TRISTAN REVEUR
hoax and fake documentary
master thesis project
2008
21 min
Honored with “Best of Diploma” at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts.
This project introduces an identity, which was created in cooperation between strangers on the internet. Tristan Reveur is their common creation. His artworks started to multiply on the internet by unknown people.
Tristan Reveur from Gina Haraszti on Vimeo.
Making this mockumentary was just like making a documentary. I researched the facts made up by other people, than I summarized, arranged and illustrated them to show. The video uses classic documentary style to convince the audience about its authenticity. The movie has an additional feature during the exhibition, which works only in Hungraian. The part which are not subtitled contains spoiling information: the truth. The audience who just passes the work, and not being listening to the headphones would do not know about the twist. Therefore the project can be interpreted in two ways.
After I first had heard about Tristan Reveur, I started to follow his forming on the internet. Although I was interested in the process, I wanted to show the result. This projects introduces the ideal artist imagined by the lay audience.
The other part of the installation, with the objects and the painting is not for authentication. These are results of my research work. They have ambivalent meaning, regarding whether the audience knows the truth though.
Thesis work is the last opportunity to experiment and study during the working process without any risk. It is important to know every aspect of motion picture and through making a mockumentary I got know the grammar of documentaries.
I wanted to take part of this global creation of Tristan Reveur as well. And now I reckon my work uploaded to the internet can also cooperate with other online contents about Reveur.
Made with the help of Myles Painter, Katherine Gray, Katrin Hellermann, Justin Mounet, John Feeham, Roger Evens, Anna Meller and Gill Addison.