The centrepiece is a conjoined rag doll with two faces projected onto it: Bowie's and (Tony) Oursler's wife, the abstract impressionist artist Jacqueline Humphries. It is a technique that Oursler, one of the world's leading video and installation artists, has trademarked. The joint figure was a by-product of the pieces used to showcase Bowie's 50th birthday celebrations at Madison Square Gardens in 1997, which Oursler also directed. "There's a theme of looking back and moving forward to Where Are We Now?, of abandoning things and carrying things forward. It was very poignant for David to have that figure from his birthday in the video."
Secrecy for Bowie's comeback was paramount. Speaking from his New York studio, Oursler said only "around a baker's dozen" knew about the whole project: Bowie, his family, producer Tony Visconti, Humphries, Oursler, his five studio assistants and one or two others - and they all had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. "Certainly no more than 20 people knew. My nine-year-old son Jack walked in on us filming and I joked that David was his babysitter for the day. There were white knuckle moments worrying if something leaked - it's amazing in this day and age that nothing did. No one had the slightest idea - what an amazing birthday gift to the world."
Humphries, who received a thank you email from Bowie just before speaking to The IoS, added: "I had to keep stopping myself from blurting it out to someone. It's astonishing it stayed under wraps. I was a bit worried about which way it was going to go but the response has been overwhelming."
The 52-year-old artist modestly described her role as "not really doing much" and said she was thrilled to star in the video. "David is just a magician. It was a great collaboration between his music and Tony's aesthetics." (...)
(Oursler siger:) "David was thinking about the second character in the video and then just stopped and looked at me: 'what about Jacqueline?' he asked."
Humphries had never appeared in her husband's work with the exception of the use of her hand. Bowie and Humphries were transformed into "electric effigies" as Oursler calls them. "I don't like the word 'puppets'."
Bowie had experienced the role before. His face graced an effigy of a movie director which formed part of a three-part installation entitled Switch, displayed at the Hirsshorn Museum in Washington DC in 1996, barking orders at invisible actors leaving visitors laughing nervously. Oursler also designed Bowie's Earthling Tour in 1997, full of large eyeballs floating around concerts occasionally winking and blinking.
David, Jacqueline, Tony
Flot maleri, "Sort mandag", malet af Jacqueline
Sig mig LEVER du på bloggen? Satser du på at bli Lars "The Bloghead" Bukdahl, det første menneske, som henlagde sit liv totalt i informationsstrømmen, når det nu er så svært i den analoge verden, alle de årsagssammenhænge og sure mennesker? Og hvor har du gjort af dine hvedekorn? Stoppet dem op where the sun never shines? Overvej dog i det mindste et skift, kom ud og leg, blegfis, bli postbud, et nobelt erhverv og det har da lidt med bogstaver at gøre.
SvarSletVrøvlehoved, kristen. Lars Bukdahl skriver og redigerer. Han er i disse år så venlig at skrive næsten dagligt her på bloggen til glæde for en del læsere, blandt andet mig. Det er sikkert på bekostning af nogle bøger, han ellers ville have skrevet – for når man skriver, så skriver man altså; så deler man højst post ud for at tjene nogle penge eller for at samle stof eller energi til skriveriet. Og din kommentar er dog helt malplaceret netop under dette indlæg, som er glimrende information om Bowie-videoen, hentet et eller andet sted fra (kildeangivelse savnes, Bukdahl). Det er i øvrigt nemmere at gemme sig for sure og fornærede mennesker ude i den analoge virkelighed. Der kan man bare lukke sin dør. På nettet er de overalt.
SvarSlet(Jeg vælger så at være anonym, da jeg er en skrivende person, Bukdahl potentielt kunne komme til at anmelde; det er ikke sket endnu, men det kunne ske engang, derfor ønsker jeg ikke at fremstå som mesterfedterøv, når jeg i denne sammenhæng er Blogdahlfan – fordi Blogdahl er den bedste blog, jeg kender).
Jeg ved det! Han er en stor mand! En stor bloggist. Hvis han var en bil ville han være en Moskovit Limousine, og hvis han var en grøntsag ville han være en kinaradisse.
SvarSletTror du iøvrigt på den formodning, at man udfra en tekst kan kønsbestemmeen forfatteren? Jeg tror du er en kvinde.
Hvem taler om størrelser her? Jeg taler om ting, jeg kan li'. Og hvorfor ikke bare holde sig væk, når du synes, det er så slemt at læse. Stadig: Hvorfor i alverden kan det genere dig, at der står en for Bowiefans relevant artikel om en video - ikke engang signeret Bukdahl selv. Nå. Men hav det godt.
SvarSletHah...jeg havde ret! En kvinde.
SvarSletMen jeg skylder dig svar på, hvorfor jeg er her: jeg er lidenskabeligt optaget af quasi-forfattere, næsten-forfattere, som enten har noget at sige, men ikke ordet, eller (som her) en ord-ekvilibrist, uden det mindste at skrive om, og som derfor kaster sig ud i sekundære aktiviter, så som anmelderi eller bloggisme, egentlig gode sunde ting, men det gøres ( som du selv er inde på) istedet for at skrive bøger, altså som overspringshandling. Du drømmer om at blive anmeldt af LB, personligt ville jeg hellere anmeldes til politiet
SvarSletmvh Kristen Forster