M JUST FOR YOU WELCOME BACK IN M We have mapped out a safe route for you. You will have so much space that it will seem as though the art is there for you alone. The route runs along the collection presentations ‘Take your Time’, ‘Moved’, ‘Madness’, ‘Form first’, ‘The Seven Sacraments’ and ‘Impressive!’. And also the two new contemporary art exhibitions ‘HOUSE OF CARD’ by Thomas Demand and ‘Fair Game’ by Ericka Beckman.

Enjoy M just for you and share your experience with #mleuven.

2 TAKE YOUR TIME It might feel as if time stands still in a the projection. However, in other artworks, museum, but nothing could be further more ‘static’ objects like and from the truth. Time is an essential element paintings, narrative time appears to of every work of art. Some works of art be absent. Here it is determined by the tell us something about time itself, like spectator, the time he or she takes to look. the calendar dial and a vanitas still life, Sometimes we only cast a cursory glance, where time is explicitly or symbolically sometimes we look for a very long time. represented. Other works of art tell stories. Research has revealed that the average A story unfolds within a given time, what is time a museum visitor stands in front of a called narrated time. Sometimes the story painting is 28.63 seconds, including the time is about a journey that lasted for weeks, for selfies. sometimes it is about a fleeting moment. For centuries artists have been developing This presentation invites you to explore the visual strategies to represent this time- aspect of time in art. Not only how artists related aspect in their work. have worked with time in their creations, but also to find out how long you yourself spend An artwork also has a given amount of time looking. We invite you to become aware of to tell its story: the narrative time. In films and the time you need to look and also to take a video installations that time is the length of close(r) look.

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3 MOVED Have you ever walked for hours with your Under the three broad themes of procession, classmates behind a saint, a pair of wings pilgrimage and devotion, the presentation attached to your back? Have you ever brings together unusual objects that used dressed Jesus, rocked him to sleep or laid to play a role in religious rituals: dressed him in his grave? Or offered up your best and moving images, the wardrobe and jewellery to a bleeding Host? Times change... accessories of statues of saints, relics and Until relatively recently, religion played an their cult objects, the paraphernalia of important role in the daily life of most people processions, house altars, etc. in the Christian West. Life was lived on a much Often fragile, tactile, precious and artisanal more limited geographic scale. Religious in nature, each of these extraordinary objects feast days and rituals dictated the calendar induced an intense religious experience both and brought communities together. publicly and behind closed doors and by their movement moved people spiritually. Many objects from the rich and diverse collection of M Leuven are religious in origin The context and uses of many of the objects and derive from local churches and chapels. have been lost over time, and so the audio tour and labels help contextualize these This exhibition showcases religious art and now obsolete practices. Furthermore, the heritage objects made to move literally and presentation opens with images of similar figuratively, from the cradle to the grave. traditions, worldwide and contemporary.

4 MADNESS. STUDENTS AT M Welcome. You’ll find madness in this room. with delusions and makes you abandon a few stereotypes. Yet it was insanity too that In this difficult age, we all run into insane offered us the freedom to tell our story. boundaries every day. We – ten students – found a place at M where we could challenge We’re curious whether you, the visitor, will be ourselves and take unfamiliar paths. Our prepared to join us and find your own way. exhibition shows the many faces of insanity we experienced in art. We went in search of madness. Will you find the art in insanity with us? Each of us offers a way of looking for you to explore. Some of the insanity will move you. Some will provoke you and bring out the lunatic within. It plays devil’s advocate to Thanks to our restoration partners Delen undermine preconceptions, confronts you Private Bank and M-Life.

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5 FORM FIRST How do you set about impressing use a windmill cup? What is a samovar used distinguished guests? Centuries ago a for? Since when have we eaten with a fork? collector would have done so by inviting you And what messages can you communicate to admire his most precious objects and with a fan? artefacts brought together in a sumptuous cabinet. On show in these nineteenth- No information about the material, the century salons of Mayor Leopold Vander maker or the date is provided with these Kelen and his wife Maria Mertens are objects. Trust your eyes. What can you treasures from M’s collection of applied arts. deduce by taking a good look at the form Here we invite you to take a fresh look at and the material of an object? utilitarian objects. In the halls of this exhibition you can find We put the spotlight on the function, reflective questions. Find them and let your materials and form of objects. How do you imagination run wild.

