Galerie Chantal Crousel Thomas Hirschhorn Selected Press Galerie Chantal Crousel hasard, etc. au placés d’aération tuyaux et polystyrène de bouts plafond, au agrafés grossièrement ton 70 king like myself king likemyself a ds rics brutaux artifices des par révélée immédiatement est l’illusion factices, ruines ces dans exploration notre pas.de Lors plafond n’existequi au édifice d’un entrailles les suspendue comme masse, propre sa soumise à informe voire imprécise sculpture Gewalt Höhere détruit, être ensuite pour installé, été d’abord a faux-plafond Schinkel. Un Friedrich Karl de l’œuvre saccagé n’aHirschhorn Thomas pas évidemment bien guerres. de conflits, de encore ou défaillantes,séismes de constructions de d’explosions, d’accidents,celles crashs,tête, de en viennent nous images d’innombrables circulaire, sition d’expo- salle la dans pénétrant En sentation. repré la joue en qui cas, tout en ou, détruite éparse, sculpture une former pour habituel « répertoire son de ici use une Hirschhorn Thomas l’œil, trompe Gewalt qu’ici, Sauf l’édifice. environnent qui marteaux-piqueurs de capharnaüm et grues échafaudages, semble innombrables Pavillon aux écho Schinkel faire du l’intérieur Hirschhorn à Thomas de proposition la tion, sants choisis, empruntés à un langage visuel langage un à empruntés choisis, sants en une sorte quelque construit Hirschhorn Thomas précises. esthétiques règles des à alors correspondant non-structuré, du l’illusion rendre de but le dans précisément réfléchi bien système mais un dans délabrement du pratique une à face pas sommes ne Nous carton. de décor Gewalt « cette de vestiges les vitrine sous sceller alors semble bâtiment le circulaires, façades ses sur vitré Entièrement Schinkel. de l’architecturenéo-classique talité ment apparem aléatoire, la sculpture perturbe avec bru manière de recoins ses tous sant représentation d’un quelconquefait divers. comme aucunement place se ne Pavillon Schinkel le dans face fait nous qui chaos le revanche, En bateau. du désolé l’intérieur de des celle photographies reconstitution, omniprésentes la de jeu le jouait Concordia. Costa du catastrophe violente d’une vestiges les reproduisait Hirschhorn Thomas Schinkel Pavillon, du29août au28septembre2014 Höhere Gewalt Thomas Hirschhorn éà n 02 l glre Gladstone galerie la à 2012 en Déjà « Par GauthierLesturgie Au cœur d’un quartier en pleine rénova pleine en quartier d’un cœur Au Installé au centre du pavillon et investis et pavillon du centre au Installé I’m not going to start trying to avoid wor avoid to trying start to going notI’m est une une réalité (dé-)construite en (dé-)construite réalité une une est Gauthier Lesturgie. Gewalt», «Thomas Höhere Hirschhorn Zérodeux,n°72, Winter 2015,p. 70. ocine n élt cme un comme réalité en fonctionne 1

» où tous les compo - les tous où gestalt catastrophe iii destruction simili ocri Concordia Concordia mreu d car de morceaux : : celle du naufrage du celle : ». s une est Höhere Höhere ». 2 ------, mand. Se plonger dans plonger alle Se mand. en Poe Allan Edgar traduire de plexité com la discutent protagonistes Les narratifs. récits de heures vingt-quatreconstruisent qui d’un fiches 000 130 en ans matérialisé complexe esprit dix de Résultat correspondances. et images tapuscrits, textes collages, notes, de labyrinthique assemblage un réunissant 1970 position. cette prennent l’environnement tout dans volantes feuilles en dispersées Schmidt du d’Arno Traum photocopies les Seules l’artiste. par usitées constamment pourtant d’images, l’absence de s’étonner alors peut On élargi. répertoire un dans plutôt mais précis temps en représentelesimulacred’une multiplicité. mais précise situation une pas commente ne globale. Une pseudo-ruine qui, par sa facticité, imagerie une ensemble nourrissent reconnu, pas non plus à élucider cette relation entre le entre relation cette élucider à plus non pas d’ailleurs invite nous