Document
Introduction
Ben Rubin is a visual artist who works with video projections. In this work, he combines text from current and past television news broadcasts, looking for patterns in speech and grammar. Many of Rubin's previous pieces follow a grid pattern, and this one uses the grid of the building as a frame. While in this piece he usually follows the grid to guide his projections, he also sometimes breaks out of the boundaries of the grid.
Questions
Where do you see Rubin responding to the grid?
How do you see Rubin breaking the boundaries of the grid?
Activity
On a sheet of paper, draw a grid similar to the building’s design. (These can be prepared in advance.) Using images, words, or both, create a design within the lines of the grid; don’t draw anything in the “window” spaces. When you’re done, trade drawings with a partner. On your partner’s sheet, extend their design into the window designs, but don’t draw anything on the grid.
Vocabulary
Grid —A series of evenly spaced lines going across and up and down a surface
Projection —A film image reproduced on a surface