SoHo SoAp/Rain Damage

1985, 8:25 min, color, sound

This chapter of Kubota's ongoing video journal chronicles the aftermath of a flood that destroyed Kubota and Nam June Paik's loft studio, after a roofer left work unfinished during a rainstorm. Kubota tells this story, and the ensuing struggles with their co-op, as a subjective, tragicomic documentary. On-screen text merges with Paik's often incomprehensible running narration; images of the former editing studio are keyed into photos of the destruction. The emotional impact of the loss of the artists' videotapes and equipment is felt throughout, as is the significance of water in Kubota's art. As Kubota states, "It rains in my heart, it rains on my video art... Art imitates nature, nature imitates art."

Camera: Paul Garrin. Editors: Paul Garrin, Shigeko Kubota.