Grand Gestures ~ The Toronto Plaques

The Toronto Plaques, appeared already in this Katz´s tumblr (above, via wooster) but they are such a brilliant piece of art in the public space that they deserve a closer look. The strange plaques were part of the grand Gestures installation by the 640 480 Video Collective, which aimed to memorialize inconsequential events captured on video at ten spots around the city. Each marker was placed in September and describes the unexciting details of a YouTube-sourced video shot at that particular location.
Click pics for the related youtube flick.

People make 'home movies' in order to create permanent reminders of moments they might otherwise forget. More often than not, it is the video itself that replaces the actual memories, and it is only through this medium that moments can be (re)experienced at all. 640 480

"Hunched at a table, she self-consciously pulled at her black sleeves and used her two straws like chopsticks to eat the slush of her iced coffee," reads one plaque, which also includes the YouTube tags inscribed in tiny text below [video]. Another sign affixed outside the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art proclaims, "Couples walked by holding umbrellas. A blonde girl complained, yet her boyfriend urged her on as someone yelled, 'MOCCA! MOCCA! MOCCA!'" [video]


640 480 takes its name from the original 4:3 aspect ratio of video screens, and the group has an obvious affinity for the rapidly disappearing magnetic tape format. Memorial lapel ribbons made from videotape were also part of the grand Gestures installation, and taped copies of the videos are to be converted into an artificial diamond, signifying the preservation of memories from an increasingly obsolete format into an everlasting state.

What makes the plaques so brilliant is how, by marking prosaic events in such an overstated manner, they become infinitely more interesting. Still, someone obviously thought such barely noteworthy moments were important enough to upload to YouTube in the first place, which is perhaps more of a mystery.


via Torontoist via wooster