Published June 29, 2015 by Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Michel Auder’s Video Installation as Contemporary Counterpoint to "Night Vision"
Film still from “Untitled” (I Was Looking Back To See If You Were Looking Back At Me To See Me Looking Back At You) by Michel Auder
Artist Michel AuderOver the course of a year, the French videographer Michel Auder, who has been based in New York since 1970, pointed his camera into the dark to record the nocturnal view from a Manhattan apartment. His beautifully edited and densely layered three-channel video presents a contemporary perspective on the themes of Night Vision. When brightly lit windows offer views into peoples’ most personal affairs, boundaries between public and private collapse. The spectacle of the full moon rising above the skyline raises spirits. Traffic appears as the pulse of the city. With images stripped of narrative content and as carefully composed as paintings, Auder articulates an interpretation of the night that engages the history of nocturnal art. Untitled (I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you) poetically embraces the opportunities and uncertainties that the night affords. The installation was originally part of the 2014 Whitney Biennial. Michel Auder will discuss this video installation and other works on September 24, 2015. His presentation will be part of a series of contemporary artists speaking about the allure of the night that also includes painters Lois Dodd (September 3) and Richard Bosman (in conversation with poet Vincent Katz, September 21).
