The "Charming" title of this piece is a literal motif of this work fromKlaus vom Bruch, where the word is repeated in staccato loop such thatthe sound of the word becomes disengaged from its meaning. In the samesense, we see the classically handsome features of the artist posedbefore the camera, but in the context of the endless repetition, theinitial identification of the charismatic character soon transforms intoa looming and passively aggressive subtext. Vom Bruch distorts his ownimagery with another scene he inserts into his edit, film footage fromthe perspective of a World War II bomber flying over a vague terrain.The repeated flash of explosions from the jet dissolves again and againinto the image of Bruch, and the droning reiterations serve both toimpre…s strong sensations into the consciousness of the viewer anddesensitize the elements from their usual significations. Thedeconstruction paves the way for a different kind of subjectification,and vom Bruch's tape becomes a portrait of the artist in relation to themedia which he appropriates and the instability of the post-war Germanidentity.
(Elaine W. Ho) Read more...