Joseph Beuys - Filz TV (1970)

This video by Joseph Beuys is a slow and time consuming piece that shows him performing menial and non-conformative actions in an extremely absurd way. The video begins with Beuys turning "up the bottom left corner of the felt, revealing a glimpse of the faulty TV picture. The voice of a TV reporter, who is talking about current milk and meat prices, is still audible. Beuys declares he has 'undertaken a gradual elimination' by 'filtering away' the picture first while leaving the sound, 'but when the picture has gone, the sound becomes absurd.'" http://www.ubu.com/film/beuys.html

'Filz TV' has no interactive elements with the audience HOWEVER it was performed in front of a live audience before it was adapted for television. When looking at it knowing these facts, it is quite easy to compare Beuys to a slapstick actor, not because of his own movements in particular but due to his use of the objects in the film such as the sausage, the boxing gloves and of course the television.

This piece is non-matrixed and is very simple to follow and does create a comical reaction due to Beuys' absurd use of the objects. I liked it because of its simplicity and because of its live performance background, I think that this gives it an extra dimension rather than being produced specifically as a piece of video art.