Memory Games

Most of the experience I have with art has been with drawing. I have slowly started to dable in painting and more digital media, such as video. Since I am not really familiar with a lot of video artists, and haven't been exposed to too much video art, I feel really limited in the field. I've started exploring it a bit on my own and came across this video.

http://www.videoart.net/home/Artists/VideoPage.cfm?Artist_ID=2757&ArtWork_ID=3082&Player_ID=2

It is a video piece by an artist named Yuval Yairi called "Memory Game." I found the piece particularly interesting. I love all the texture that is in the video, from the old worn books to the stone of the buildings. I found the comparison between taking books of a shelf and tearing down a building very interesting and intriguing. I thought the piece was simple, yet it got its point across smoothly.

To me, the piece was about books being a symbol for memory and the idea of tearing down knowledge. The video reflects on how books are slowly being removed from our society and as they are knowledge and memory are being removed with them. It uses the scenes of the buildings being torn apart to help show how destructive removing the books is. The video ends with scene of rubble and fades out, giving a grim outlook on the future.

I felt this video was very strong. I agree with the artists feelings about the loss of books and knowledge. It seems that with everything turning to digital and going paperless, the actual need for books becomes less and less. A person can now buy digital books, in which thousands of digital books can be stored and brought up at any given time. The question is, will deconstruction of books truly lead to the deconstruction of memory as well.