Bacio is a quasi-narrative video-art piece that explores the dichotomous nature of the human condition by juxtaposing the Bacio or beautiful life against the history of colonialism generally and the American experience specifically, by tracing the protracted conflict between European settlers and Native Americans, as well as showing glimpses of apartheid in South Africa and segregation in the United States. The soundtrack is based on my score of the same name (Bacio), which is scored for vibraphone, strings, female voice, and looped political speeches. The sensual elements of the soundtrack correspond to the Bacio footage and then juxtapose with the counter-footage of long-term terror on the planet while always reverting to our undoubted shared dream of wanting to love and be loved, irrespective of age, race, gender, or sexual orientation. In the direct political realm, the video Bacio also addresses the tension between individual agency over our world while being fundamentally out of control. The viewer is also indirectly asked to consider the bases upon which certain people are gifted the bacio life whereas most are “gifted” a world of deprivation and terror, and in both instances based upon no discernable individual merit.
