Tomáš Svoboda
Rear window

Arturas Bumšteinas
Blur and other works

14.06. – 26.07.2008 

Opening
June 13th 2008
 

Antje Wachs Gallery is pleased to present the two artists Tomáš Svoboda and Arturas Bumšteinas. Both artists deal with the topic film, both in their own way.  

Entering the gallery, the viewer sees himself in front of an obstacle: in large letters,the word “Fear” mounts up. Like some sort of gate to the exhibition, Svoboda has installed the letters like a passage between the interior of the gallery and exterior of the street. One can only pass the “barrier of fear” with difficulties. From the backside the letters can be read. Simultaneously, the street in the background is seen through the window of the gallery. So, is fear excluded in fact? By the panorama that thus opens up, the installation refers to the Hollywood sign in the hills of Los Angeles and to the glamour of the film industry with its stars. In his show, Tomas Svoboda stages the fear as heroes and protagonists.
The film “Imagine Psycho”, which is shown in the upper room, plays with the viewer’s imagination. One of the most famous movies of film history is depicted by simple descriptions. The text serves as a substitute for the image. Tempo, length and number of the shoots remain as in the original, only the visual information and the sound is missing. What happens if you have to visualise a famous movie by yourself in your mind? How do the individual ideas differ from each other and what role do individual experience, imagination, memories and the emotional state play? Is each viewer watching a different movie?
In the patio of the gallery, which can be seen through the large windows from the inside of the gallery, there is the film setting “Bates Motel”, which by its 3D-qualityis acting as a contrast to the 2D text-film composition. The viewer sees part of the film as reality although the setting is behind the windows. Consequently, it can not beentered as a stage. Is this single detail able to evoke emotions?   

The project space features works by the young Lithuanian sound artist Arturas Bumšteinas (LT, *1982) who studied composing. All of his three works employ the materials of the five Hannibal Lecter movies and its relation to the subject of Lithuanian identity and its misidentifications in popculture. According to the books by Thomas Harris, Hannibal Lecter is of Lithuanian heritage.
In the video „Blur“ Bumšteinas uses the blurred ending credits and its’ blurred soundtracks from the Hannibal Lecter film series. All five tracks were composed newly by manipulating (blurring) the original soundtracks from the closing credits of the Hannibal Lecter film series, they are available as a CD in an edition of 50.
The work „Borders of Anyland“ refers to earlier drawings of Lecters restraint mask: a circle has been projected on the large scale drawing that repeats the same motive of Lecters restraint mask, then the circle was outlined according to the ornament thus fitting into the silhouette of the restraint mask ornament and resulting in a particular jagged circle which was produced as a neon.
The drawings „Screen Drawings“ are an On-screen moving trajectory of Catherine Martin (red), Buffalo Bill (green) and Clarice Starling (blue) during the final “basement chase” scene from the movie. The drawing was executed with the use of a slowed down film footage projected on the paper. Then it was drawn in three real-time runs.