John Miller - Contradicting Statements

This publication documents John Miller's early video work "Contradicting Statements" from 1977, in which the artist's central concern with socially negotiated contradictions already becomes apparent. As Miller writes about his work: "The imperative to contradict creates an absurd void at its centre. As though a function of a miniature neural network, the cast behaves as quasiautomatons. Control is modulated, not absolute. The performers laugh at their instrumentalization, mocking the rules they inevitably obey ... Perhaps, as we enter a new era of overarching artificial intelligence, Contradicting Statements might offer a glimpse into a fragile past, still alive with paths not taken."