artathina_ restart 31.05 - 3.06.07 - helexpo palace
Christian Rupp, Costis Johannidis
c. johannidis blind ear 15.2-6.3.05 - cheapart
Reflecting Media - C. Rupp
A series of works, that reveals a different image to the immediate recipient standing in front of it then to the media turning their electronic eyes on it. Actually the immediate recipient is disregarded – he/she will only see a monochrome (eg: white on white) picture, not being able to identify any further content. At the same time a camera (due to its flashlight or video-light) will see bright written words / lines / pictograms / structures /…
Ignoring the immediate recipient in such a way ironically exaggerates one way to analyse the situation: deciding that it is the attention of the media that really counts…
What does it mean to write a quote of McLuhan in such a manner, using that phonetic alphabet directed at the electronic Media?
What is more important, the impact of an artwork has on the immediate recipients standing in front of it, or the effect it has when amplified via the media. The effect it has on those remote recipients (who are potentially many more) it reaches via electronic depictions in TV, the Press and the Internet (with the potential to attract them into exhibitions and making them immediate recipients in the long run)?
While the income-gap and the disparity in wealth keeps widening is there an analogous development with attention? In our “Economy of attention”, where some “Stars” will be recognized globally, their names known to virtually billions of people – is there a growing chance for masses of other individuals to disappear into oblivion? Is the middle-class, in terms of wealth, fading away like the middle-class, in terms of attention? More specifically for artists, is it a game of “stardom or bust”? Or is everybody getting an equal share of 15 minutes? Are museums and institutions forced to feature recognizable names, when they are increasingly depending on generating income via numbers of visitors? Do artists need to treat their public appearance like a brand? Am I a brand? How does a brand act/behave? How much does an artist need to reflect on his media-presence?
g l i m p s e s
costis johannidis
Audiovisual installation in which we observe simultaneously two stories in progress.
Narration of a love story, while two phrases from another love story are projected on the wall.
By his glimpsing, a man is relating to an unfamiliar to him, woman. The woman realizes that her love life is leading nowhere and decides to end it. Is it the simultaneous revelation of the beginning and the end of a long-term relationship, or perhaps we are viewing the parallel thoughts of two people, during one and only meeting amoungst them; Again perhaps these are two different situations, which seem to tied together through this installation.
"Glimpses" in the Greek language, means a "instant" view, as it means to monitor something in progress. It also means to view a different perspective on the same subject.
The viewer is called upon to add another "glimpse" on to the work. His/her own.