1W3 Virtual and Actual

In Arcade Fire’s video ‘black mirror’ (directed by Oliver Groulx and Tracey Maurice, director of photography Jean-François Lord) a giant head appears in one of the scenes, in the middle of the water, beautifully composited, a little bit à la Theo Angelopoulos ‘Ulysses’ gaze’ scene of the famous Lenin sculpture being transported in the still river.

Check the Arcade Fire video on: http://www.rorrimkcalb.com/

The giant head in the Arcade fire video is a virtual sculpture while the Lenin sculpture is an actual cement based traditional monument, both appear in a digital format, that of film or video that could be watched on a screen.

It is an example for the introductory question that I have been reading about lately, technology as a tool or a medium? Till what extent can video be considered digital art? Does digital art require the presence of the ‘interactive’, the ‘user’s manipulation of the artwork’? or could it simply be an all set video that has been shot, edited, and finalized, so that the viewer can do nothing but watch it?