Interview by Jacqueline Salloum
24 min 2002

A 1975 Playboy interview conducted with ex-CIA man, Philip Agee-on his controversial book exposing the misdeeds of the CIA- is re-issued and Made for TV! The original images and text are recontextualized into a short video and presented to the viewer through the consoling devise of a television.

Juxtaposing subtitles, playmates and a few commercial breaks, Interview reflects on the dissimulation and commodification of information construed through the media. This work also conveys those rare moments buried and veiled information leaks out and surfaces via pop culture and entertainment. The viewer's attention is tempted to stray from subtitles to catch a glimpse (or more) of the ongoing erotic spectacle of playmates.

Talk of torture techniques and subversion of entire countries are trivialized by the use of glamorized imagery and over simplified usage of text placed within the black void of the screen. The audio track is a fragmented and corrupted Spanish that is spoken with perfect accents and delivers nothing more than an incoherent via Internet translation of the original text. Unless the viewer understands Spanish it may seem to be an insignificant component to the piece but in essence reflects the impotence and complacency viewers consent to while staring into the void.

Amidst the infotainment is a deluge of historical information on U.S foreign policy ignored and forgotten by the masses-altered and erased by those in power.

@ Vermont Music Café
Nov. 30, 7 -11pm