Video Kunst von Deutschland
SAT 25 AUG 17.00
In association with Goethe Institute, Dublin, Olaf Stuber (Video Art At Midnight) has curated a program of Video Art from Germany entitled 'IF I WANT TO HEAR MUSIC, I OPEN THE WINDOW' Olaf Stuber will be attending the screening.
Titles exhibited:
Täter und Opfer (2003-04, DE) Director Ulf Aminde
Over a period of one year Ulf Aminde accompanied with his camera alcoholics from Eastern Berlin at their Saturday's football play. They meet reguarly and disciplined in the morning at 7:30 although some of the players where almost drunken. They talk about football but also about their self-defined rules.
Two Guys (2008, DE) Director Mario Pfeifer
Untitled [Two Guys is the product of close collaboration and dialog with two Berlin-Kreuzberg adolescents with a migration background. Based on a fictionalized script the two protagonists move through social spaces, and occupy these spaces aesthetically. Their acting/playing with a rich repertoire of body language, modish gestures and expansive music escalates the ambivalent relationship between the two and the camera that, following them, does not so much capture but project.
Vorbasse Market and Horsefair (1994, DE) Gitte Villesen
Vorbasse Horse Fair and Market (1994) was filmed in one evening at the horse market of the out-of-the-way Danish village of Vorbasse. The film consists of a single sequence filmed with a hand camera and punctuated by a few raw cuts. The film fades in with a full shot, a small group of people appear gathering round a try-your-strength machine. One of them, Martin, notices the camera (and Gitte), waves, leaves the group and steps up to the camera. The camera pulls him into focus head on, in close-up. Martin's face almost fills the frame. He addresses the camera directly, at close quarters. The camera returns his gaze. The game begins.
Station (2004/05, DE) Martin Brand
The documentary work entitled STATION shows an adolescent clique from the train station scene in Bochum, Germany – how it first meets at the train station and then together goes to someone’s house. There, one hangs out, listens to music and smokes weed. A rightist-rock band plays for a while, and one assumes to be confronted with rightist teenagers at their best. Shortly hereafter, the ambivalence of the situation becomes clear when one of the adolescents – the ‘leader’ – says, “...we’re leftist man, and are listenin’ to this fascist music
Train (2001, DE) Julika Rudelius
A group of young men sitting in a train talk about women and love.
Les Skateurs (2004, DE) Mirko Martin
A short, intimate documentary in which Moroccan skateboarders speak their minds about music, suicide, alcohol, poverty, and Europe. At times resembling portraiture, the film reveals the skaters’ self-consciousness before the camera and offers a brief glimpse into their personal lives and thoughts
A sunset takes 7 Minutes (2005, DE) Johanna Domke
“A sunset takes 7 minutes” is set up on the roof of a building in Berlin. A group of young people is gathered, watching the setting sun while chatting and drinking. The camera makes a slow 360º turn, panning the city landscape and the people on the roof, grasping a few fragments of their conversations.
Weiter! (2004, DE) Ulf Aminde
In “Weiter!” the artist did nothing more than offer some chairs to a group of punks hanging out in Berlin’s area Friedrichshain and prompt them to play musical chairs (weiter!, 2004). They had a field day. However, although they knew the rules, they did not play the game as it was meant to be played. The competition factor is what interfered. Some sat down on the ground next to a chair, some didn’t participate at all, and some sat on other players’ laps when the music stopped.
CURATOR BIO: Olaf Stüber
For more then 20 years Olaf Stüber has been working in the art world as galerist, curator and collector. In his 10 years’ gallery work he shows in 73 exhibitions more then 200 artists. Very early the program focuses on moving image works (film and video art).
The artists represented have participated in major group and solo shows in established national and international institutions, including Museum Ludwig Cologne, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Dallas Contemporary, Hirshhorn Museum Washington, MOCCA Toronto, and others. The gallery regularly takes part in art fairs, such as Art Forum Berlin, Art Brussels, Art Cologne, Loop - Video Art Fair Barcelona, and NADA Art Fair Miami.
For three years Olaf Stüber and Ivo Wessel – a collector friend - have been showing video art on the big screen of the legendary Babylon Film Theatre in Berlin-Mitte – once the month on a Friday at midnight. They call the series: VIDEOART AT MIDNIGHT.
Each night is dedicated to one artist. The artist is attending – it is his night. Often we have had the chance to celebrate premiers and some times live acts accompanying the video works (performances, concerts, …).
VIDEOART AT MIDNIGHT meanwhile has become a little cult event, which attracts an audience of up to 300 people on some evenings and a circle of more then 2,000 friends on facebook.
The aim of the screening series is to give an insight into the current video art production of Berlin’s international art scene. Both renowned artists as well as upcoming young artists are represented with their works. They try to get the stars but they also continue to look for new discoveries through intense researches and numerous studio visits.
Further Olaf Stüber holds lectures on video/video art market, curates videoprograms for institutions and festivals and is member of juries (such as Videokunstförderpreis Bremen 2009, Dokfilmfestival Kassel 2012, Videonale e.V. at Kunstmuseum Bonn 2013).