During the last academic year, Kentucky College of Art + Design professor Andrew Cozzens was invited to participate in a roundtable conversation with other area arts leaders that was funded by Louisville’s Great Meadows Foundation and facilitated by LEO Weekly. The topic was the ways in which local artists and arts institutions are incorporating video, sound and immersive experiences into rotating exhibits. What follows is an excerpt of the full article that highlights Cozzens’ extensive background in this realm of the contemporary art world.

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LEO: Do multimedia shows resonate with a specific audience? Do you find viewers stay with the pieces longer that incorporate sound/tech/video?

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Andrew Cozzens: I remember the first couple times I saw a video playing in a gallery/museum, and I sat and watched the entire thing each time. After a few trips to different galleries I noticed that most of my time visiting those exhibitions was spent watching video pieces of varying lengths. On one hand, I thought it was cool that these video works were holding the viewer’s attention much longer than other forms of artwork. Then, I began to consider the amount of time I was spending watching video work instead of artworks that I found much more interesting. It is very comfortable and familiar for us to relax in front of a moving image and wait to see what unfolds. The mistake, however, is that we often assume that the ‘entire story’ of a drawing, sculpture or photograph is unveiled to us instantly and automatically, allowing us to move on from it after just a few seconds of viewing. This is usually not the case. It takes time to see an artwork, from the artist’s aesthetic decisions to the use of material, and the hand of the artist, and not to mention all of the possible connections to our universal and individual past experiences and histories that we bring to the work. The contexts and connections are endless. I often tell students that viewing artwork is just as important as making it — both parties can only achieve 50% alone, just like a speaker and listener or performer and audience. This is why we must make an effort to pay attention to the artworks that aren’t as prescribed or extravagant. Some of the best artwork I have ever seen was visually very boring. My favorite video artworks seem to be the slower and more mundane ones because they offer more time and space for me to reflect and think about what I am looking at. 

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LEO: Have you curated or visited any local exhibits/shows of note incorporating video and technology? 

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Cozzens: I curated an exhibition years ago that touches on this topic pretty directly. It was an exhibition called ‘Cinema Killed the Video Star’ that was a co-curated project with a fellow artist/curator Stacey Reason at the PUBLIC Gallery, which was once located down on Whiskey Row. It was an exhibition that highlighted the specific characteristics of video artwork as opposed to cinematic film. Beyond curating, I also use video installation in my own practice. My work deals with the human perception of time which often includes durations such as 

melting, rusting or evolving over the course of the exhibition. Some ideas are better realized through a video projection due to the limitations of the gallery or if the work is more about capturing and presenting phenomena rather than creating it. 

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LEO: Are there other approaches your organization has taken to immerse viewers in a multimedia experience (i.e. taste, smell, interactive activities, etc.)? 

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Cozzens: Yes, in addition to exposing our students to such artwork and experiences, KyCAD has also partnered with the Louisville Orchestra and Louisville Ballet to create collaborations with artists that included a very wide range of approaches. During the Orchestra performance, artists used laser projection and even artwork that utilized taste that coincided with the music. During the Ballet production, artists were collaboratively displaying sculptural installation, video and projection mapping that moved along with the dancers. 

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LEO: Tell us how video and technology play an overall part in KyCAD’s curriculum. 

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Cozzens: KyCAD’s curriculum is subject-led. This means that students are encouraged to think interdisciplinary regarding their approach to making. We focus on developing their understanding of their individual subject matter and research. This inadvertently allows students to get excited about new technology and the options to mix and match what materials they’re using in their practice. Video and installation are two avenues that younger students seem to be drawn to more and more as many contemporary artists are working in those areas and younger students generationally are more familiar and knowledgeable about screen-based interfaces.

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