Why Do Things Get in a Muddle? (Come on Petunia)

Image Not Available
Copied Gary Hill, Why Do Things Get in a Muddle? (Come on Petunia), 1984, single-channel video, color, sound; 33:09 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2007.33.15, © 2015 Gary Hill / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Artwork Details

Title
Why Do Things Get in a Muddle? (Come on Petunia)
Artist
Date
1984
Location
Not on view
Copyright
© 2015 Gary Hill / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company
Mediums
Mediums Description
single-channel video, color, sound; 33:09 minutes
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female
  • Architecture Interior
Object Number
2007.33.15
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2007.33.15

Artwork Description

Gary Hill's first scripted screenplay, Why Do Things Get in a Muddle? (Come on Petunia), is a complex theatrical essay on the ordering principles of language. The script is adapted from Gregory Bateson's book, Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Hill recorded portions of the video with the performers speaking the text phonetically backward and similarly, performing their actions backward. These sequences are played from beginning to end in reverse, betraying an uncanny physical movement and muddled speech that is nearly intelligible, and revealing the inverted logic of the video.

Watch This!: Revelations in Media Art, 2015