PROJECTED Douglas Gordon CeCe William Kentridge Leone & Macdonald Nic Nicosia Sam Taylor-Wood ; COREE Trockel CU Cer)Or a a ar Ome Co DL yy Cora Crean Le orn Te a MLD Dec ra rary ree ae cam Pea ree ee as col Cd teen ae Te ee Ca‘An allegory is 2 narrative story or image in which people, things, and events have hidden or symbolic meaning; sometimes the message is realy readable, while at other times itis mare deeply embedded. The use of allegory could be said to begin withthe prehistoric cave painters who, itis belived scratched ou pictures ofthe hunt and various captured prey asa ‘magical gesture powerful enough to turn image into realy. In Plates famaus allegory The Fepubli, the captive audience who can vew only the flickering shadows from the werld out: side eventually come to believe thatthe shadows on the cave wall donot reflect, ut actually ae, realty. One Postmadem theorist has defined alogory as “one text is read thraugh anath- ‘erone." And humans have a stong tendency to see what they want to see; pychoanalysts use the term “projection” to describe how we unconsciously put off aur avn ies, impulses, ‘or emotions ont other people or things, a kindof delusional wishflfilmet ‘The eight artist included in this exhibition ignite the flickering magic of video projection, shaping its ight and shadow into tragic, cami, or documentary representations (alae suit able allegorical formats) ofthe word ouside the proverbial cave, While vdeo at has flou- ished since the 1960s, in the past few years nat ony has an impressive new generation of artists emerged using video in provocative, highly personal ways, but noted ats with dstn- ished carers in other media have begun tuming to this medium to produce important work. This exibition series includes artists of several generations who work inthe United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and South Aca ‘These allegories on video come in diferent formats ranging from the animation of charcoal rawings othe careful staging of events ina studio toa casual but carefully sarited or edit- ed) ntervow ta dramas enacted inthe landscape. Three ofthe aist, Wiliam Kentidge, Nic Nicosia, and Rosemarie Tock, st build a wenld and then stage ther arte ther, Leone {& Macdonald and Gilian Wearing use the documenta’ interview format to explore, then explo, personal facades, tapping into deeper issues about who we are. Dougles Gordo, adney Graham, and Sam Taylo-Wood isolate, exaggerate, and repeat powerful gestures or expressions to etfects that ae either profane nthe ist two) or profound in he lst ‘Asa contemporary audience weaned on Holiwood movies, Madison Avenve advertising, and Global sotlite TY, yet made wary ofthe dangers uf such famtases by psychoanaite tery, we know that things are seldom what they seem, But because everbody loves a god story, 2 {good laugh, ora good cry, 80 we can sil take pleasure in—and meaning from—siting nthe darkness as silent witnesses to these magical projected allopois Dana Fis Hansen * aig Ovens, “Te Alaa! Inge Tovar Tow of Foti” Otter ag ad Summer 180, ised nian Was e, A ate” Mere: Rethnting oreconaton aan sb New Yok Dove eran Muscat Capa et 8 p28, TiDovglas CEM Hand & Foot (Left & Right), 1995 ideo project ‘30:00 minutes Collectios Noah Garson and Ronald Schwartz, New York Douglas Gurdon isa Scotish artist curently livin in Cologne, Germany, who has worked ina variety of media including panting, performance, and video. Gordon is interested in making us aware of our shifting perceptions ofthe world, andin recent years his works have focused on the underbelly of soci- «ty by expbring ideas of voyeurism, sadism, an erticism. In 1993 hepresented the vide projection 24-Hour Psycho na Glasgow tram- ‘way. In this work he both removed the soundtrack and slowed dawn Alfred Hitchcock's famous film so that it lasted 24 silent haus. By manipulating such ‘a well-known film, Gordon setup a situation in which viewers could hearken back to wat they knew happened, discover new details revealed by the slow ‘motion, ad fe! the angst that arises at having to wait forthe inevitable Hand & Foot Left & Right also heightons our awareness of our psychological relationship to the moving image nts work, Gordon projects 2 greatly enlarged image of aright foot on top ofa righthand on one wall anda ite size image of a left foot ontop ofa let hand on the opposite wall, Tho bot toms of bcth projections ae aligned with the floor. There is no sound and the ‘movement ofthe hands and feet s minimal. Nothing happens and everyting happens. Pared dawn to these two extremities, ther every magnifiod deta! assumes z heightened relevance, The result is a surprisingly sensual and cotic bal iMGroham Vexation Island, 1997 Laserdisc of Cinemascope film 9:30 minutes Courtesy the artist and 308 Gallery, New York For more than 20 years, Canadian Rodney Graham has been producing art that efies easy categorization, ranging from conceptual to modernist influences; crossing disciplines suchas science, music, and literature; and encompassing 2 varity of media inclodng installation, photography, and film, His thi, and ‘most event, lm, Vexation island, 1997, was created especially forthe 47th