Frankenstein

Ever since I first encountered Frankenstein in the darkness of a movie theater around 1942, I have been fascinated by his story and its continuing importance and popularity as a contemporary myth. Its gothic theme and powerful imagery, which have engrossed one generation after another, have become part of modern consciousness, inspiring numerous and wide-ranging variations that have added new layers of meaning to Mary Shelley’s original novel. Although most versions of Frankenstein that have been produced to date are forgettable in themselves, they have nevertheless contributed to the evolution of the myth, linking the novel with other forms of expression and media, and keeping the story before a mass audience throughout the 20th century. The fact that the original Frankenstein has been domesticated, parodied and humanized over the years only adds to the richness of its content and imagery, and to the potential it offers for new forms of interpretation.

In 1987 my long-time interest in the Frankenstein story, as well as its mythopoeic influence on 20th-century art and entertainment, led to a series of media works including an abstract interpretation that I produced on videotape. Called simply Frankenstein, this video version uses a collage of appropriated and recycled images for the purpose of updating and underscoring the legend’s metaphorical content: Dr. Frankenstein represents imprudent science, and the monster is a symbol for a dangerously flawed technology. Clips from the 1931 feature film version are combined with an assortment of off-the- air video recordings of documentary footage and then electronically processed and stylized. This transformation of imagery, which was achieved with both high-end and low-end production facilities, essentially had a twofold purpose, namely, to assemble a collage of disparate pictorial material into a homogeneous unit, and to increase the potential for interpreting and personalizing the Frankenstein theme and its mythological iconography. The irony of using technology (video, electronic processing, colorization, etc.) to comment on the negative effects of technology is an integral part of the tape's concept. My intention here is to parallel and reinforce the legend’s expressed social and ethical perspective while at the same time indicating a certain optimism (albeit cautious) about the future fusion of science and humanistic concerns.

The sound-track for Frankenstein is composed of simple but unusual effects including screams, grunts and other guttural utterances produced by the human voice. Using an expressionistic approach to sound and image relationships, synchronous but incongruous effects were employed to amplify, distort and punctuate the tape’s subject matter.

Produced in association with the Experimental Television Center, Owego, New York. Notes taken from Robert Russett: A retrospective survey, University Art Museum, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1989.

and KADN-TV. Lafayette. Louisiana

Author: 

Year: 

1989

Country: 

United States
Technical data

Original format: 

Video

Aspect ratio: 

4:3

Colour: 

Colour

Sound: 

Sound

Length: 

8 minutes and 30 seconds

Other info: 

3/4-inch videotape

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