Thomasne L’artiste Hirschhorn. ici intéressent toute qui à compréhension résistant alambiqués systèmes ces la dans psyché d’un individu. instable introspection une comme médium comme l’écritureque n’ybien pensée si pas esttiques linguis conventions propre les restructure son langage, produit Schmidt Arno logique. lecture une à échappe qui difficile entreprise Vue d'installation,Courtesy SchinkelPavillon Berlin Hohere Gewalt,2014 Thomas Hirshhorn e ’nci ps as un dans pas s’inscrit ne Gewalt Höhere Bien plus que le contenu narratif, ce sont ce narratif, contenu le que plus Bien : 1334 pages structurées en trois colonnes, etl Traum Zettels de transmission mais plutôt mais transmission de Reviews 02 n°72 Zettels TraumZettels s pbi en publié est est une est Zettels - - - os nie pnte ue « une rance pénétrer à invite nous essen tielle à nos systèmes de connaissance donnée comme L’incompréhension possible. contrôle sans surgissant fatalité une à l’incompréhension, à monument un érige est construite. image toute que puissance avec et fois velle nou une assure qui théâtre de décor scène, cinéma de studio visite d’un la de celle à cavités. s’apparente différentes L’expérience ses parcourir à amenés l’environnement, à intégrés retrouvons nous tré dans la salle du Schinkel Pavillon que nous péné de avons-nous peine livre à effet, au En sens Schmidt. ce en écho un est dessus, « nous qui construite suivre unelogiquenarrative. de impossible est nous il plié, déchiré, persé, Critical Corpus,jrpRingier, Zurich, p. 304. devient matériau de construction de matériau Traumdevient au référence La sculpture. sa et texte Art and Philosophyand Art « Steinweg, Marcus 3. Gallery, New York, 14.09.- 20.10.2012. Hirschhorn, Thomas 2. Cmagazine93, printemps2007, p. 20-22. panic is tion « Rez, Marcelo et Oliva Fernando 1. Avec pourtant mais chaotique L’esthétique 3

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hms Hirschhorn Thomas voec ms en mise violence : littéralement » blee h solu the believe I oe d’igno- zone Berlin : Establishing a Establishing : ; l’artiste Zettels : dis : », - - - - - retto sxel e plin artistique repré assez pulsion typologie une déploie l’exposition et sexuelle l’artiste chez orientation déclenchèrent qui celles à laires simi circonstances des dans plaçant le garçon, jeune un à identitaire devenir son de fondatrice scène une rejouer fait qui et Grande-Bretagne en grandi ayant Japon du natif ce de l’itinéraire Fujiwara, Simon de pièce la de thème – aucune entrave sans déplacer se de ressortissants ses à mettant per l’intérieur, de pacifiée totalement Europe l’affi et à personnalité la de développement au liées problématiques des préoccuper se à palement princi désormais d’avoir schizophrénique peu eff des aussi produit qui et explicable tout après décalage ce part à Mis rythme… son suivre pu n’a qui l’art de fabrique la que vite plus beaucoup allée est l’histoire que étrange sentiment le donnant en qu’elleréalité cette décrire, de supposée côté est à passer bizarrement semble historiques ments bouleverse des prégnance la arrière-plan pour avoir censée est qui l’exposition fait, De amont. en bien décidés été ont qui prêts de tiellement donne nouvelle cette compte en prendre de empêché a position production des rares œuvres produites pour l’ex de et gestation de temps le que et actuelle crise la déclenche se ne que avant bien pièce leur ser commandes faitesàdesartistesquiont dûpen proche, il est possible d’arguer de l’antériorité de situation la à réactivité de absence cette À taire. protesta dimension moindre la de empreinte n’estœuvre nulle chaud, à d’uneréaction gence Sight « or, quotidien au vie la profondeur d’aff susceptible est ambiante situation la quand politiques questions de traiter de culté diffi la de revisitation énième une à peut-être stressante, situation une à réaction en travaux de floppée une à s’attendre pu donc aurait On