eddie d uses unrelated video segments based on incidental everyday perceptions: the rattling lid of a pan, or a foot stamping, a talking head on the television.
With these fragments he creates compositions. He turns them into a rhythmical sequence, making use of the compositional principles of music, poetry or choreography. And just as with these disciplines, the meaning is generated by the experience of the whole. Repetitions, duplications, framing, shifts and crescendos generally suggest means by which the influx of trivia can be reforged into a significant experience.
(Jaap Vinken/Martine van Kampen)
This video was made for a one-minute project in The Netherlands in 2010. If I remember correctly, I had to choose a Dutch movie as base material. So I did.
‘Kan Dat’ means in this contexts ‘Is that even possible ?’
Nice and Fresh and Greasy is a video-opera about beauty, commercialism en the freshness of grease (or the greasiness of fresh).
Its a musical video-collage in which found-footage elements and music are tightly integrated to form a dynamic, uplifting composition.
With this work, eddie d again shows he is the master of rhythmical video. He worked together with Dutch composer Jaap Dercksen and the music is composed in conjunction with eddie d's video-editing process; after selecting and pre-editing some video and sound, eddie d sent this to Jaap the composer, who then wrote a ground layer of music, then he sent the score to eddie d who then edited more video and sent this to Jaap again and so on and so forth until the piece was ready.
The footage is from an annoying phone-in tv gameshow and a 1960's television commercial. All is rhythmically accompanied by a man playing the spoons and using his mouth as a percussion instrument.
The work shows that, when you have guests, a nice looking tablecloth is appropriate.
Accumulate
Video Poem
In an age when even smartphones produce HD video, eddie d collects old SD dvds and instruction videos to search for material to use for his works. This Lo-Fi approach has resulted in a video poem which stars one man and his numbers. The poem might be about the financial crises, or bankers, or just about everyday problems we all have to endure. The question that remains is: How much more? 5?
One thing is certain: as always with eddie d videos, the work is short enough to fit in anyone’s pocket.
The first real ‘eddie d video’ that started it all.
In a virtuoso succession of fragments of images and sound, eddie d. does not show the world of ordinary objects as being inert or passive but as if they are constantly in motion. Hence the sounds that they make when they move, are no longer insignificant noises but have been transformed into rhythmic beats. We hear cutlery clattering in a sink, sandwiches springing from the toaster, a creaking door, spray paint being sprayed... In addition we see and hear actions and sounds that would normally be viewed as being unimportant or banal such as a mouth belching, a throat being cleared, fingers rubbing glass, fingernails scraping across a wall and the stamping of a foot. eddie d. presents illustrative music by editing audio and video tonally. Just like a conventional musical composition, this clip consists of various parts that are defined by the way in which these fragments of image and sound are related to each other.
Choreography for 4 right-wing hands looking for a glove.”
For this ‘videographic animation’, eddie d, in his own typical way, has manipulated footage that everyone must have seen once or twice on TV. These are the both funny and embarrassing, interchangeable moments where political leaders or other talking heads have arrived at a pathetic, faltering cul de sac of language and movement. Their words, sounds and gestures lead a life of their own; they are in control of their creators, not the other way around.
‘Pas de Deux’ represents a duet or duel in the Dutch House of Representatives: a debate about double nationality, both participants competing for the favour of the right-wing electorate. The opponents are the right-wing liberal politician MarcRutte, regarded as slightly too anxious and leftist by some members of his own party, and the controversial right-wing populist Geert Wilders. The intended discourse and dialogue degenerates into stuttering and stammering, ‘supported’ by a dance of hands that are fruitlessly trying to invigorate the meaningless words. In an audiovisual act, eddie d pushes this grotesque spectacle to an extreme.
Netherlands Media Art Institute, Esma Moukhtar
eddie d tackles a special (and extreme) example of political ostentation and ritual in the Netherlands: ‘Prinsjesdag’, the day on which the monarch presents the governmental policies for the forthcoming year tothe collective Dutch parliament. The pompous rituals around this special day are exposed and reduced to their very essence by means of canny editing. 'Majesteit' compares two so-called ‘Throne speeches’ with each other: those of 1997 and 2008. Are there actually any essential differences – apart from Queen Beatrix’s new hat and perhaps the newly designed upholstery on her throne? The government will work hard and cherish hope. The people are expected to behave like good citizens. And all the ministers present diligently join in the ceremonial cheers, but are actually more interested in their own appearance and cuff links.
