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The Kitchen Gallery and Performance Space on W. 19th between 10th and 11th offers a plethora of visual, performing and mixed media art presentations. Their current show in the gallery is Elodie Pongs "After the Empire;" an experimental short film in which the artist, Pong, tested the boundaries of the audiences acceptance of the somewhat absurdist structure of popular culture.
I arrived towards closing time. The gallery staff was fairly amenable to staying open a little later to enable me to watch the video in its entirety. The space was set up nicely with one sculptural exhibit in the main room, and two film installations in the back. The staff was knowledgeable about the pieces, explaining that Pong herself wanted the viewer to walk into watching her film at any point throughout, because even though it had a beginning and an end, it ran in a loop and could be picked up on from any point.
I came in just for the middle of the piece, and must say that watching it from middle to middle was extremely interesting and effective. Pongs idea that people should be able to view her piece from any point was completely valid and worked perfectly.
The film itself was a series of short vignettes, intertwined with each other. Each vignette had developed and absurdist characters, either reminiscent of a cultural stereotype (an Asian sex addict), or a pop culture icon, all with slightly new spins. She seemed to use only dialogue from other famous movies and songs and speeches; however, the variety of sources and the way Pong connected references that seemingly had nothing to do with each other was impressive. From Elvis, to Marylin Monroe, to Martin Luther King Jr. and even Batman and Robin, Pong pointed out the comical aspect of many of the popular influences through America. The film had a feeling of a side show at a circus, giving it humor and a sort of melancholy, which after all does play into what seems to be the overall point.
In this exhibit, Pong poigniantly points out the absurdity of much of our media driven popular culture, and makes the viewer think what will be left of our civilization and culture "After the Fall."