l’ukrainienne. à ou géorgienne la développe à scénario se un ne que redoute qui et Russie la ce avec importante frontière une possède dans qui pays ailleurs par vive particulièrement est sorte la de nommer à n’hésitentplus politiques géo- commentateurs des plupart la que froide guerre seconde cette de diff émane qui tension fait La à tout coloration une péenne, est-euro- situation la de spectaculaire nement « l’exposition baltes, pays des accélérée talisation d’occiden fond sur artistes, des travaux les sur réflexion sur le poids de l’histoire et son influence de Vilnius prend tout à coup, au vu du retour du vu au coup, à tout prend Vilnius de Contemporary Art Center, du21novembre2014au 11janvier2015 The OtherSight*

The Other Sight Pensée il y a tout juste un an comme une une comme an un juste tout a y il Pensée Par Patrice Joly

» n’apparaît pas du tout dominée par l’ur par dominée tout du n’apparaîtpas » rmation du choix du genre dans une une dans genre du choix du rmation The Mirror Stage (2009-2013), qui décrit ets intéressants, comme celui un un celui comme intéressants, ets ; pour les autres, il s’agit essen s’agit il autres, les pour ;

» au Contemporary Art Center The Other Other The ecter en en ecter érente. érente. –, –, ------and kitschissime au Mission to Mars ( virevoltage réjouissant d’un fluxusien local Maciunas aboutissant par la grâce costumes d’époque et diaporama, celle du héros en comédie délicieuse d’une forme la sous tée trai Saint-Simon de celle crin, tout les de utopies gaiement parodient exemple, par Maillet, Chloé & Hervé Louise de pièces Les contenu. le beaucoup moins grave dans la forme, sinon dans semble français contingent le 2014), Herz, liche d’autres abenteuer (Das inquiétants éthéré aussi tout revenants et allusif plus beaucoup style un dans scène, en mettant Martin aussi lui Neumaier, jusqu’à l’histoire de récurrents tômes question la sur réflexion la de pointe la à Lorenz, Renate & Boudry Pauline divergents assez l’histoire à rapports des et tranchées assez tions eff montre l’Allemagne, et couple au naissance moteur de la construction européenne, la France donner pour s’épuiser par fini ont passé siècle du cours au récurrents aff les dont européens pays deux de artistes des privilégier de parti-pris Le artistes. des production la sur Berlin de mur du chute la de l’influence de diversité sa dans sentative 2012), par les fan les par (Muster2012), (Rushes),vidéo la dans moins du marqué, également Wedemayer,von Métal, sable, theartist dimensionsvariable. andGalerieLoevenbruck,Paris Courtesy of Pow(d)er, 2014 Morgane Tschiember le dispositif qui les met en scène présente une une présente scène en met les qui dispositif le gravité, indéniable d’une sont portugais paysan d’un auprès récoltées a qu’ils naïves poésies les Planetariumas) The Saint Simonian’s performance : à l’opposé du travail du duo duo du travail du l’opposé à :

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* Commissariat Clemens von Wedemeyer, Virginie Yassef. Uriel Orlow, Morgane Tschiember, Ulla von Brandenburg, Fujiwara, Louise Hervé & Chloé Maillet, Martin Simon Neumaier, Lorenz, Renate & Boudry Pauline Bock, Katinka insouciance parfaitement déplacée. d’une partie la ainsi grever venant Lituanie triomphante, d’une invisible quasi emblème d’art, avec maillot, centre du toit le sur perché basket de ballon son le endosse en qui Bock Katinka c’est française, la à jouant allemande l’équipière l’aspect à Quant prononcé. trop judicieusement peu un métaphorique atténuer en venant off qui neige la de présence la de risqué pari jusqu’au diffi moins le pour patio d’un adroitement s’emparer à réussit qui TschiemberMorgane de pièce la dans manière belle de s’incarne Berlin de mur du chute la de française la assu par pleinement voient més se allemande l’équipe à dévolus censément ceux que et endroits par s’inversent scènes artistiques… Heureusement que les rôles incons les sur nationaux standards supposés des ciente projection la en peu un tranforme se récente l’histoire par influencés été ont ils ment la tentative de vouloir faire dire aux artistes com française légèreté la à opposé ment éternelle allemand sérieux d’un habituel ché cli le dans pas serait-on Ne légèreté. indicible re une touche picturale inattendue en en inattendue picturale touche une re