Venice Biennale. Here Graham has moved beyond the 16mm, single-canera format used in previous works to incorporate multiple camera shots ani ‘36mm Cinemascope, which gives the seen a wide Horizontal compasiton, (n a small topical island, amid sweeping vistas of sky, sand, and surf, body lis prone under a large palm tree. The figure (actually Graham himesol is dressed in seventeenth-century English costume, apparently marooned on the island and accompanied only bya parot perched atop a nearby barrel. The bits occasional squawks are the only interuption tothe sound of wird and crashing waves. Closer inspection reveals a lage gash ove the subjcs left eye. As the sun continues to blaze down trough the palms, he begins 0 awaken, Looking up, he sees a coconut, then shakes the tree t dislodge affected perhaps by dementia due to hunger or prolonged exposure tothe ele- ‘ments. In vaudeville fashion, this causes the fut to fall and code with his forehead. He is immediately knocked unconscious (again), and as th coconut rolls into the suf, we are left where we began. Graham's fim recalls literary and cinematic classics such as Daniel De've's Fobinson Crusoe win spends 24 years marooned onan island following a shipwreck, as well 2s the technicolor brilliance of Disney's production af Treasure Island. In Vexation Islan, the scenario i eltvely simple: the sub {ct remains unconscious for prolonged periods f time, interrupted by arief periods of wakefulness. Through the incessant loop ofits Sisyphean peror- ‘mance, Graham's film becomes a comic allegory on the futility often ercoun- tered in everyday life, AllKentridge Weighing... and Wanting, 1997 ‘Animated film 400 minutes Courtesy the artist and Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York ‘Wiliam Kentridge grew up and lives in Johannesburg, South Afric. Since 1989, he has worked onan epic series of animated fms that chronicle the lite ofa fictional greedy industrialist, Soho Eckstein. In telling the story ofthis individual, Kentridge also tells the story of his scarred Homeland,“ have never trie to make illustrations of apartheid,” he says, “but the drawings and films are certainly spawned by and feed off the brutalized socity lft in its wake." In these dreamlike films, Kentridge explores the gulf that les between the ‘powerful and the oppressed. Through Soha and thase around him, Kertridge examines longing, quit, love, responsibilty, vulnerability, and oss. Weighing ‘and Wantngis the seventh film or chapter inthis tle ‘Thoda fortis lm came to Kenge from a dream headin wih he found comfr in writing in an image On he wall. nthe Bible, Danial scaled to interpret writing ona wall that infos King Balthazar that he has teen ‘weighed i he balances and found wanting. Kenvidge's Weighing... and Wanting i, simply put, te sty of man Eckstein] who, whe stung a ‘otk, “see” a relationship with 9 woman fous, al pat, and come together again. A cassical score of somber stings mixed with occasional rmufied voices and industrial sounds reinforces the tone set by Kenricge's dark smudigy drawings. Unite cl arimation hich invaes thousand of drawings) fora film such sts, Kentridge creates only about 20 charcoal Tet February 60-8 ROSEMARIE TROCKEL Bom 1952 Schwert, West Gemany. Lives and kn alge Eins Donald Young Gallet Seat 1880, 1887) Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York 1957, 1895, 1998), Documenta X" Kasel, Geary (1397 Pann Machines" Boston University Art Galley 1887: Thinking rn Boaks to Blboras 180-1986, Te Museum of Modem ‘At, New York (1995; Cente for Contemporary ‘An Ujazdowski Caste, Warsaw (1856 ‘Museum fir Modere Kunst, Raku, Geeany (1886). Publications Johnson, Ken, "A Pos-Rtinal Decuments: ‘Ain America October 1837-80-88 Rickard, Frenoes. “Rosemarie Teckel.” Aatorum(Decenbar 1987 18-118, Richi, Mathew, “Rosemarie Tock! Bareara Gldston.” Fash At JanuaryFebary 1935: 8 Sith, Roberta. “Finding Yamsin Video Imager” The New Yor Tm September 25, 907 £5. Taylor, Brandon, Avant-Garde and tr ethinkng Ast Now, Naw York Hay N ‘Aras, 195, 126-127 (GILLIAN WEARING Born 196, Birmingham, Unite Kingdom, Bch, ct and Design Chelsee Schoo ofA 1967; 4, Goldsmiths College Univesity of Lender, 1880; ve and works in Landon, Esibitions Centre An Contempori,t Gena, ‘Sutton 1958): White Noi, Kurathale Bete, Swen (1896, The Tumor re: 1897 Tate Galery, London (1997; Jay Gey ‘Modem art New Yor 1997) Sensation: Young British Artists ram the Sztchi Golction* Roel Academy ots, London (1997; Kuntar Winer Secetan, i Viewa, ‘Asia (197); Maureen Palenteri Art London (1887, 196, 1994 Ares, The ish ‘Musoum of Modem Ar, ul (19371, Pubieatins sae, Nea. “Gillan Wearing” Atforum (anuary 1998) 10, Prieta Naney. “Gilian Wearing at ty Soin.” Artin America Jenety 198) 5-26, Ronson, Jon, “Ona So.” Fx {Soptamb /Otober 197): 60-63 Smith Rober, “Arf the Moment, Hore ta Say." The New York TinaslFtmry 15, 15081 “seo itis said byapbesioneee eee eae eee ee eee cr Pees cts ee PUR en eee on Ss creates ea Ra Oca peer) ee Peer) re es rae eed ea cn ree cen Cece Pee oe nce Le rong ea) feet een hogy Ml pega ae cory te rs uns es perenne acer Be ee ert ea ead ea) ren! ea) Pein rece) Pert poetryoe ere ay iret