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6 THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS You may have heard of the Seven go to Communion. Other sacraments may Sacraments: seven sacred acts in be less familiar. Have you ever been to the Catholic faith, which according to confession, for example? And do you know Catholic theology were instituted by Christ what anointing the sick entails? himself. Symbolizing the most important transitional rituals in the life of believers, Each sacrament is marked by a specific the sacraments strengthen man’s bond ritual or celebration, accompanied by the with God and with the religious community. relevant liturgical objects. In this gallery These rituals are Baptism, Confirmation, you will discover a number of objets Penance (Confession), Holy Communion d’art from the fifteenth to the eighteenth or Eucharist, Ordination, Matrimony and centuries, which were integral to the Anointing of the Sick. rituals and practices around the seven sacraments. The pièce de résistance has These seven sacraments once structured to be the Seven Sacraments Altarpiece by daily life in Catholic Europe. You will be Rogier van der Weyden (1399/1400–1464), familiar with at least some of them. For a masterpiece of medieval art, which has example, there is a chance that you yourself been a guest of honour at M since 2009. have been christened and confirmed, or Allow your eyes to wander over the painting have attended a christening or confirmation and live the fifteenth-century, seven service. Perhaps you have also been to sacraments experience. mass, or you know people who regularly

7 IMPRESSIVE ! There is more to M than you think. In the In recent years we have worked hard museum rooms you can currently discover to map out this extensive collection, some 300 objects from the collection. to preserve it and to restore it where That’s just the tip of the iceberg, because necessary. You can discover the results of M manages a rich and diverse collection of this work here. more than 53,000 objects. Around 25,000 of these are prints and drawings on paper: ‘Impressive!’ introduces you to this a veritable treasure trove of images and hidden collection and to the work done stories, from the late Middle Ages to the by volunteers to preserve and show the present day. But because paper is very valuable prints with the greatest care. fragile, they rarely see daylight.

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8 Gallery 1.A – Behind the scenes Gallery 1.C – Prints and drawings Here you get a unique look behind M’s cabinet of prints and drawings is the scenes of M. After all, managing a nice sample of the various (printing) a collection of 25,000 works on paper techniques and materials from 1500 to the takes a lot of time and customised care. present day. Correct identification of these Fortunately, we don’t do this alone. is often crucial for the preservation and The driving force behind the cabinet of possible restoration of a print. prints and drawings is a competent and diverse team of volunteers. Under the But how do you recognise a (printing) guidance of M’s collection staff, they take technique? And what materials were care of all the prints. According to the used by the artist? These are questions highest standards, each work is carefully that the volunteers ask themselves examined, described, inventoried, while examining the prints. Here you digitised and packaged. In this room will discover four common printing volunteers continue to work on the techniques, and what you need to pay registration, preservation and imaging of attention to in order to recognise them. the collection.

9 Gallery 1.D – In good hands Gallery 1.E – Storehouse of stories Thanks to a team of volunteers, we 25,000 prints went through the hands manage to preserve the prints and of volunteers. Always with the aim of drawings in the very best conditions. describing, digitising and preserving the This is necessary because paper is highly works. Because of this unique connection sensitive to light, air and moisture. If with the objects, they are the perfect exposed to it for long periods of time, the signposts for the collection. material can easily become acidic and Together with the curator, they selected discoloured. That is why we store all prints several themes and accompanying prints in acid-free boxes, keep the humidity that are closely linked to the identity of level constant and regularly check for the collection. The selection you see here insects. But additional measures are also reflects the wealth of images and stories in necessary in the museum rooms: the the gallery of prints. light is always dimmed and the prints are stored every three months and replaced Special thanks to all our volunteers who by others. This has the advantage that, for worked on the Gallery of Prints the last years: the duration of ‘Impressive!’, a wide and Anne-Sofie Aubert, Olivia Beckers, diverse selection of prints can be shown to Lise Bertin, Yvonne Brems, Nikita Buyst, the public. Lucienne Crols, Josefien Debacker, Frans Desmedt, Bie Devroey, Denise Ericx, To ensure that all prints are always Sarah Eycken, Liliane Frooninckx, available for further research, each work is Kathleen Geens, Mina Gryseels, also scanned or photographed. This makes Andrea Hajtajer, Lawrence Herman, it digitally accessible at all times, even Bart Janssen, Stefan Kerremans, when the print is safely stored away again. Hilde Lammens, Arendine Martens, Janice Mathy, Anke Meulemans, Vilma Narkuté, Thomas Peeters, Dorien Proost, Marc Roelandts, Eef Segers, Bart Troost, Jeremy Vanausloos, Kathy Van den Bergh, Greet Van Deun, Zanna Van Loon, Cis Van Nijverseel, Céline Vanderlinden, Annemie Voets, An Vranken, Kelly Willems. Illustrations: Jenny Stieglitz With works from the Cera Collection With the support of Delen Private Bank

