(Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me.)

2006, 7:15 min, color, sound

Trecartin describes (Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me.) as a "narrative video short that takes place inside and outside of an e-mail." Trecartin's intense visualization of electronic communication is inhabited by a cast of stylized characters: Pam, a lesbian librarian with a screaming baby in an ultra-modern hotel room; Tammy and Beth, who live in an apartment filled with installation art; and Tommy, who is seen in a secluded lake house in the woods. Pam, Tommy and Tammy are all played by Trecartin, who, wearing his signature make-up, jumps back and forth between male and female roles.

Totally self-absorbed and equipped with vestigial attention spans, the characters are constantly communicating with one another on the phone or online. Their e-mail exchanges and Internet searches are channeled into bright animations that intersect with the "real world" locations. The story moves from person to person like a browser surfing through Web pages. Engrossed in manic electronic interactions, the characters become increasingly isolated and solipsistic.

Lizzie Fitch: Beth and Bolivia; Taya Kaschnick: Catherine Pimples and OMG 1; Megan: Betraya and OMG 2; Penelope Wright: Penny-O; Barkev G.: OMG record me Dude; Rhett LaRue: Cheeta; Junior Greenberg: The Cat; Lexer: Soft Picture Boy; Ryan Trecartin: Tammy 1, Tammy 2, Tommy Chat, High/Low Tommy Video Voice, and Tommy Video Girl.

 
 

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