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Observing events through an optical instrument places the observer in an unique position in that he can follow the course of events closely but at a (usually safe) distance. In 'Viewers of Optics', we are told about just such an authentic eye-witness report. Before us is a desolate landscape. A voice off-screen delivers a poetically worded account of a disaster which has overtaken this area. Through bits and bobs of witnesses' accounts, we hear of a murder committed, the destruction of nature, etc. It is this sensation of observing from a safe distance, combined with electronic music by Pierre Henry (a pupil of the famous music-teacher Nadia Boulanger), that makes 'Viewers of Optics' so oppressive to watch. But 'Viewers of Optics' offers more than this: the objects, landscapes and spaces observed in this way become at the same time signs and withaphors for the reality of inner silence.
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Henny Kamphuizen
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Additional video: Irit Batsry, Additional music: Pierre Henry, Illustrations: Jan Vredeman de Vries, Voice: Christine Hatfull
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