Primarily Language

20 januari 2009


Screening werken uit de collectie NIMk in relatie tot de tentoonstelling Speaking Out Loud

Throughout the history of video art, artists have devoted their work to the the subject of language. Particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, a number of outstanding works were produced which celebrate language and its relation to image, imagination and memory. The NIMK / Montevideo collection holds some of these seminal video works and later ones and presents them in a screening within the context of the current Speaking Out Loud exhibition.

The introduction will present excerpts of Freeing the Memory, 1976, by Marina Abramovic, Primarily Speaking, 1981, by Gary Hill and Studies of myself II ,1973, by Douglas Davis.


Exploring the human (un)consciousness

Alighiero Boetti
Cio Che sempre Parla in Silenzio e' il Corpo, 1974, manipulates language by means of m disturbing mirrow effects, thus suggesting that language is a construction of thoughts that originates in the brain and can be easily be made of signs other than letters.

Michel Chevalier
Hand to Mouth, Volume I (English), 1999, involves concrete research on the working of the area where language is processed in one's own brain.

Hand to Mouth, Volume II (Français) (Chevalier, Michel) online database


Cut-outs

Han Bierman
Untitled I/Untitled II, 1981, leads to an absurd and grotesque spectacle by manipulating well-known newscaster Joop van Zijl's discourse.

eddie d
Pas de deux, 2007, presents interchangeable moments where political leaders or other talking heads have arrived at a pathetic, faltering cul de sac of language and movement.

Pas de Deux (d, eddie) online database



Image/word

Peter Savage
It is Like Reading a Word, 1979, addresses topics such as interpretation, understanding and communication.

It is Like Reading a Word (Savage, Peter) online database




Persuasive Speech

Antonello Faretta
Just Say NO to Family Values, 2006, conveys burning poetry by John Giorno.


The works are in English and Dutch.
The exhibition Speaking Out Loud is on display until January 24 and will be accessible before the screening.