Art of the Moving Image

When I visited the American Art Museum I explored the “Art of the Moving Image” section. I saw multiple videos in the section, but could not understand what many of them were trying to portray. One video that I decided to study a little more in depth was called “The Swamp.” This was a seminal film collaboration done by Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson.
Before I watched the film I really had no idea what was going on. All that is scene on the big screen in the museum is a camera dodging through what seems to be a forest of tall grass or bamboo. There is some audio but unfortunately it can’t be heard in the museum because of other things being played in the background. The video starts with the camera walking up a field towards the section of tall grass and sticks. Once the camera has entered the crowded grass land it spins and dodges for a few minutes almost looking like it is getting nowhere. Finally the camera makes it out of the forest and back where there is space. I was kind of confused as to what the overall point of the video was and did not really find it entertaining at first.
After reading the explanation I had a much better understanding of what this film entailed. This film was shot on a sixteen- millimeter film and followed the movement and point of view of the artist and camera through space. The camera became an the main translator of their trek through the terrain and struggle to record their perceptions. Although I could not hear this at the time, the artists are commentating on their movements throughout the whole video while the camera is showing it. After watching the second time and reading the explanation things made more sense, but still not much. I understood the point of the video, but not really the brilliance of it.
It was not until I put myself in the time period when this was made that I fully understood the brilliance of this video. This video was made over 40 years ago. There was no such thing as changing contrast, vision, or other specific visual details like you can today. This really did not occur to me when I first watched this. The movement and portrayal of lines with the reeds is something people probably were baffled by. For the time period something being shot form this point of view was also probably very new. The commentary also gave it a creepy vibe in my opinion. I think that because of how far technology has come, it’s hard for me to truly appreciate the brilliance of this film, but by putting myself in that time period, I can almost get it. I also decided to watch it on Youtube when I got back from the museum so I could hear the audio. This also gave me a better appreciation for film considering I could now hear the male voice guiding the camera through the terrain. Without this male voice guiding the camera I feel like I lost out on some initial knowledge when seeing the film in the museum. Like I said before this also gave me a somewhat creepy vibe when watching the video. Overall I feel that I can appreciate this video a lot considering how far we’ve come since 40 years ago.