In 'Sonatina',
eddie d continues his experiments with the deconstruction of language, and pushes them to extremes. As in his other works, he makes use of the standard TV-image of a 'talking head' that looks straight into the camera. The man's words have been chopped up in such a way that only loose letters and sounds remain. The resulting choreography of his head alternates between frozen standstill and jerky movement - a difference that limits itself to a few millimetres.
By means of precise, rhythmical editing, eddie d has created a musical composition that is inspired by the sound poems of Kurt Schwitters. The talking head is portrayed by a former Dutch prime minister who, in the Netherlands, is best known for his clear articulation.
The Masterplan.
Another one made for a One Minute project but extended into Th directors Cut.
More very interesting information about this Masterpiece will follow.
Someday.
The first: a musical montage of 'talking heads.' eddie d. uses TV fragments of speakers - including the former Dutch premier Ruud Lubbers - in a way that transforms them into the performers of a piece of experimental music. Each individual's text and tone consists of just one word (or its beginnings) which appears as briefly as the speaker's image: 'yes', 'ah' and 'si.'
The second: the fragments and noises of a ladies' tennis match are alternated with images and sounds of, for instance, flowing water, dripping water and a pile driver.
The end.
16 seasons blissfully looking at our crab-apple from the couch.
Take your time.
This video will be added to every now and then to add more seasons.
Videomusic from 1996
Solo For Video
A classic eddie d video, Solo For Video is just that; the video-solo in the concert piece "Soundmovie" that nowadays would be called live-visual or something like that. The peace was written by composer Jaap Dercksen and the visuals were done by eddie d. For this 1995 concert eddie d helped develloped the "Image Keyboard" that made it possible to play his images (with sound!) live as an instrument.
Mr d edited this video-solo that, in contrast to the rest of his visuals, wasn't played live because he hates being on stage. (more on this concert on the official eddie d website).
The best material for a work of art is often simply to be found in everyday reality. After all, this is where the things that are directly connected with our human nature can be found, because day in day out they comply with our habits and patterns. They lead a life that we have stopped noticing. The household requisites that eddie d already brought to life in previous video works, also play a role in 'Mi Cocina'. With their bright colours and clean-cut designs, they speak the language of pictographs or educational illustrations - even more so because here they are toy kitchen utensils. The plastic pans, plates and ladles are shaking and rattling about, making the sounds of their adult equivalents while being controlled by an invisible force that lets them play together in unique rhythms and structures.
In our high-speed world, customs officials are seen as a delay. The atmosphere in Travelocity is full of 1950s tranquillity, but looking at this work from our fast-moving world (including terrorism), this peace and quiet can only appear deceptive. A jovial uncle-type American customs officer is checking the suitcases of a well-turned-out young man. There are no neon lights, long queues or so much as a drop of sweat to be seen. As usual in eddie d's work, the staccato editing and the soundtrack pulverize all that seems to be self-evident. The locks on the suitcases sound as rhythmical as machine-gun fire. Lids open and close, and human bodies sway jerkily back and forth. As a matter of routine, with eyes closed, the young globetrotter and the experienced customs officer carry on exuding innocence.
It doesn’t matter if you’re watching your daily news broadcast on BBC, the Dutch NOS, on French or Turkish TV channels: all over the world the news is blue, intros always feature a terrestrial globe, all anchormen and -women are positioned in exactly the same spot – and do these often-used bleeps perhaps contain a secret (morse) code? In ‘Heads and Globes, Similarity Matrix’, eddie d has investigated some striking similarities between news broadcasts from several countries, collected over the past ten years – the title refers to a so-called ‘similarity matrix’, a mathematical way to show resemblances between several points. The editing style of this work is related to classic scratch video; with 25 edits per second, eddie d strolls ahead in the speed race of new media.
