Rotterdam Tower | 2010 | Grand Theft Auto IV | 16:10 (Colour, Silent)

Synopsis

A continuous sixteen minute shot of The Rotterdam Tower in Liberty City. Rotterdam Tower is based on New York City’s Empire State Building.

This video was made between the hours of 8:06pm and 2:42am Liberty City time and slowed down.

Artist Statement

Rotterdam Tower is a machinima remake of Andy Warhol’s Empire (1964). Rotterdam Tower can be found in Liberty City, a fictional city in Grand Theft Auto IV. The tower itself is an art deco skyscraper whose design was based upon New York City’s Empire State Building.

Warhol’s Empire was filmed on the night of July 25–26 from 8:06 PM to 2:42 AM. It was shot at 24 frames per second but is projected at 16 frame per second extending the 6 hours and 36 minutes to just over 8 hours. Abridged showings of Empire were never allowed, and supposedly the very un-watchability is an important part of the film. 

Rotterdam Tower, was shot from 8:06 PM to 2:42 AM Liberty City time. The un-watchability of Empire is the primary reason why I felt compelled to remake it—a remake of a film that was intended to be unwatchable. Even with the “condensed time”¹ of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 16 minute YouTube video feels like 8 hours. 

It is the artists’ intent that audience members commit to watching the video in its entirety.

Screenings/Exhibitions

December 18, 2015. Heirs of Warhol (as part of Warhol Unlimited at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris), Cinéma Le Grand Action, Paris, France. Curated by Théo Deliyanis, organized by Collectif Jeune Cinéma.

June 21 – July 28, 2012. Reset: Post-Consumer Gamer Culture, PLATFORM centre for photographic + digital arts, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Curated by Skot Deeming.

October 14 – December 8, 2011. As the Sidewalk Bleeds, Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan. Curated by J.J. Kegan McFadden.

1. One minute in Liberty City is two seconds IRL. [↩]