DJ Spooky

DJ Spooky treats his visual projects like any artist would treat their artwork. He looks at every transition between images, and is interested in the relationships between people. In the interview, he states that any kind of interaction is some kind of relationship. He gives the example of the conversation that he is having with the interviewer right then, and says that this interaction could be symbolized as a line between the two people in one of his pieces. He deals with abstract forms and subjects that catch people's attention, such as the KKK in his "Rebirth of a Nation."

Repetition of certain images gets the point across in DJ Spooky's works. These images include the member of the KKK on horseback, waving. This image is disturbing because it is in slow motion, and makes me think of the gesture as calm, confident, and regal.

 Squares, triangles, and boxes often symbolize relationships and communication between people in his works. This is a very abstract way of telling a story and focusing the attention of the viewer to a certain situation on the screen.

 Transitions are very important between sounds when creating a sound piece.  Ambient noises keep a constant background, which could relate to the themes of each of DJ Spooky’s pieces.  The theme holds the video piece together as the ambient sounds create a solid ground for the other noises to work off from.

 DJ Spooky’s goal of this film was to highlight the issues of race in the past, as well as remake a very controversial film into something that people can relate to today.  This relation is created through the use of abstract forms and transitions, as well as the synchronization of the parts of the motion picture to a mixed beat. Many of the “blacks” in the film are white people in blackface in the original film, and Spooky uses these clips in his movie to show the relationship between the two races.  Upper class white families sit around and laugh at people in blackface putting on a clown-like show.  DJ Spooky shows the relationships between people by encircling them with eye-catching geometric forms. Lines such as these draw the eye to what DJ Spooky wants the observer to focus on.  In this way, we have been subjected to exactly what he wants us to see because he controls where our eye lands.  This is the case of any type of creative piece: the artist has the power to convey an idea and control, to a certain extent, what the observer takes away from the piece.  DJ Spooky also uses the negative effect to flip the skin color of the plantation owner and the slaves picking the cotton.  He wants people to be unsure of the media environment around them.  He achieves this by creating an abstract film on a controversial subject based off of one of the most controversial movies ever created.  Many still images in the film are disturbing; these pictures have the potential to hit close to home for anyone no matter the background.  These images are so unsettling because it is uncomfortable to imagine the atrocities human beings are willing and capable of doing.