: Julija Cistiakova , 2014), (Pow(d)er2014), investir , à cile ; avec : Wilfrid Almendra, : ainsi l’image l’image ainsi : Vilnius ? Du coup, Du ? 71 - - - - - Galerie

Chantal Crousel Louisa Buck. «The Buck Hirschhorn’s StoppedHere: flamboyant chaos, McQueens’s at the astonishingvisionandearplugs astonishing visionandearplugsattheready inthisweek’s Londonshows The BuckStoppedHere: Hirschhorn’s flamboyantchaos,McQueens’s interconnected world. And thechallengesartistfacesintryingtocreate workthatexpressesthis. ling, accentuatingorunravelled andallowedtotanglecluster—points totheprecariousnessofour schhorn’s signaturebrownpackingtapeis used—holdingup,pinningdown,fusingtogether, concea fact carefullyconsideredandeverydetailmeticulously planned.EventhemyriadwaysinwhichHir rumination onthemeaningandnatureofdestruction andruins. The senseofflamboyantchaosisin conceptually thisisnotsimplyatheatricalmiseen scène.Insteaditisathoughtfulandmulti-layered London’s mostbeautifulandversatilespaces,themore evident itbecomesthatbothformallyand The moretimeyouspendin Thomas Hirschhorn’s dramaticandprovocative disruptionofone Thomas Hirschhorn:In-Between,SouthLondon Gallery(until13September) ready inthisweek’s Londonshows», TheArt Newspaper, July, 24,2015. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/157942/ - - Galerie

Chantal Crousel Francesca Gavin. «Thomas Hirschorn’s Apocalyptic OfficeSpace-ArtsyEditorial»,artsy.net, atSouthLondonGallery July, recognizable roomblowntosmithereens. Much ofthis bric-a-bracistapedtothe wallsandseemstofall fromabove. The resultisaneveryday, ding shelves,misshapen desks,toilets,andwhiteplasticgardenchairs,are strewnacrossthegallery. of cardboard,foil,Styrofoam, andglossybrownmaskingtape.Brokenbits ofuglyoldfurniture,inclu installation representsthe ruinsofanofficespace—theceilingfallingthrough, explodedrooms,achaos which exploredthedisaster thatbefelltheItaliancruiseshipConcordia,this onefeelsmorefragile. The Swiss Pavilionatthe Venice Biennalein2011 andinhis showatGladstoneGallery, New York, in2012, of sorts. Yet comparedtopast exhibitions,suchasthetechnologicallyinfusedchaosofhisworkat The exhibitionconsistsofasingleinstallationin theinstitution’s maingallery—astageddestruction expectations. cular moment—andviolentlyengaging.HislatestshowattheSouthLondonGallerylivesuptothose pieces, andmanifesto-likewritingsformabodyofworkthatispoliticalwithoutbeingstuckinparti Thomas Hirschhornhasanappetitefordestruction.Hisinstallations,collages,worksonpaper, video Thomas Hirschhorn’s Apocalyptic OfficeSpaceatSouthLondonGallery source=Current+Users&utm_campaign=bad57f54cb-Weekly+email+252_Editorial41_CurrentUsers&utm_ https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-thomas-hirschhorn-s-apocalyptic-office-space-at-south?utm_ medium=email&utm_term=0_c67eb1f0a4-bad57f54cb-415239457 13, 2015. - - Galerie Chantal Crousel Francesca Gavin. «Thomas Hirschorn’s Apocalyptic OfficeSpace-ArtsyEditorial»,artsy.net, atSouthLondonGallery July, “In-Between” isonviewatSouthLondon Gallery, Jun.26–Sep. 13,2015. —Francesca Gavin through foryoutoseeanotherperspective, itdifferently.” of chaosanddisasterarethemomentswhereIthink there’s a possibility. There couldbethis break everything hedoesisanexplorationofthefreedom ofdisorder. As hetoldmein2013,“Themoments violent imagesofwaranddeathfromthemainstream mediatothefragilityofhumanity. At theheartof schhorn hascalledforartthatisuncomfortable; he’s forcedustoseethings—frombrutalanddeeply