| Kommentar |
One of the primary structures of contemporary media is the inhabitation of a rudimentary documentary form: montage plus an off-screen voice-over that tells the viewer what the subjects and objects are, what those subjects and objects are doing, and what the viewer should think. This "inside-of-the-head" voice of authority has come to dominate both experimental film/video and conventional social media forms.
In this seminar-workshop, we will explore the potentials of working with media outside of this voice-over format, with a particular emphasis on how research that engages with discourses of art history, sociology, political theory and philosophy, can be developed, experimented with, extended and made visible in the complex potentials and relationships between video and performativity, embodiment and theory. In the first week of this seminar, we will watch and discuss excerpts of video works of Ken Okiishi, contextualized with historical film/video works by Andy Warhol, Jean Rouch, Cecilia Dougherty, Adrian Piper, Werner Schroeter, Valie Export, Martha Rosler (among others), and then, through dialogue with Professor Okiishi, develop an experimental plan for the second week. The second week will be spent in practice working with video and experimental situations developed in dialogue with the students' individual research interests.
Ken Okiishi is an artist based in New York, NY. Recent solo presentations include: MoMA Presents: Ken Okiishi's Vital Behaviors, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2021); A Model Childhood, The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; Pilar Corrias, London; Reena Spaulings Fine Art, Los Angeles (2018-2022); Being and/or Time, Reena Spaulings, New York (2017); Porous Feedback, Arbeiterkammer Wien (2015); Screen Presence, Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2014). His work has been included in Manifesta 13, Marseille (2020) and The Whitney Biennial 2014, and in group exhibitions in institutional contexts including: Le Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; La Station, Nice; Fridericianum, Kassel; Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto; M Woods, Beijing; Arnolfini, Bristol; Kunsthalle Bern; Artists Space, New York; Kunsthaus Bregenz; White Columns, New York; Vancouver Art Gallery; GAMeC, Bergamo; MD 72, Berlin. His work is included in public collections including: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Arbeiterkammer, Wien; KADIST Art Foundation; FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, France; GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy. Okiishi’s writing has appeared in Artforum, Texte zur Kunst, May, Bidoun, Triple Canopy, The Brooklyn Rail and a book on his work, The Very Quick of the Word, was published by Sternberg Press in 2014. He has taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, Bard College and The Cooper Union. More information about Okiishi's work can be found here: https://kenokiishi.info |