10 THOMAS DEMAND | ‘HOUSE OF CARD’ Is architecture a subject in the oeuvre The title refers to the precariousness of Thomas Demand? Or is it rather a of Demand’s practice as a builder. system within his work, aimed at shaping Whereas architecture generally equates space? These questions lie at the heart with permanence, Demand prefers to of ‘HOUSE OF CARD’. For the first time, the explore the limits of the ephemeral, as exhibition explicitly places architecture is evidenced in his use of paper and in relation to the artistic practice of cardboard. It is with these materials that Thomas Demand. It provides an overview Demand, in his studio, recreates full- of his different approaches to building scale models from found media images: over the past fifteen years. Demand’s generally witnesses of important events works focus on the model, the décor or from a recent past. He records these scenography, although his buildings are models on camera and subsequently also inextricably linked to architecture. destroys them. Demand’s final At the same time, ‘HOUSE OF CARD’ photographic images exhibit no traces highlights the similarities between of time or the building process; in this Demand’s projects and those of other way they deliberately create distance artists or architects such as Martin Boyce, in relation to the photographs they are Arno Brandlhuber, Caruso St John and supposed to depict. Rirkrit Tiravanija. Curator: Valerie Verhack

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11 Gallery 1.H – EMBASSY (2007) Gallery 1.I – MODEL (2000) In ‘Embassy’, Thomas Demand no longer The model is a way of representing limits the construction of the space to the the complexity of a society in a filtered boundaries of the photograph. It is the first manner. Think, for example, of the political, installation that has been expressly created medical or financial models that are for a specific spatial setting that is meant to shaping our everyday lives. The model - in intensify the significance of the images. this broader sense of the word - lies at the heart of the work of Thomas Demand. In ‘Embassy’ consists of nine photographs ‘Model’, Thomas Demand has, for the first that depict the embassy of Niger in Rome, time, brought the concept of the model from the façade to the corridors and the more explicitly to the fore in his oeuvre. It interior. For the first time, the pictures used is a photograph of a scale model that in in ‘Embassy’ are not found media images: its turn represents a scale model. In this rather, they were taken during Demand’s sense, the work heralds the later series of visit to the embassy. This was the very place ‘Model Studies’. where, in 2001, a theft occurred of blank headed paper, later used to create false The model is based on a scale model contracts. These papers were meant to that was used for political propaganda. It prove that , as President represents the German pavilion designed of Iraq, was trying to acquire uranium from by Third Reich architect Albert Speer for Africa. It were these forged documents that the 1937 World Fair in . There, the were later used by US President George W. German pavilion would be situated directly Bush as an argument in support of war. opposite that of the Soviet Union, which led Speer to design a soaring building Demand created the installation ‘Embassy’ that would tower above all others. The in collaboration with the German architect low camera angle that is maintained in Arno Brandlhuber. Demand’s images can ‘Model’ further enhances the structure’s be seen within a configuration of walls that, loaded character. Demand realised the in terms of placement, follow the camera work in the year the Expo 2000 World Fair perspective of the photos on display. took place in : at a time when the Guided by Brandlhuber’s architecture construction of national pavilions was and Demand’s sculptures, the visitor is led called into question in through a construction, a manipulation of the public debate in . an unknown piece of recent history. In this way, it makes current topics such as fake news very tangible.

