The dark room that contains Natalie Bookchin’s media works creates an ambiance for the difficult, startling journey that she takes the viewer on through her multi-channel media installations. The individuals she’s interviewed all appear on their own screens, but when placed together, the viewer is bombarded with multiple voices at once, tackling controversial topics. The stories intertwine and allow the viewer to understand the collective realities of those affected by poverty or systematic racism.
Bookchin’s work was the featured exhibition in the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology’s 16th Biennial Symposium, Intersections. The show, titled Network Effects, explores critical issues facing America today: white nationalism, the racist underbelly of our country, mass unemployment and devastating poverty.
Bookchin is an internationally acclaimed artist and filmmaker who has received grants from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, among numerous others. Her work has been featured in LACMA, MOMA, Mass MOCA, the Walker Art Center and the Whitney Museum.
Long Story Short and Now he’s out in public and everyone can see, are two of the featured films in the exhibition. Long Story Short is a testimonial film from more than 100 people living in poverty who were interviewed at food banks, homeless shelters and job training centers around Los Angeles and the Bay Area. In 2016, it won the Grand Prize at Cinema Du Reel at the Pompidou Center in Paris. The piece works to derail prejudices or stereotypes often directed toward poverty-stricken individuals, and instead humanizes them. The film achieves this by capturing stories that are both personal and emotional. For example, there is footage of one man, who was living in a homeless shelter at the time of his interview, celebrating finishing his Associates degree after 18 years in prison. An out-of-work mother cried while talking about her children. A frequently ignored group, more than 45 million people live below the poverty line in our country. “We’re invisible, people see us but don’t want to see us,” said one man. Bookchin’s multi-channel approach allows each person to tell their story in a personal visual space, capturing a physical representation of their isolation. However, by having multiple people on screen at once, she simultaneously presents a powerful collective narrative that feels like a conversation.
Now he’s out in public and everyone can see, is a series of Youtube vlogs filmed by individuals between 2009 and 2011, discussing their thoughts about incidents in the news involving unnamed African-American men. All the vlogs are distinct, but Bookchin has edited them so the common phrases are said all at once by multiple voices, “I’m not racist, but…” The people in these vlogs are speaking from the comfort of their own homes. One man is sitting at his kitchen table with an NRA poster sporting the phrase “Mr. Obama, show us your birth certificate!” next to him, another stands in his bathroom drinking Olde English while the camera reflects his image in the mirror Filming in their own homes creates a safe haven, where the speakers feel comfortable revealing their racist thoughts. “In past years, this guy would’ve been serving me coffee,” said an older white man. “There’s a time and place to show your blackness,” says another. At one point, a young white, blonde girl with glasses, no older than 13, looks directly into the camera and says, “Imagine this: It’s late at night and you look out your window and see a black male.” It’s frightening and appalling how blatantly racist she is. Now he’s out in public and everyone can see is a complete contrast to the collective identity of the impoverished in Long Story Short. Here, the vloggers’ individuality is exemplified as they attack or defend famous black men, including President Barack Obama, sports stars like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal, and even rappers, and discuss the positions they believe black men should occupy in society. Now he’s out in public and everyone can see was first exhibited at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) ten days after the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012, and reflects our struggle as a society, viewing innocent black men as “threats.”
Bookchin’s work forces the viewer to think, and confront topics that may be uncomfortable, yet are extremely necessary. In our current political climate, Bookchin’s work is only given more urgency.
