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Jonathan Monk, Square Circles Squares, 2002, 16mm
film projection
Sol LeWitt, Irregular Grid, 2001, goache on paper
#009722, 152 x 152 cm
Peter Friedl, Untitled (Berlin), 1998/2003, wall
painting
Peter Geschwind, Sound Cut, 2002, DVD video/audio
Liam Gillick, Doubled Resistance Platform #2, 2001,
powder coated aluminium and transparent plexiglass
Ceal Floyer, ...again and..., 2002, ballpoint pen
on paper, 29.7 x 21 cm
Michel Majerus, Untitled, 2001-2002, 9 paintings,
acrylic on canvas, each 60 x 60 cm
Peter Friedl, Untitled (Berlin), 1998/2003, wall
painting
Peter Geschwind, Sound Cut, 2002, DVD video/audio
Liam Gillick, Doubled Resistance Platform #2, 2001,
powder coated aluminium and transparent plexiglass
Liam Gillick, Doubled Resistance Platform #2, 2001,
powder coated aluminium and transparent plexiglass
Rirkrit Tiravanija, Untitled, 2003, neon tubes,
electrical cables power supply and control unit, approx 50 x 400 cm
Pressrelease
Perfect Timeless Repetition
Duration: Jan 17–Feb 28, 2003
Opening: Jan 17, 19.00–21.00
We are delighted to present the group show "Perfect Timeless Repetition".
This ambiguous
theme features a range of different work by Ceal Floyer, Peter Friedl, Peter
Geschwind, Liam
Gillick, Sol LeWitt, Michel Majerus, Jonathan Monk and Rirkrit Tiravanija.
The title of the show is a quotation from Glamorama (1998) by Bret Easton
Ellis.
Ellis' practice of extreme inter-referentiality within his own stories, and
shrewd appropriation
of real identities for the characters of the extras in Glamorama, may be seen
parallel to the
ideas and art work by Liam Gillick (b. 1964). Gillick draws upon vast numbers
of references
in his work as he experiments with the notions of time, politics and situations
that could have
coincided or that may coincide. His writings, videos and filmatic collaborations
(with, among
others, Rirkrit Tiravanija) should be regarded as guidelines to his installations.
Gillick
presents a platform hanging from the ceiling occupying a corner in the gallery
space where
you turn around after you have passed through the whole exhibition.
In the same way that Bret Easton Ellis scrambles through people and popular
culture, the art of Michel Majerus (b. 1967, d. 2002) reflects our time and
the mass media. His cunning use of puns and slogans and overflowing imagery,
combined with often nihilist or apocalyptic
titles, leave us with an ambiguous feeling about life. We have included a
selection of nine
paintings by Majerus. He freely grabbed images and references from popular
culture and art history. In addition to the use of advanced computer programs,
he would daringly combine
elements of abstraction with figuration, and thick layers of paint with loose
strokes of
sketching. Often incorporating design and computer graphics, he produced vinyl
stickers and silk-screens in order to be able to perfectly mass-produce series
of images in variations. He aggressively questioned the notion of signature-style
and aesthetics, and these smaller works are excellent examples of his diverse
production.
Following the idea of popular culture we find the work by Peter Geschwind
(b. 1966). The
sheer speed of his looped DVD video "Sound Cut", 2002, recalls music
videos on MTV and
the audio instantly resembles the music of experimental electronica musicians
such as
Squarepusher or Aphex Twin. But this is actually a more detached and analytical
piece, while
still very much in the tradition of experimental music and music video. Geschwind
has used a
song by the band Dead Kennedys as an underlying structure for which he has
edited a video
consisting of video clips, including sound, of activities like dishwashing
and flushing a toilet.
When removing the original acoustics, he was left with the video clips that
very strictly
correspond to the elements of the song, and still keep a sort of melody. His
project can be
seen in relation to the music videos by the French director Michel Gondry
for Daft Punk's
"Around the World" (1997) and Chemical Brothers' "Star Guitar"
(2001). But Geschwind does
not just add pictures to a piece of music; by setting the parameters for the
editing of the video
according to the music [1], he followed the scheme mechanically in order to
combine the clips
- only to then remove the soundtrack and leave us with the sounds from the
clips.
"Perfect Timeless Repetition" could indeed have been an instruction
for a conceptual work by
the influential artist Sol LeWitt (b. 1928). His art and writings since the
60's have been crucial
to the discussion on art and art theory, and he still remains one of the most
active artists
today. A piece by LeWitt can have an instruction from the artist that should
be interpreted by
his assistants who produce the work. He often produces series with all possible
variations of
a theme. This way the artist is detached from dealing with certain aesthetics
and details as
his involvement is purely cerebral and conceptual. This attitude to production,
and his
profound ideas about art, only opens up to endless possibilities for realization
of art. It is a
pleasure to present a large gauche drawing on paper by LeWitt for this exhibition.
The notion of time is a definite understanding of the show's theme and occurs
in several of
the pieces by the artists featured in the show. Peter Friedl (b. 1960) is
a politically engaged
artist; context and history are evident parameters in his work "Untitled
(Berlin)", 1998/2003.