Thomas Demand about the Yellowcake affair

12 Gallery 1.J - 1.K Gallery 1.L MODEL STUDIES (2011-2020) KVADRAT PAVILIONS (2020) Since 2011, Thomas Demand has A few years ago, Thomas Demand received developed several series of ‘Model Studies’, an open invitation from the textile company works in which the concept of the model Kvadrat to realise an architectural takes a central place as the space between intervention in the landscape surrounding creative idea and execution. In ‘Model its head office in the Danish town of Studies’, Demand abandons his usual Ebeltoft. The artist’s concept was based practice. Here, for the first time, he does not on a pictural idea that was as simple as photograph his own self-built scale models, it was metaphorical: the tent as a textile but rather those of other artists, architects building. In collaboration with the British and designers. Often, these models architectural firm Caruso St John, he then present projects that were never realised: worked out this concept and realised they illustrate a potential, a possibility. three pavilions. The three buildings were designed in the form of a folded sheet Demand’s ‘Model Studies’ are not of paper, a paper plate and a paper hat, nostalgic musings; rather they document respectively. All three are objects of use Demand’s chance encounters with the that follow the logic of paper or cardboard: work of these artists. Unlike in most of his materials that are consistent with photographs, the camera’s position is no Demand’s visual arts practice. longer frontal and remote, but rather up close to the various scale models. This While the ‘Kvadrat Pavilions’ are currently results in series of images that appear being built in Ebeltoft, here, in this abstract and resolutely tactile through the room, the process of their creation textures and materials he depicts. is documented. The display case, for example, contains sketches, paper models In the next room, ‘Model Studies I’ (2011), of the buildings or postcards of tents: a based on the work of the American form of architecture in which Demand architect , is on display immersed himself for some time. There together with the ‘Do Words are also prototypes of details of the interior Have Voices’ (2011) by the British artist such as door handles or light fittings which Martin Boyce. Both works were first shown were entirely crafted under his creative together as an installation at the Venice control. Finally, a plaster model illustrates Biennale of Architecture in 2012. ‘Model the undulations of the landscape and the Studies II’ (2015) is based on the work location of the three pavilions. of the Japanese architectural firm SANAA. The series is on display in a second room in which the wallpaper alters the spatial experience of the room through the repetition of a folded motif. In a third room is presented the most recent series, ‘Model Studies IV’ (2020), which draws on the work of Tunesian fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa.

13 Gallery 1.M – NAGELHAUS (2010) Ten years before the ‘Kvadrat Pavilions’, Although the commission had reached Thomas Demand and the British an advanced stage, ‘Nagelhaus’ met architectural firm Caruso St John had with resistance from the city already worked together on ‘Nagelhaus’. council and was never realised. This room This project for the public space was presents an example of the controversial originally intended for the Escher-Wyss- ‘Nagelhaus’ on the basis of a full-scale Platz in Zurich, Switzerland. Demand model as well as documentation of and Caruso St John envisaged a modern the creative process surrounding it. A version of a Chinese pavilion, whose slideshow, for example, shows historical appearance made reference to a so- images of oriental-inspired pavilions on called Nagelhaus. In 2007, ‘the most the European mainland. There is also a stubborn nail in history’ made world short film montage of media images, as news when private owners of a small well as documents related to the polarised house in Chongqing, China, unexpectedly political reactions to the project. resisted developers who were planning to build a shopping centre in the area. All surrounding buildings were demolished and the house remained alone in an empty construction site.

14 Zaal 2.A – BLACK LABEL (2009) This room displays Thomas Demand’s photo A few years later, Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija series ‘Black Label’, a project that refers to also visited the CCA Project Gallery as a guest an eponymous bar in the station district of resident. His ‘untitled 2013 (thomas demands Kitakyushu in . The location of here)’ (2013) was a response to Demand’s ‘Black Label’ has been changed several project. Out of his interest in the social times due to urban developments and the function of the bar and its local significance bar is currently situated on a very small and in the station district, Tiravanija rebuilt the bar multi-sided plot that completely dominates in the CCA in all its functionality, replete with the appearance of the bar. Demand light and karaoke installation. The result is replicated the bar as a scale model in his both a sculpture and a social meeting place. studio and exhibited the photographs at the Today, both works can be seen together for CCA Project Gallery in Kitakyushu, where he the first time. was in residence at the time. At the same time he hung a photo of the empty reconstructed exhibition space in the CCA Project Gallery in the original Black Label bar as a replacement for a mirror.

