Ericka Beckman (1951) makes films – not video art, but real films, shot the old-fashioned way … on film. They are unique, difficult to categorize works, often with a socially critical slant. In the brand new ‘Reach Capacity’, on view from October at M, this is no different.

Ericka Beckman: “The seed of the film was sown with the research I did on the board game Monopoly. We all know the version that was released in the 1930s, but it seemed to have a very interesting history, with a socialist slant. In the early 1900s, one Lizzie Magie had designed a game that consisted of two parts. The first part was very similar to the present-day Monopoly: players try to buy properties, make a profit and compete each other out of the game. Eventually one player wins because he or she has acquired the monopoly on the properties. The capitalist conception of the economy, so to speak. With the Monopoly game we have now, the game is then over, but in Lizzie Magie’s version, the game board was flipped over and you continued playing with new, socialist rules. As a result, the monopoly was broken, and wealth was distributed fairly.”

“I used that fact in ‘Reach Capacity’. I wanted to show that there is an alternative to the economic structure in which we now live.”

ANGER

‘Reach Capacity’ is also determined by events in your own life.

“Yes, there were two important sources of inspiration. One: I grew up on army bases – my father was in the military. Amazing, perhaps, but the US military is very much like a socialist organisation. Healthcare, education, housing … everything is arranged for you. I thought life was like that for everyone. It was only when my father resigned from the army that I began to realise that my compatriots lead very different, much more uncertain lives.”

“The second event is much more recent. I had a protected living-working space in Lower Manhattan, in a building with other artists. But a project developer managed to circumvent the protection: he got his hands on our building and we had to leave. He turned it into apartments.”

Was anger a motive for making the film?

“No. I did feel a mixture of anger and outrage at how the system works, but I couldn’t take it personally. So many Americans have lost their homes in recent years. Our economic system doesn’t value things other than money. For me, it’s especially important to understand that and work with those ideas.”

“But you won’t feel that anger in ‘Reach Capacity’. I don’t use my work to express feelings.”

Indeed, the film looks very playful and colourful.

“That is because I want to highlight the value of manual labour. The workers you see in the film have value. What they do with their bodies has value. I wanted to point this out with that playfulness.”

POETIC

You often read about your work that it’s based on games. What does that mean?

“To begin with: my actors don’t speak. I don’t rely on language. If I can, I express ideas through movements, as a dancer would do. I want to make people aware that their bodies are capable of a lot. Communicating through movement, among other things.”

“I also use rules of play to structure my films – literally. The characters make moves, apply strategies, and thus determine the outcome. As a viewer, you can reflect on what you would do. You have to think like a player to watch my films. Otherwise you will be disappointed, because the characters say nothing. They are not driven by emotions.”

A game has a different, unpredictable outcome every time. A film stays the same every time – so you have to determine the end. How did you do that with ‘Reach Capacity’?

“In the second part of the film, the rules change – just like with Monopoly’s predecessor. And if you change the rules, you change the action. The film becomes more poetic, and I also address the viewers directly through sung texts. I ask them to think about the value of labour. To understand what value is.”