cessful. Itismadefromobjectsweallregularlyengage with,understand,andtouch.Inthepast,Hir black rubbleblocks—andtheuniversalityof materials usedispartofwhatmakestheworksosuc The rough,childlikequalityofHirschhorn’s presentation—aplaygroundtheater withpainted,matte- changing world. between-ness” betweencreationanddestructionasacommentonthedifficultyoflocatingoneself ina and meaning. The artiststatementthataccompaniestheshowemphasizesimportance ofthe“in- has muchwiderimplicationsregardingthecreationofartandpoliticsand,morebroadly, aesthetics This quotefromtheMarxisttheoristisaperfectstatementonHirschhorn’s artinparticular, butalso “Destruction isdifficult;indeeditasdifficultcreation. disaster zoneisasinglepieceofspray-paintedfabricwithtext,resemblingprotestbanner. Itstates, utopian: abeautifullystagedruinmadefromtherubbleofconsumeristsociety. At theendofthis This isHirschhorn’s versionofapost-apocalyptic,post-capitalistworld.Butthespacefeelsalmost source=Current+Users&utm_campaign=bad57f54cb-Weekly+email+252_Editorial41_CurrentUsers&utm_ https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-thomas-hirschhorn-s-apocalyptic-office-space-at-south?utm_ medium=email&utm_term=0_c67eb1f0a4-bad57f54cb-415239457 13, 2015. Antonio Gramsci(PrisonNotebook6).” - - - Galerie Julia Michalska, Rivetti, JaneMorris, Ermanno Pac Pobric. «IntheGiardini:five toseeinOkwuiEnwezor’s Allthe World’s Futures Chantal Crousel red” olderartistsand womenred” artistsondisplay. lesswell-known artists,tely many isthenumber outside Europe apparent andAmerica,“rediscove born of - given artistsare theirown presentations, flowingartists, pairsandtriosof oneto theother. What isimmedia- theworksstyle troubling individual (though many are Around Arena, underthe surface). thecentral of capitalismserved late modern upinacoolly even elegant, sleek, theshow isindeedacriticismof Much of Marx’s artisticpresentations. DasKapital.Surrounding that, headded, would bea“dimsum”of the pavilion to atheatrical spacededicated entirely topolemicalreadings, including, aswidely Karl reported, limitstowhatare you of candowith gallery thecentral it”, hesaid.Despitethissaidhadtransformed inthePalazzotures delleEsposizioneintheGiardini.“It’s anessentially Classicalspace, itiswhat itis, there of installinghis exhibitionAll theat theCa’Guistinianyesterday World’s hediscussedthedifficulties Fu- OkwuiEnwezordirector promised themostpolitically oriented Venice terrace foryears. Speaking onthe roof In hisinterviews intheweeks theVenice before Biennaleopened toinvited today, guests andpress 5May, Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Demonstration Drawings (2007)inAlltheWorld’s Futures andsleek capitalismiselegant The Biennaledirector’s critiqueof World’s Futures In theGiardini:five toseeinOkwuiEnwezor’s Allthe http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/155425/ », Theart newspapee, May 5,2015. Galerie Julia Michalska, Rivetti, JaneMorris, Ermanno Pac Pobric. «IntheGiardini:five toseeinOkwuiEnwezor’s Allthe World’s Futures Chantal Crousel nal Emily KameKngwarreye, Earth’s Creation(1994)completes thepresentation. wooden totemicfigures by the Pakistan-born HumaBhabha. painting Alarge by thelate Aborigi- Australian Irish AfricanAmericanartist EllenGallagher, with atwisted, outtyre burned sculpture, Atlas(2015),and from Africa,AsiaandLatin Akey Americaortheirdiaspora. room intheexhibitions placespaintingsby the crowd away from artmarket darlings tolesser-known (OscarMurillomakes appearance) asurprise artists, between.they fewandfar are Enwezor thebiennale isclearly todraw usinghisplatform theattention of S Ellen Gallagher, HumaBhabha, Emily KameKngwarreye Let’s (white) famous notpraise men frames. sarcasm. Bleakanddishevelled children andmothersdust-covered workers black outfrom stare elegant collaboration with justasbeautifully JamesAgee, are asDeller’s, presented arty thoughwithout any hintof