15 ERICKA BECKMAN | ‘FAIR GAME’ A society ruled by structures and systems But does the game ever end? Societal where performance is key, optimisation critique permeates Beckman’s work. In forms a constant preoccupation, and ‘You The Better’, as the action unfolds, we gamification is used as a means to drive up realise that there is no chance of winning participation… All these properties defining when there are underlying forces at play our everyday lives were first explored by controlling the outcome. Can will power Ericka Beckman in her work in the early and strategy inflect the course of a game 1980s, long before the introduction of social that is rigged from the start? As it appears, media and virtual reality. At M, the American the only possible conclusion is that one artist presents her multimedia installation cannot outwit the dominating system. ‘Nanotech Players’ (1989), her first 16 mm Beckman herewith alludes to a structuralist film ‘You The Better’ (1983), and her new understanding of the world in general and film ‘Reach Capacity’ (2020), shown in our capitalist society in particular. Forty world premiere. The two films share the use years later, it is time for a new round: in of game as a structuring device, popular ‘Reach Capacity’, capitalism is challenged culture imagery, and a commentary on by an alternative, more social system. Will capitalism and real estate. the ruling system be overthrown this time? Beckman refuses the flat didacticism of Beckman’s films are at once physically a staged revolution, instead pointing to a engaging and cognitively complex. subtle rearrangement of the rules by the Attempting to make sense of a plot proves labouring class in order to regain control. to be a futile enterprise, as the action is not driven by an identifiable narrative. We are prompted to adapt our mindset, and engage with what is happening on the screen as if we were part of the game rather than witnessing a story with a moral undertone. Similarly to a tale being punctuated by elements such as conflict and resolution, the game’s inherent properties define its progress, such as its set of rules and the appointment of a winner at the end.

16 Alongside this political comment, Beckman The artist’s way of working similarly includes intends to provoke a bodily response. The both cognitive and physical stages. physical activity on screen contributes Each film starts with an extensive period to engage the audience, as do the easily of research. To give shape to her ideas, identifiable objects and the restricted set Beckman draws a large number of concept of bright colours. The props displayed in and story boards, creates the props by hand the gallery blur the boundaries, turning and writes (and sometimes performs) the two-dimensional viewing into a three- songs herself. Most special effects in the dimensional experience. While this is film are created in-camera, as the image is how the artist has always envisaged the being made, using techniques that go back presentation of her work, it is only recently to the origins of cinema, such as multiple that technology and a shift in curatorial exposure and stop motion. In a fast-paced practices have made this display possible, digital era where images lose substance freeing her films from the screening room and meaning as they are multiplied and and bringing them to life as installations. edited, the thought and craftsmanship that Beckman puts into each frame is an Beckman’s interest in turning the viewing invitation to profoundly reinvent the rules of of her work into a bodily experience contemporary image-making. is rooted in the multidisciplinary exploration she initiated at the CalArts school (California) in the late 1970s. This is where she started experimenting by combining various media in film such as percussion, chant, sculpture and most notably performance, in order to create a fully immersive environment. The use of movement as a primary conveyor of meaning has been central in her practice ever since, in a manner reminiscent of silent movies.

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18 Zaal 2.B – ‘You The Better’, 1983 ‘You The Better’ is a milestone in As the rules change and strategies evolve, Beckman’s oeuvre. This is at once her first it becomes clear that it is pointless for us to film containing an underlying societal calculate the odds of the players as a group critique and her first work shot in 16 mm, or individually (in one sequence, Ashley following what she calls an “incubation Bickerton goes solo, looking directly at the period” in which she used a Super 8 viewer through the camera). Maybe it is camera to develop her visual language. time to take a step back, and evaluate the This shift in format mainly induced a system as a whole? As it appears, no matter change in scale, with the artist bringing what the players choose to do next, they are a larger number of props and performers just cogs in a machine. The almighty house into the frame. ‘You The Better’ was filmed always wins, a reference to the built-in in a black box studio and on a basketball advantage in casinos. court, involving many of her CalArts peers, amongst which artists Ashley Bickerton The house, a recurring motif in the film and Tony Conrad. For the music and lyrics, echoed in the props animating with the Beckman worked together with composer film, does not only refer to the gambling Brooke Halpin, whom she also met at establishment. It also alludes to real estate CalArts, and whom she also collaborated under capitalism, as demonstrated in the with for ‘Reach Capacity’ (2020, her new housing boom at the beginning of the film on view at M). film. To the sound of Beckman chanting “subdivide, subdivide, subdivide”, identical ‘You The Better’ intertwines gambling dwellings endlessly multiply, in a manner activities and ball games, an association similar to cell division. Can the seemingly confirmed by the slogans that punctuate the unstoppable advance of market forces work, such as “Take a shot at the wheel” and ever be halted? This question prompted by “One shot now”. Exposing the film multiple ‘You The Better’ at a time when President times enabled Beckman to superimpose Reagan was championing free-market performers and motifs. As a result, we see capitalism is ever so actual, and Beckman ball players getting caught in the middle of comes back to it in her new film, ‘Reach a spinning roulette wheel and the house Capacity’ (2020). becoming a target for them to hit.

