In dieser großen Zeit, 2011, video, 10', Loop
A selection of fragments taken from two texts by Karl Kraus: "In dieser grossen Zeit" (1914), and "Man frage nicht..." (1933), performed by the ventriloquist Alpar Fendo. These texts address Krauss's decision to respond to the advent of both world wars by means of silence, a silence which he nevertheless felt the need tp “preserve from misinterpretation” by writing these two texts. The ventriloquist makes the paradox of this gesture visible, by speaking the texts, but without moving his lips. A live performance of this work was also produced for Bismuth's current solo exhibition at the GAK Kunstverein in Bremen.
A selection of fragments taken from two texts by Karl Kraus: "In dieser grossen Zeit" (1914), and "Man frage nicht..." (1933), performed by the ventriloquist Alpar Fendo. These texts address Krauss's decision to respond to the advent of both world wars by means of silence, a silence which he nevertheless felt the need tp “preserve from misinterpretation” by writing these two texts. The ventriloquist makes the paradox of this gesture visible, by speaking the texts, but without moving his lips. A live performance of this work was also produced for Bismuth's current solo exhibition at the GAK Kunstverein in Bremen.
if it shifts shift along with it, 2011, collage, 29 x 21 cm
A period or a distraction, 2011, foam, acrylic, d=15 cm
a train of thought, 2011, wood, 100 x 5 x 5 cm, each
an interlude, 2011, video, 15 min
Untitled (Schnitte) 1/9 Collagen, 2011, newspaper, painted wooden frame
40 x 40 cm
40 x 40 cm
Untitled (Schnitte) 1/9 Collagen, 2011, newspaper, painted wooden frame
40 x 40 cm
40 x 40 cm
Wholes and parts, 2011, wood, 100 x 4 x 4 cm
Untitled (Frustum), 2011, collage, 38 x 28 cm
Untitled (Frustum), 2011, collage, 38 x 28 cm
Sure, 2011, video 28', video still
Video footage of a lifesaver buoy, stumbled upon by chance while filming a video in the Rockaways, in New York, paired with the repetitive enunciation of the word “sure.” The numbingly monotone repetition of the word echoes the repetitive appearance and disappearance of the lifesaver in the video, as the waves pull it under, and its buoyancy pushes it back up.
Video footage of a lifesaver buoy, stumbled upon by chance while filming a video in the Rockaways, in New York, paired with the repetitive enunciation of the word “sure.” The numbingly monotone repetition of the word echoes the repetitive appearance and disappearance of the lifesaver in the video, as the waves pull it under, and its buoyancy pushes it back up.
Dead Air Comedy, 2010, DVD, 46 min, video still
The intention of “Dead Air“ is to work with the sort of comedic banter that is prevalent in talk shows, comedy club, sit-coms, and even everyday life: a composite form of chatter, assembled from the flotsam and jetsam of popular culture which self-perpetrates itself in a thin yet resonant stream of jokes and voices. Don was asked to compose and improvise a series of monologues, inspired by stand-up comedy routines, and to perform them in the empty theater of the ACF, letting the silence of the absent audience amplify the tragi-comic vacuity of his solitary performance, and of the genre from which it stems.
The intention of “Dead Air“ is to work with the sort of comedic banter that is prevalent in talk shows, comedy club, sit-coms, and even everyday life: a composite form of chatter, assembled from the flotsam and jetsam of popular culture which self-perpetrates itself in a thin yet resonant stream of jokes and voices. Don was asked to compose and improvise a series of monologues, inspired by stand-up comedy routines, and to perform them in the empty theater of the ACF, letting the silence of the absent audience amplify the tragi-comic vacuity of his solitary performance, and of the genre from which it stems.
The Golden Ass, 2010, two-channel video, text 6' 47"
The Golden Ass, shot by the artist at the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in Tehachapi, California and at the Wild Burro Rescue in Olancha, California, both sanctuaries for the increasingly endangered feral donkey population. Rather than a documentation of these animals or their situation, the video is a sequence of discrete encounters with the animals and their caretakers, each shot the consequence of a simple gesture of placement of the camera.
