Summary

Tommy Malekoff’s new two-channel video, The Bluffs, looks at three American cities, all of which have a complicated history of decline after showing signs of potential growth and prosperity. These places also share a common feature of their urban landscapes - an isolated architectural structure in the skyline that looms like an incongruous icon of forgotten promise. Widely regarded as eyesores by the public, the landmarks glow unnaturally in the video, suggesting an unearthly power or spiritual energy. Furthering the sense of unreality and confusing the continuity of the landscape, the three buildings were composited in certain shots to appear in places where they don’t actually exist.