2015.22 Jon Rafman, Still Life (BETAMALE)


GENERAL DESCRIPTION  
In the video Still Life (BETAMALE), the artist utilizes found webcam footage obtained through social networking and imageboard websites such as 4chan and Reddit to piece together a loose narrative that gives a glimpse into the dark corners of Internet subculture. In particular, the video explores the world of Internet “trolls” along with the sub­cultures of erotic Japanese animation (hentai anime) and “furry fans.” Using the visual device of the virtual window on a computer screen, the video provides a “window” into these largely hidden online communities. The narration of the film alludes to the infinite possibilities (connectivity, greater access to information, greater efficiency, etc.) that were promised at the dawn of the Internet age, but this utopian vision is perverted in a disturbing fashion by the reality of what the Internet has become and the alternative communities it has generated. 

Excerpt from
  • Gabriel Ritter, Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet, April 10 2015 to December 6, 2015, Dallas Museum of Art.

NOTES
Did not get object file- streamlined process, no provenance. CLC, 11/19/18.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 

AUDIO ASSETS 

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES 
  • Dallas Museum of Art~Learn more about the Dallas Museum of Art's 2015 exhibition Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet, which included Still Life (BETAMALE).
  • Vimeo~Visit Vimeo to see Still Life (BETAMALE). Note: this video contains disturbing sexual content and violence. 
  • YouTube~See the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art's interview with Jon Rafman.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

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RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 2015.22

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General Description
 
In the video Still Life (BETAMALE), the artist utilizes found webcam footage obtained through social networking and imageboard websites such as 4chan and Reddit to piece together a loose narrative that gives a glimpse into the dark corners of Internet subculture. In particular, the video explores the world of Internet “trolls” along with the sub­cultures of erotic Japanese animation (hentai anime) and “furry fans.” Using the visual device of the virtual window on a computer screen, the video provides a “window” into these largely hidden online communities. The narration of the film alludes to the infinite possibilities (connectivity, greater access to information, greater efficiency, etc.) that were promised at the dawn of the Internet age, but this utopian vision is perverted in a disturbing fashion by the reality of what the Internet has become and the alternative communities it has generated. 

Excerpt from
  • Gabriel Ritter, Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet, April 10 2015 to December 6, 2015, Dallas Museum of Art.

Fun Facts

Archival Resources

Web Resources
 
  • Dallas Museum of Art~Learn more about the Dallas Museum of Art's 2015 exhibition Concentrations 59: Mirror Stage—Visualizing the Self After the Internet, which included Still Life (BETAMALE).
  • Vimeo~Visit Vimeo to see Still Life (BETAMALE). Note: this video contains disturbing sexual content and violence. 
  • YouTube~See the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art's interview with Jon Rafman.

Notes
Did not get object file- streamlined process, no provenance. CLC, 11/19/18.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 

AUDIO ASSETS 

VIDEO ASSETS

rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2015.22
tags
#draft
#completed
%Archived
*Contemporary Art
@Courtney
video art: AAT: 300102067
narrative (artistic device): AAT: 300055903
%copyedited_Jennie
eroticism: AAT: 300249821
distortion (visual and representational concepts): AAT: 300056332
networks: AAT: 300311885
found footage: AAT: 300264675
digital art (visual works): AAT: 300386810
internet: AAT: 300265429
gaze (psychoanalytical concept): AAT: 300263453
social media: AAT: 300312269
Rafman_Jon: DMA
fetishes: AAT: 300185494
information: AAT: 300311832
pornography: AAT: 300055933
source file
object_notes_2_a-0130.xml.nores