The Golden Ass, shot by the artist at the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in Tehachapi, California and at the Wild Burro Rescue in Olancha, California, both sanctuaries for the increasingly endangered feral donkey population. Rather than a documentation of these animals or their situation, the video is a sequence of discrete encounters with the animals and their caretakers, each shot the consequence of a simple gesture of placement of the camera.
Untitled (Mime), 2010, collage on paper, 21 x 29.5 cm
The saddest funniest sculpture in the world, 2007
Two wooden plinths, 2 x 4 squares (wood) 60 x 60 x 60 cm , 70 x 70 x 70 cm, Ink jet Prints, A0
La dimanche de la vie (Sonntag des Lebens), 2007 Pennant Flags, Dim. var.
Two wooden plinths, 2 x 4 squares (wood) 60 x 60 x 60 cm , 70 x 70 x 70 cm, Ink jet Prints, A0
La dimanche de la vie (Sonntag des Lebens), 2007 Pennant Flags, Dim. var.
Abimes, 2009, paint remover, 100 x 100 cm,
Installation views Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, 2009
Installation views Galerie Parisa Kind, Frankfurt, 2009
Les Continents incontinents, Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, Paris, France, 2009
The title of his new exhibition “Les Continents incontinents,“ suggests that all kinds of overflowing are in store, involving both ideas and objects.
The show is articulated around a very simple idea: to make the hanging of the works – usually one of the hidden sides of the gallery’s activity – the main theme of the exhibition.
The show is divided up into two phases and two spaces. The work – drawings, sketches, paintings – will be presented in the entrance to the gallery, while the main room will remain empty until the moment of the opening: 7 pm on March 11.
Five handlers will then install and manipulate a series of pieces in a precisely choreographed series of mute, expressive actions that will gradually reveal the works. These works are modular, foldable and transformable; they spread out, fold, retract, at times bringing to mind the Bichos by Lygia Clark.
The second moment of the exhibition will come on 19 March at 7 pm, a week later, during a performance. A monologue, “Incontinent Continents,“ will be declaimed by a single actor sitting on a pedestal specially designed for the occasion.
The structure of his text has the same folds and cuts as the different formal elements gathered in the exhibition, constituting an aural illustration, a clarification and an articulation of the two phases of the exhibitions. We have come full circle.
(Press Release, Galerie Vallois, Paris)
The title of his new exhibition “Les Continents incontinents,“ suggests that all kinds of overflowing are in store, involving both ideas and objects.
The show is articulated around a very simple idea: to make the hanging of the works – usually one of the hidden sides of the gallery’s activity – the main theme of the exhibition.
The show is divided up into two phases and two spaces. The work – drawings, sketches, paintings – will be presented in the entrance to the gallery, while the main room will remain empty until the moment of the opening: 7 pm on March 11.
Five handlers will then install and manipulate a series of pieces in a precisely choreographed series of mute, expressive actions that will gradually reveal the works. These works are modular, foldable and transformable; they spread out, fold, retract, at times bringing to mind the Bichos by Lygia Clark.
The second moment of the exhibition will come on 19 March at 7 pm, a week later, during a performance. A monologue, “Incontinent Continents,“ will be declaimed by a single actor sitting on a pedestal specially designed for the occasion.
The structure of his text has the same folds and cuts as the different formal elements gathered in the exhibition, constituting an aural illustration, a clarification and an articulation of the two phases of the exhibitions. We have come full circle.
(Press Release, Galerie Vallois, Paris)
Les Continents incontinents, Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, Paris, France, 2009
Sculptures for tables or pedestals and sculptures for pockets or drawers, 2009, wood, dimensions variable
«Untitled (Salt Flat)», 2007, Holz, Beize, Magnesium-7-Hydrat Salzkristalle, Soundinstallation, 120 x 120 cm, Music: Giancarlo Vulcano, Text: Julien Bismuth
«...so I looked down at my feet and changed my mind...», 2007, Schuhe des Künstlers, Magnesium-7-Hydrat, Salzkristalle, Maße variabel