Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, 2006

PHOTO BY RAPHAEL LABBE
TEXT BY DREAMA CLEAVER

The video installation “Zidane: A 21^st Century Portrait," by Douglas Gordon and Phillippe Parreno was on display at at the Wexner Center for the Arts Hard Targets exhibition from Jan 30 to Apr 11, 2010. This video installation consisted of two large scale video screens strategically placed on adjoining walls, a full surround sound system, and many different angles of footage taken in a single game of the soccer player, Zinedine Zidane.

The experience of Zidane: A 21^st Century Portrait is colossal. At about the size of a comfortable living room the art space is completely black with only one seating option; a black cube placed perpendicular to the corner of the screens that take up most of the two walls. The projectors are to the left of the screens and virtually hidden from the viewer. While the viewers are only persuaded to sit directly in front of the screens, they will not escape the overpowering sounds that nearly shake the room. Even a viewer who has no knowledge of Zidane can easily understand the experience of this piece which allows the viewer to be overtaken by the images and sounds of Zinedine Zidane.

Amidst a soccer game that the viewer is not allowed to see we watch Zidane instead, moving back and forth on the screens almost like a predatory animal, watching the ball and the other players closely. His eyes stay fixed on his target, unaware of the cameras, or simply too focused to care. The cameras focus on many things, Zidane’s face, the crowd, a full shot of the playing field, other players, his feet, his eyes, and the ball. But the shots the viewer sees are cut intentionally and at specific times to enhance the focus on Zidane.

Here, Zidane is larger than life, if his image were a real man it would not fit in the now seemingly tiny room. It is uncomfortable to the viewer, who watches Zidane sweat and stalk the ball, still appearing unaware that someone is watching. In a stadium, the viewer would be far away from him, most likely in a seat much higher and Zidane would be no bigger than an ant. However, in the black, dark art space Zidane is enormous. The viewer looks up at him, he is the focus of every shot and every sound he makes is amplified. The viewer hears his heavy breathing, his grunts, and the stomps of his feet as he runs or kicks the ball. As the cameras close in on Zidane’s face music can be heard in the background, just like a Hollywood movie, the artists are encouraging the viewer to share suspense, fear and happiness with Zidane. But the most intense is the sound of the crowd when he makes a good play. The roar of the cheering is loud, nearly shaking the room. In a stadium, the viewer would share these moments with thousands of others but here, it is just the viewer and Zidane. The moment that is shared is intimate.

If this were a portrait of Zidane made just fifty years ago, most likely, it would be a painting, flat and rendered carefully to create an image that captures Zidane’s main features and personality. But, like the title states, this portrait is one in the 21^st century. This portrait of Zidane does not fail to capture Zidane’s personality because it records it exactly as he is. This portrait of Zidane shares with the viewer an experience that Zidane experiences and the size of the video and the closeness of the room helps the viewer to relate to Zidane explicitly. They may not walk away with any more knowledge of the history of Zinedine Zidane but they will walk away feeling they have witnessed someone colossal.

Photo of Zinedine Zidane courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Taken by RAPHAEL LABBE.