January 6, 2008
By Jessica Dawson

Taking a Shine to Sound-Picture Symbiosis

Not only did video fail to kill the radio star, it opened up possibilities for a generation of art stars. Jefferson Pinder, 37, grew up watching MTV and now relies on carefully considered soundtracks to enrich his video works. His latest, the 31/2-minute-long “Shoeshine Variation” at G Fine Art, runs two videos simultaneously, side by side. Both find a black shoe polisher delivering a shine to the

TELL US ABOUT THE VIDEO SOUNDTRACKS.

“I felt for this piece it was appropriate to have two voices that both clashed and worked in harmony. For Ego, I wanted to use smooth jazz sounds. His shine was refined and of another generation. . . . Jermaine, on the other hand, works to create this psychological undertone that is aggressive and unpredictable. Jermaine’s shine is a surreal, almost dreamlike deconstruction. The Mos Def “Street Sounds” chant works as an aggressive, intense mantra. Just as a painter works in layers, I’m creating relationships that might not be seen (or heard) at first, but with a little investigation will open up new ways of examining the piece.”