophy and the Paddleboat 117 Feminism and the House 123 Affect as a Language 128 3 Installation: Threshold 135 If Time Was Space 135 If Cinema Was Gallery 140 The Gallery as Political Space 150 On the Threshold 153 Black as Leader 158 The Threshold as Index 168 If She Was Other 172 Moving Subjectivity Installed 178 4 Narrative: Ending 183 End of Story 183 Storytelling to the Dogs 187 Indexical Narration 194 “Thought Cold as Snow” 200 Sense-Time 204 Com-Possibility 212 Turning Corners, Learning to Bow, Bowing Out 223 5 Genre: Contact Spaces 231 Genre as Habit and Habitat 231 Today as (Anti-)Melodrama 240 Melodrama and Mourning 249 Figurations of Death 253 Death as Configuration 264 Death and the Poet 267 Mektoub 281 Epilogue: Images 287 References 305 Index of Names 313 A 313 B 313 C 314 D 314 E 314 F 314 G 314 H 314 I 315 J 315 K 315 L 315 M 315 N 315 O 315 P 315 R 315 S 316 T 316 U 316 V 316 W 316 Y 316 Index of Subjects 317 A 317 B 317 C 318 D 318 E 319 F 319 G 319 H 320 I 320 J 320 L 320 M 321 N 321 P 322 R 322 S 323 T 323 U 324 V 324 W 324 What Is A Moving Image, And How Does It Move Us? In Thinking In Film, Celebrated Theorist Mieke Bal Engages In An Exploration - Part Dialogue, Part Voyage - With The Video Installations Of Finnish Artist Eija-liisa Ahtila To Understand Movement As Artistic Practice And As Affect. Through Fifteen Years Of Ahtila's Practice, Including Such Seminal Works As The Annunciation, Where Is Where? And The House, Bal Searches For The Places Where Theoretical And Artistic Practices Intersect, To Create Radical Spaces In Which Genuinely Democratic Acts Are Performed. Prologue -- Introduction. Thinking In Film ; Thinking Moving : Artistic Practice ; The Political Of The Aesthetic : Theoretical Practice -- Exhibition : Syntax. This Is Not An Exhibition ; Zooming In : Exhibition As Close-up ; The End ; The Beginning ; Where Are We? Between Politics And Aesthetics ; Retrospection : How Exhibition Syntax Works ; Hearing Sounds : Ruf Ruf ; Death Against Mastery ; Theater Of Mirrors -- Work : Meaning. What If? The Politics Of Legibility ; I Am Where The Sounds Are ; Beyond The Face ; Psychotic Modeling And Psychosis As Model ; The Camera As Narrator ; Singularizing The Senses : Destroying Timespace ; Being In Time? Philosophy And The Paddleboat ; Feminism And The House ; Affect As A Language -- Installation : Threshold. If Time Was Space ; If Cinema Was Gallery ; The Gallery As Political Space ; On The Threshold ; Black As Leader ; The Threshold As Index ; If She Was Other ; Moving Subjectivity Installed -- Narrative : Ending. End Of Story ; Storytelling To The Dogs ; Indexical Narration ; Thought Cold As Snow ; Sense-time ; Corn-possibility ; Turning Corners, Learning To Bow, Bowing Out -- Genre Contact : Spaces. Genre As Habit And Habitat ; Today As (anti-) Melodrama ; Melodrama And Mourning ; Figurations Of Death ; Death As Configuration ; Death And The Poet ; Mektoub -- Epilogue: Images. Mieke Bal Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. What is a moving image, and how does it move us? In this book, theorist Mieke Bal engages in an exploration - part dialogue, part voyage - with the video installations of Finnish artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila to understand movement as artistic practice and as affect. Through fifteen years of Ahtila's practice, including such seminal works as 'The Annunciation', 'Where Is Where?' and 'The House', Bal searches for the places where theoretical and artistic practices intersect, to create radical spaces in which genuinely democratic acts are performed. Bringing together different understandings of 'figure' from form to character, Bal examines the syntax of the exhibition and its ability to bring together installations, the work itself, the physical and ontological thresholds of the installation space and the use of narrative and genre. The double meaning of 'movement', in Bal's unique thought, catalyses anunderstanding of video installation work as inherently plural, heterogenous and possessed of revolutionary political potential