Sad Disco Fantasia

Steve Reinke, the most casually brilliant video artist to emerge in Canada, has relocated to Los Angeles. Sad Disco Fantasia is his episodic tour through the void of L.A., slips of 70s pop culture and Reinke’s own astringent self-regard. Despite the blasts of dry wit and the hopeful embrace of gay porn, this is a lament. What grounds the tape like a bass line is Reinke’s response to the death of his mother. What stops it cold is his tossed-off remark that this is ‘my last, my final video.’
‘Living in Los Angeles is like being on vacation, or in a coma. I don’t really like it, but it’s so pleasant I don’t want to leave. I’ve only had one idea since I’ve been here and that was to video a cake in the rain in MacArthur Park. But it’s only rained once, briefly in the night, and I was asleep, and dreaming of snow.’ – S.R.