The artist has simply flipped the number "68" upside down. But the
slight disruption of the
typography gives it away and we realize the double meaning of the piece. In
the immediate
context of Berlin these numbers obviously refer to the student revolts in
1968, and the fall of
the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Ceal Floyer (b. 1968) presents a thoughtful text piece for the exhibition
where she has
written the words "again and" repeatedly on top of itself with a
ballpoint pen until it has been
completely blurred and unreadable. It is as if she tried to mimic her own
handwriting. The
writing has been carried out until it destroyed itself and mean nothing anymore.
Her ideas
always come through very strong because of the efficient means of execution
and her clever
use of references and comments, as well as an often amusing or ironic twist.
By placing her
piece in between LeWitt's drawing of repeated lines on top of each other,
and Friedl's
contemplation on history, her work underlines both the process of drawing
as well as the
notion of time.
Rirkrit Tiravanija (b. 1961) presents a spectacular piece consisting of five
separate neon
elements that light up in an endless rapid succession. The piece is a blow-up
from his young
nephew's attempt to imitate his handwriting. The scroll illustrates an illiterate
child's difficulty
understanding the complexities of symbols and letters. We might not be able
to read his
words, but the lines and the curls are as beautiful as they are awkward. As
the successive
lights flash they produce movement along the wall and directly affect the
rest of the
environment.
The mechanical operation of a film projector is in itself the ultimate illustration
for the theme of
the show. And Jonathan Monk (b. 1969) is the ultimate artist to make use of
a film projector.
His 16mm installation consists of squares of uniquely cut pieces of black
paper projected
within a thin frame drawn in pencil. These squares have been cut by hand using
a scissor,
preventing the artist from attaining clear-cut corners and straight edges.
The projection on the
wall therefore shows a slightly disturbing and jumping image within the static
pencil frame.
Every fourth frame actually includes a perfectly cut square that fills the
pencil frame, but this
appears too fast to be recognized and you only see it subliminally. Just like
Ceal Floyer,
Monk draws strongly upon the legacy of conceptual art, cleverly combining
homage with
humour and he deals with principal issues of art through his highly referential
work. By
effectively assembling or re-assembling images, puns, objects and ideas, Monk's
art is
always as nifty as it is deadpan funny [2].
We would like to thank all of the artists for their interest in participating
in this exhibition and
providing the work on display, and we would like to thank the respective galleries
of the artists
for their kind assistance and excellent co-operation: Olivier Belot/Galerie
Yvon Lambert,
Burkhard Riemschneider and Christiane Rekade/neugerriemschneider and Schipper
und
Krome. Special thanks to Uwe Schwarzer/Mixed Media Berlin for assisting with
the
production. Finally we would like to thank the family of Michel Majerus.
Ceal Floyer is represented by Lisson Gallery, London and Casey Kaplan, New
York. Sol LeWitt and Jonathan Monk are represented by Galerie Yvon Lambert,
Paris, and Lisson Gallery, London. Michel Majerus and Rirkrit Tiravanija are
represented by neugerriemschneider, Berlin. Liam Gillick is represented by
Schipper und Krome, Berlin; Corvi-Mora, London; Casey Kaplan, New York; Hauser
& Wirth & Presenhuber, Zürich and Air de Paris, Paris.
NOTES:
1. The footage and the recorded sound was edited by following the structure
of a Dead
Kennedys song which has been used as an under laying blueprint when editing
the video. A
four-stroke rhythm is based on beats per minute (bpm). The PAL video system
is based on 25
frames per second (fps). The footage was edited by translating bpm to fps:
1 second is equal
to 25 frames and more or less 120 bpm. 4 frames are then one click in a four-stroke
rhythm.
With a structure of 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. frames, it is possible to edit the
footage by counting the
frames, comparing it to the shape of the sound waves of a given song, in this
case a tune by
the Dead Kennedys.
2. The artist himself states: "If you stare at a blank page for long
enough it starts to move and if
you stare at a printed page for long enough it starts to move (even more)
and caricature or
cartoon or comic book or artist or flip book or artist book or animation cell
or serial repetition or
endless loop and twenty four frames a second or more or less and one hundred
cubes cantz
or Sol LeWitt or Ed Muybridge or still images or sixteen millimetre or post
cards zooming in and
zooming out slowly slow quick quick slow front to back back to front on its
side forever
repeating (almost) the same image equals slight movement and color change
and even "Six
Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object" in only twenty seconds
or forever over and
over or under and above until it vanishes from the screen through wear and
tear and lines and
forms equals only twelve drawings filmed from the front to the back and back
again equaling
one second of time flashing onto the screen breaking up the bright light of
nothing (repeat only
slower and in a deeper voice)..."
(Jonathan Monk, "Sol LeWitt Lines & Forms Yvon Lambert
1989 front to back back to front with blank space ten to one forever",
2000, from the show
"Animations" at PS1, New York, 2001/2002.)