THE
ACTIONS OF FRED FOREST
14
VIDEO PERFORMANCE / EVENT
VIDEO
PORTRAIT OF A COLLECTOR IN REAL TIME
ESPACE
PIERRE CARDIN, PARIS
JUNE 1974
This
project parodies the esthetic conventions (the formal portrait)
and mercantile rituals (the auction) of the art world and explores
the critical potential of real-time media. In the highly ceremonial
setting of a public auction conducted under the gavel of Jean-Claude
Binoche, the artist begins work on his advertised “Video Portrait
of a Collector” precisely when bidding on the unfinished work
itself gets underway. From a spot on the platform normally reserved
for the lot being auctioned off, he mans his portable video camera,
panning quickly about the room to record each new bid. In other
words, the “portrait” in question is originally nothing
more than the video recording of the bidding war among its putative
“collectors.” The taping ends in a close-up of the person
who has finally managed to outbid his rivals; however, according
to the terms of the sales contract, the portrait is not officially
finished, nor is it delivered to the buyer, until the collector
has offered further evidence of his “good taste” by
having himself filmed on the same tape, in close-up, eating several
complete meals.
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