AS ABOVE, AS BELOW
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JOHN STURGEON
As Above, As Below
a "performed" sculptural video installation
created for a solo exhibition: Two Video Installations 1978
at the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
John Sturgeon ©1978
Video: 2 channel, color, 13:51 minutes, sound
As Above, As Below was a two channel of video, "performed" installation that was executed in two stages. An installation set was created in the gallery, in which a videotaped performance completed its creation, leaving the physical record of footprints, a clay body imprint, drawings, etc. Two stacked monitors at the edge of the set played back the performance event, on the lower channel. Related performance scenes from a dry lake in Sheep Hole Mountains of the Mojave Desert appear in the upper monitor.
Performance/Video:
The alchemical precept implies, that which is above is reflected below. From above, an explorer excavates the encrusted, latent self below. Seen as a drama fluctuating between poles, from desert environment to stylized, geometric interior, the metaphor progresses to a fisherman plumbing the depths in search of a more holistic view of self.
Components:
Two channels color video- 13:51 mins. repeated, stacked monitors, sound system. Black room, black floor with white 12" grid, copper pyramid on fiberglass pole ceiling mounted, magnets, 3' triangular mirror with B&W barricade frame, 4 lead bars, fishnet, bamboo pole, gray clay body imprint, corn meal spiral, hat, fishing hooks and line, footprints and drawing. Solo Exhibition - "Two Video Installations" - also included I Will Take You.
The alchemical precept implies, that which is above is reflected below. From above, an explorer excavates the encrusted, latent self below. Seen as a drama fluctuating between poles, from desert environment to stylized, geometric interior, the metaphor progresses to that of a fisherman plumbing the depths in search of a more holistic view of self.
Reference: As Above, As Below originally formed the two video channels for a performed, video installation, created for Sturgeon's solo exhibition at the Long Beach Museum of Art, 1978.
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Date Completed: March 1978
Country of Production: USA - Venice, California & unnamed dry lake in the Sheephole Mountains - Mojave Desert, CA
Original Language: Non-Verbal (with sound and image)
Copyright: John Sturgeon, ©1978
TECHNICAL DATA
Length: 14:00 mins., color
Sound: mono
Original Master Format: 1/2" Reel-to-Reel AV
Sub-Master: Beta Cam SP, NTSC
Original Standard: NTSC
Exhibition format: Two Channel
JOHN STURGEON
"Sturgeon's work can be seen as a continuing process of concentration and abstraction. Through the process of a continuing introspection, the viewer of Sturgeon's work is confronted with the conflict between the rational and observable aspects of an outer landscape coldly portrayed in black and white video, and a 'mystical' non-objective set of symbols and activities constructed from the language of a variety of non-rational symbol systems. Both worlds are posed as mutually inclusive; both seem clearly related to Sturgeon's exploration of his consciousness." -
- "Sturgeon's use of state-of-the-art communications technology to express this basic concern (the coexistence of a highly personal yet completely universal kind of self-knowledge) is similarly rooted in his desire to propound the timeless in terms of the most immediate and ephemeral form of communication available to him. Initially, his work took the form of environmental sculpture, in which he dealt with what he perceived as the split between the individual and his or her environment. But as it became clear to Sturgeon that this mistaken perception had its roots in a more internalized conflict, he found that video was a medium well-suited to the kind of reflective and synthetic work he had to pursue. After making a series of dense, heavily edited tapes, during which time he evolved a highly evocative personal symbolic language drawn from Jungian and Cabalistic archetypes, Sturgeon's work evolved from pure videotape into combined live and taped performances which even further exemplified the distinctions he sought to unify. The dialogue between live performance and recorded time created for Sturgeon a space in which he could fully explore his universal, yet personal, dialogue."
David A. Ross, director
Two Video Installations catalogue
Long Beach Museum of Art, 1978
ARTnews
Larson, Susan C., "John Sturgeon: Two Videos Installations", Artnews, Vol. 77, No. 5, May 1978
JOHN STURGEON
As Above, As Below ©1978
2 channel color, 14:00 minutes, sound
The alchemical precept implies, that which is above is reflected below. From above, an explorer excavates the encrusted, latent self below. Seen as a drama fluctuating between poles, from desert environment to stylized, geometric interior, the metaphor progresses to that of a fisherman plumbing the depths in search of a more holistic view of self.
Reference: As Above, As Below was created as a two channel, performed video installation, for Sturgeon’s solo exhibition: Two Video Installations, which included I Will Take You - sculptural video installation, January 1978 for the Long Beach Museum of Art, L.B., California.
Components:
Two color video monitors, 14 mins. looped, with sound. Sculptural elements include undulating copper pyramid, gray-clay record of the installation finishing performance on a black grid floor, 2 speaker & amp sound system. Production: USA - Venice, California & unnamed dry lake in the Sheephole Mountains - Mojave Desert, CA
Copyright: John Sturgeon, ©1978
TECHNICAL DATA
Length: 14:00 mins.
Color, Sound: mono
Original Master Format: 1/2" Reel-to-Reel AV
Sub-Master: Beta Cam SP, NTSC
Original Standard: NTSC
Exhibition format: Two Channel