I Am Here, 2006
I am Here is a generative, contemporary video art installation. It is an art commission for a private collection located in Shanghai, China. To view the work, you must enter the collector’s home by elevator. As the elevator doors open, they reveal two television screens mounted on the wall facing you. Unbeknownst to you at first, a camera captures you exiting the elevator. Suddenly the visitor appears on screen. Delayed and overlaid in video form. Mixing this almost live feed with other videos that were previously recorded. In addition, a second camera – 28 stories away – passively records people entering and exiting the building. Together, these two cameras link this private space to the public space below.
Two cameras record video throughout the life of the artwork. Recording architectural spaces and the movement of people through them. As a result of this recording, each day builds a catalog of video for the artwork to sample and process. Because of this, this work of contemporary video art creates new ways to understand the history of a place and the people who populate it. Learn more about Schatz’s revolutionary generative video art practice here, in his project, Esquire’s Portrait of the 21st Century.