retail requiem
2013 Video Installation at Mildred Kemper Lane Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
Retail Requiem is an immersive installation with two videos playing simultaneously in a black box room with reflective black granite floor tiles. In one video, the artist is dressed in black concert attire (or funeral attire) marches in front of several dead malls in the Midwest and performs excerpts from Baroque flute requiems on her flute. In the other video, the artist’s camera documents the exteriors of each mall from the perspective of the ring road, driving the perimeter of the parking lots. The audio playback in this video is a pre-recorded, original ambient composition where artist plays airy notes on the bass flute, alto flute, flute, and piccolo as an eerie sonic backdrop to the requiems performed on the opposite screen.
Left Screen Below:
Right Screen Below:
Additional Installation Views:
JaNae Contag 