Television Spots

Description:

Produced between 1987 and 1988, Television Spots was a series of fifteen- to thirty-second videos by Stan Douglas designed for transmission on broadcast television. Only one spot would be presented at a time but would air repetitively during the scheduled commercial breaks. Intervening on the spectacle of late night television, Douglas’s videos depict seemingly trivial events: a passenger at the back of a transit bus laughs uncontrollably, drawing the curious glances of other riders; four boys walk down an industrial street, playfully nudging each other to the rhythm of an instrumental of “Stand by Me”; a woman smokes in her kitchen on a rainy night as she lets a call go to voicemail; and a couple engage in a mundane exchange while walking down an alleyway at dusk.

While in residence at Western Front, Douglas produced a number of videos as part of Television Spots, including “My Attention” (37 sec.), Funny Bus (15 sec.), No Problem (15 sec.), “Answering Machine” (30 sec.), “Box Office” (30 sec.), and “Slap Happy” (30 sec.).

Video documentation is available upon request.