Yamagata: ode 1 & Oishi Apartments

[Abe' Mark Nornes]

At 5:17 AM -0400 10/28/99, GavinRees at aol.com wrote:
> One thing that really irked me about it, and a lot of the lower budget works
> in the Japan Panorama section was the complete  lack of craft skills.

It should be noted, at the same time, that one can find video work of
exceptionally high polish in Japanese video art. However, the majority of
those working with video art in Japan tend toward the structural
approach...more interested in exploring and commenting on the medium rather
than directing that energy outward to the world. I like seeing both, and
especially work where one is inseparable from the other (which is rare
here).

> I was wondering what the legal implications of this might be. If a
> hypothetical filmmaker in Japan, were to enter a home, and film somebody
> naked without their verbal or written permission, are they in danger of
> becoming liable? It would be interesting to know.

Good question. In the States, the people providing a platform for the
work---events or broadcast---are liable. However, I think it's fuzzy enough
that, while conservative broadcasters (including cable access) are quick to
refuse anything that's using copyrighted material like music or other
productions, many independent programmers are equally quick to take the
chance. For example, despite Richard Carpenter's threats to sue Todd Haynes
over his incredible doll film on Karen Carpenter's death, the tape gets
shown all the time (it's just never in the catalogs or publicity).

Questions of liability aside, I'm more interested in why the ethics of Oishi
Apartments were questioned by so few people.

Markus