Harun Farocki, Deep Play

Deep Play

Photograph: Courtesy Greene Naftali

While there have been any number of artists parsing the media’s ability to spin lately, few have explored the subject with the intellectual rigor and aesthetic flair of German filmmaker Harun Farocki, who’s been investigating the relationship between technology and information for almost 40 years. Deep Play (2007), his monumental video installation—and, remarkably, only the artist’s second NYC solo show—reveals the depth of his approach, even if it lacks the punch of his most affecting work.

Twelve different projections of as many views of the 2006 World Cup play across three walls of a large room in surround-view fashion. Several scenes isolate players on the field, or overlay the game with graphic and statistical analysis of ball direction and player speed. Others show the stadium from above or security-camera footage in its corridors. Because everything was filmed in real time, the piece is two hours and 15 minutes long. Viewers can compare and contrast the various POVs, but given the volume of information it channels, Deep Play ultimately overwhelms.

What becomes clear is that such events are so complex they’re rendered meaningless until the media grafts a storyline onto them, as anyone following the presidential race will understand. Individual experience becomes virtually moot, and what should be an exciting sports final becomes drab broadcasting. All of this is conceptually fascinating, but makes for a visual experience that can seem crushingly dull at times.

—Joshua Mack