Stardust

Provost’s 2007 piece ’Plot point’ used a subtle combination of music, editing and photography to lead the viewer into a subconscious process of establishing and discovering a story. ’Stardust’ takes this a stage further, manipulating recorded conversations taken from films as well as background music. Provost moves from New York to Las Vegas, filming the public going about their daily business. He then uses these clips of people engaging in conversations, making phone calls, watching a screen or gazing into space, and adds film music and dialogue over the top. Provost is the master of exploiting the associations and reactions learned by the public through years of watching crime and action films and television programmes, using film music to build tension, to induce emotional responses, to alter the nature of what is seen or heard. He also uses parataxis to great effect, presenting two separate and unrelated things together, so that the audience generates links. For example, hearing gunshots while the camera shows only a closed door, we think that the shots have been fired in the room behind the door. Through his understanding of cinematographic language, Provost manipulates the audience into generating narratives and developing characters. As the piece progresses, the plots that must be built become more complex and less believable, exposing the tricks Provost is playing.