Monday, July 25, 2011
Arts and Entertainment Pick of the Day: Justin Plakas' "Lullaby" at Zeitgeist
Posted by Laura Hutson on Mon, Jul 25, 2011 at 7:11 AM
Justin Plakas' "Lullaby," from Sub Urban Legends
When: Through July 30
Where: Zeitgeist Gallery, 1819 21st Ave. S.
(Excerpt from the article in July 21 issue of the Scene. Read the full story here.)
The current exhibit at Zeitgeist combines three kinds of work — a piece by Justin Plakas, and two very different projects by Jessica Wohl — that together create a dialogue about the clandestine nature of suburban life.
In between Wohl's two projects is Plakas' "Lullaby," a video of a spotlighted man in a shaggy hunting suit who tap dances while singing Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire." The video is slowed down so dramatically that the vocals are almost too deep to comprehend, necessitating subtitles at the bottom of the screen. The slow speed also makes the movement disarmingly ominous and inhuman. It's a spooky piece that recalls everything from African tribal rituals to the scene in Say Anything ... in which Lloyd Dobler serenades Diane Court while holding a boom box over his head.
