Pierre Hébert/Bob Ostertag – Between Science & Garbage
Picture: C
Sound: B- Extras: D Main Program: C
Despite the good music involved, Pierre Hébert/Bob
Ostertag – Between Science & Garbage (2004) has an extremely lame,
childish and repetitious collage of images that are supposed to make sense and
do not. When you add the disclaimer
that this was put together just days after the events of 9/11/01, it suddenly
comes across as some anti-Capitalist/anti-American diatribe with its images of
Coca Cola cans and toy trucks falling with rubber ducks!
No matter what the actual intent of the piece, it is so
off-kilter that only they know what they are saying, if they even know what
they are talking about. As for the
excuse it is experimental, forget it.
Once you get political, you cannot hide behind that excuse. One thing is certain; it simply never adds
up to anything worth anyone’s time except the music, which is repetitious. At least it has good sound fidelity.
The 1.33 X 1 full frame image is a collage and that limits
the picture quality, but fidelity is not the intent in so many ways. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound is the
highlight of the disc, and that does not say much. There are no extras, but then, enough is enough after 50 minutes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
