Replay_FallingReaching

In the 1970s, the de Saisset Museum was at the forefront of a new medium, video art. The museum was a leader in commissioning and showing experimental new works by pioneers in the field.  In 1973, the de Saisset commissioned a work from Douglas Davis. The result was The Santa Clara Tapes, a three part video series filmed on the Santa Clara University campus. This unique and innovative piece presents a formal investigation of what was then an incredibly new medium.

Falling/Reaching is an artistic exploration of angles and focus. Viewers of these clips will take notice of the camera's motion as well as what the artist does and does not allow the audience to see. The first video opens on Santa Clara University's football field with Davis pointing his camera directly at the viewer; he is stationed in the center of the field. Slowly more individuals with cameras are introduced as he pans the field. Eventually the individuals begin to move circularly around and the perspective starts to shift in synchronized directions. Finally the motion halts and the viewer experiences a sensation much like falling. We are left gazing sideways at a motionless world, angled from the ground. 

The second segment of the video is filmed from a balcony of Swig Residence Hall. The work begins with the viewer looking down from several stories high. Below, one can faintly hear a group of shouting people. "Watch that!" someone cries, as if cheering on a player in a thrilling game. In the near distance, a pair of grasping hands awaits as the camera approaches. The camera appears ready to be caught in an effort to please the hollering crowd.

_{Douglas Davis, Falling/Reaching, 1973, part 3 in a three-part video series, commissioned by the de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University, 5.20.}