The artist’s research phase included Please click here to read the full lyrics of live observation in casinos and ‘You The Better’ (1983) anthropological study of play. Beckman was mainly inspired by a game called jai alai, a gambling sport where players use a wicker scoop to make a ball bounce off a walled space at high speed. Betting on jai alai is similar to wagering on horse races. As indicated in the title, the viewer, too, is given a role in the artist’s proto-interactive game. YOU are appointed as the bettor. Now, which bet offers the most value?

19 Zaal 2.B – ‘Reach Capacity’, 2020 Forty years after its first appearance in here…”. The workers manage to go one step ‘You The Better’, the house returns as a further than the players in character in Beckman’s new work ‘Reach ‘You The Better’, who always remained Capacity’, now unequivocally symbolising subjected to the house. In ‘Reach Capacity’, real estate. Throughout the film, we a thorough understanding of the rules of the witness towers and houses materialise at game (“Energy’s a resource, it can change frightening speed. Their neon colours and our course”) enables the workers to alter it simple graphic outlines make them look for the better. The cogs in the machine find at odds with the naturalistic environment a way to tweak the larger system governing they integrate, as if they were exported them. The labourers organise their work out of a video game. One cannot help but in order to build houses twice as quickly, be reminded of badly managed urban hence freeing up time. This newly acquired planning, a worldwide phenomenon, or spare time is devoted to creating capital newly built cities like Dubai, with their rapid that flows into a common trust. With this development driven by capitalism resulting income distributed equally amongst them, in a proliferation of skyscrapers. the labourers manage to find a way to combine efficient production as advocated In the first part of the film, the construction by capitalism and social justice. fever seems unstoppable, in a manner reminiscent of the subdivision movement The economic and political elements in ‘You The Better’. Construction workers and the structure of the film are closely can hold up as many “SLOW” and “STOP” associated with the most famous of all signs as they like, the traders in blue suits board games dealing with real estate, continue to invest in new buildings to the ‘Monopoly’. During her research phase, sound of capitalist slogans repeated with Beckman dived into the history of the insistence – “Buy ’em all back”, “Rent game. Its origins go back to the early is income”. While in ‘You The Better’, 1900s, when Elizabeth Magie created the players retained a human quality, a first version of what she called ‘The sometimes acting as a group but also Landlord’s Game’. Magie’s game had demonstrating individual traits, in ‘Reach two sets of rules, a Prosperity set and a Capacity’, the traders are positively robotic, Monopolist set (only the latter was kept the uniformised product of a system. by Parker Brothers when they further Their gestures are often synchronised – at developed the game without her). Magie’s some point, one of them even seems to be aim was to illustrate how society as a remote-controlled. In contrast, the flesh- whole thrives when monopolies are and-blood workers seem to have more will, banished and income is distributed but less power. equally. Beckman takes over Magie’s dual game structure by having her screen flip This changes in the second part of the film: over when a monopoly is reached. What as the screen flips over, the tables turn. she does not retain is the game’s original The focus is now on the labourers and the didacticism, choosing instead to engage struggle they face. Reworking the capitalist the viewer through rhythmic movement game proves a necessity for them: “The and sound, hence transmitting a feeling bank has failed to support us, no future rather than a lesson.

Please click here to read the full lyrics of ‘Reach Capacity’ (2020).

20 Zaal 2.C – ‘Nanotech Players’, 1989 Presented for the first time in Europe, the Beckman fabricates the models herself, animated installation ‘Nanotech Players’ using white sticks and foam discs (1989) shows how Beckman strips the assembled in a rotational device. This materials and mediums she works with basic shape is then turned into a character to their bare essentials, yet paradoxically by experimenting with photographic and achieving maximum impact. The five filmic techniques. While the figures star on images are not animated in film; the their own in ‘Nanotech Players’, they also static C-prints are instantly turned into a feature in the artist’s two films shown at M. sequence purely by programmed light and In ‘You The Better’ (1983), they assume the sound. The players themselves cannot be identity of a spinning roulette wheel, while separated from the photographic medium, in ‘Reach Capacity’ (2020), the rotating as their identity conveyed by their apparent shape reappears in the last part of the motion is essentially the result of long film as a tap on a valve regulating energy exposure time and multiple lights. generated by the labourers, ultimately rebalancing the game.

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