Recycle Identity
Issued by:The Open Window, By: Diek Grobler
What happenswhen eighteen young imaginative minds are set the task to create artworksinspired by philosophical concepts? An exhibition of audio-visual installationsby The Open Window students, under the guidance of Video producer and lecturerPluto Panoussis, was recently held in a cellar at Café Riche on Church Square,Pretoria. To quote Diek Grobler, performance artist and art expert: “ This isvery interesting exhibition of which both artists and institution, The OpenWindow, can be proud. This is clever and thought provoking stuff, wellexecuted!”
Quote Unquote
“Out of thecrooked tree of humanity no straight thing can ever be made” This quote byImmanuel Kant prompted Emil Böhme to create a video installation of an orangecrane lifting the Voortrekker Monument, and then putting it down again. This isprojected through a wire gauze screen onto a quilt made from rooibos teabags.The poor Voortrekker Monument has, ad nauseum, been used by Afrikaner studentsgrappling with or rebelling against their identities. More often than not thestructure is ridiculed as a symbol of conservatism and bigotry. Böhme's workis, however, surprisingly subtle both formally and conceptually. No ridicule isintended, no judgements made.
“Out of thecrooked tree of humanity no straight thing can ever be made” This quote byImmanuel Kant prompted Emil Böhme to create a video installation of an orangecrane lifting the Voortrekker Monument, and then putting it down again. This isprojected through a wire gauze screen onto a quilt made from rooibos teabags.The poor Voortrekker Monument has, ad nauseum, been used by Afrikaner studentsgrappling with or rebelling against their identities. More often than not thestructure is ridiculed as a symbol of conservatism and bigotry. Böhme's workis, however, surprisingly subtle both formally and conceptually. No ridicule isintended, no judgements made.
This alsotrue of most of the work in this unusual student exhibition. Conceptually soundand visually beautiful, the works invite the audience to participate, to look,to touch, to enter, sometimes even to alter. All inspired by quotes supplied bylecturer Pluto Panoussis these young artists manage to address personal issuesvia the words of philosophers and writers, make the work richer in meaning, anddevoid of the post-puberty angst often found in student work.
The work ofFrancois Jonker, inspired by a quote of Carl Jung on archetypes, is abeautifully poetic piece depicting a young woman semi-submerged in a bath ofwater. Projected onto a steel structure from which water is dripping, the workevokes the archetypical symbolism of water - as mother, as source of life -nurturing, but also as destructive force; the woman seems at times to bedrowning.
Many of theworks show a technological inventiveness, as in the work of Elmarie Hamel whichconsists of a keyboard of wooden blocks on which the audience must step tocontrol the projection of images on the wall. Carmen Botha uses simple computertechnology, and the audience's familiarity with the culture of computer labourand the computer workstation, to lull the viewer into a false sense of comfort:The viewer enters a white cube with a computer console on which video of a previousviewer entering the cube is displayed. While watching this, the watching vieweris filmed and the footage displayed on a monitor elsewhere in the gallery. Thusthe watcher is being watched while watching a previous watcher watching.
This is avery interesting exhibition of which both artists and institution, The OpenWindow, can be proud. This is clever and thought provoking stuff, wellexecuted!
The work ofFrancois Jonker, inspired by a quote of Carl Jung on archetypes, is abeautifully poetic piece depicting a young woman semi-submerged in a bath ofwater. Projected onto a steel structure from which water is dripping, the workevokes the archetypical symbolism of water - as mother, as source of life -nurturing, but also as destructive force; the woman seems at times to bedrowning.
Many of theworks show a technological inventiveness, as in the work of Elmarie Hamel whichconsists of a keyboard of wooden blocks on which the audience must step tocontrol the projection of images on the wall. Carmen Botha uses simple computertechnology, and the audience's familiarity with the culture of computer labourand the computer workstation, to lull the viewer into a false sense of comfort:The viewer enters a white cube with a computer console on which video of a previousviewer entering the cube is displayed. While watching this, the watching vieweris filmed and the footage displayed on a monitor elsewhere in the gallery. Thusthe watcher is being watched while watching a previous watcher watching.
This is avery interesting exhibition of which both artists and institution, The OpenWindow, can be proud. This is clever and thought provoking stuff, wellexecuted!
5 Oct2007 06:21
