Real Meaning

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Artist Statement:

For most of my life, I have found the entire idea of communication compelling. We communicate in so many different ways, often without even realizing it, and I have always paid special attention to the various “messages” that we send others, whether intentionally or unintentionally. In my studies of communication, I have found myself enthralled by languages. There are over 6,500 of them currently today, yet nearly a third of those have less than 1,000 speakers. Languages have “died” over the course of history, some only to be rediscovered hundreds of years later. The whole point of language is to communicate ideas, thoughts, emotions, needs – anything that a person would want to convey to another person.
The most fascinating thing about language (at least for me) is that direct translations between languages are near impossible. This is because each language follows its own rules for grammar and sentence structure. It’s also because there are some words in one language that do not exist in other languages. For example, ‘saudade’ is a Portuguese word that describes the nostalgic longing one has for something that is lost, and is usually accompanied by the realization or acceptance that it is lost forever. There is no word that has that same meaning in English.
Being the cynic that I sometimes can be, this has lead to me to be skeptical of language. What does language really mean? What are the origins behind phrases like “wake up” or “shut down?” Who decides that these words have these meanings, and why? A child is taught that a ball is a ball and Mom is Mom and cat is not dog, but do we ever question why? If language defines our reality (I certainly believe it does), and language is just something someone made up thousands and thousands of years ago, then how much of our reality is made up?
In my video, I explore these questions. I have various speakers repeating phrases over and over again in a seemingly random pattern. However, you cannot see these people; instead one sees a white background with colored lines and dots dancing around the frame. When a voice speaks, one can see an outline of a human being’s mouth, but nothing more telling of whether or not the speaker is real or merely a figment of the viewer’s imagination. The voices also are speaking over a noisy crowd of people to illustrate that there are so many languages, yet most Americans can only understand one. However, this does not mean that the messages received are any less important. It also does not mean that the messages are real either.
I don’t expect to ever know the answers behind the questions that I explore in Real Meaning, but I feel that to understand our reality and our existence, we must be able to question our language(s) and the methods we use to communicate to other people as well. If we cannot, then we are only fooling ourselves.