photographs, takenEvan’s from 1936bookLetUsNow hisfamous Famous Praise Men,madein seriesof worker totellhimhisservices would that day. notberequired you have day off(2013), which hetookfromrecently anautomated text message senttoazero-hours contract poverty hangsagiantfabric bannerwith thewords of buttouchingthese small,faded images Hello, Today ironworks taken duringtheindustrialrevolution, which hehasirreverently titledThe ShitOldDays. Next to Deller’s anonymous, work exhausted includes women archival workers of photographs inaSouthWales working poor. Though separated by timeandgeography, theillsinflicted by capitalismonthe theirprojects bothspeakof theGreat Depression. fordocumentingtheeffectsof famous photographer Jeremy Deller, who filledtheBritishpavilion at the2013Biennale, and Walker Evans, US the20th-century Karl Marx’s totheviewer’s DasKapitalisafittingprelude The of reading encounter with the works by Jeremy Deller, Hello, Today you have a day off,2013 Workers production asunitsof theshow,in away that much of initsconceptualcoolness, isnot. away violence?These hardtoturn piecesare from becausethey aesthetically are with appealing thebeautyof Enwezor’s capitalism,whichThese works isakey aspectof show. mimictheviolenceof Buthow dowe deal whaling andpolarbearhunting.oceans andtheArctic with sickening of footage documentary in theshow isJohn Akomfrah’s three-channel video, gorgeous Vertigo Sea(2015),pairingsweeping of images amurdered man,naked from thewaist up, covered hisface of newspaper inblood. photograph The final work works sculptural ceramic recent bysing. Walead Aninstallation of Beshtyincludes front agripping page adarkened room and vomits blood theexhibition, amansitsaloneonthefloorof while convul- the startof works thosethat are brutalisetheimagination. InChristianBoltanski’s film L’Homme quitousse(1969), at themostcompelling There isbeautyinviolence. Throughout exhibition thecentral at theGiardini,someof Walead Beshty, various works, 2013-15 Violence o there are somesuperstarwhite are o there maleartistsintheshow Gursky, (Andreas HansHaacke, forexample) but http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/155425/ », Theart newspapee, May 5,2015.

Galerie Chantal Crousel Galerie Julia Michalska, Rivetti, JaneMorris, Ermanno Pac Pobric. «IntheGiardini:five toseeinOkwuiEnwezor’s Allthe World’s Futures Chantal Crousel hmsHrchr,Ro Off,2015 Thomas Hirschhorn, Roof Dramatic appeal feel likefeel naughtyschoolchildren who thenrunoffto the yachts andparties,remains tobeseen. tively). Whether theartworld (with the1%)will it’s pay attention orsimply close connectionstothe1%of Harvey, theartworld’s (theHayward’s tosomeof leadingdirectors Ralph Rugoff canbeseenlistening atten- IsaacJulien’sted tobepolitically engaged. KAPITAL (2013)even includes by alecture anthropologist David to Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Demonstration Drawings that isnoescapingthefact viewers (2015), there expec are - work onshow: from HansHaacke’s World Poll (2015),Alexander Kluge’s philosophicalandpoliticalvideos, thebiennale)aswell asotherreadings, anddebates. lectures This isnottheonlymonths of overtly didactic Marx’s volumes, DasKapital(allthree it will probably of beused for readings through read twice over the spacewithpassing through performance The alarge Arena, seating ontwo levels. Throughout thebiennale As clearly intendedby Enwezor, thepavilion totheotherwithout itisimpossible tonavigate from onesideof Das Kapital, inTheArena readings anddiscussions Back toschool Thomas Hirschhorn’s Off(2015) Roof http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/155425/ », Theart newspapee, May 5,2015. bert Smithson, enlivens a gallery of works onpaper.bert Smithson,enlivens of agallery iscompletewithoutart fair one)thistimeby Ro- scattered at itsroots. (nobiennaleor Anactualtree a gallery, Plato’s treatises with discardedcopiesof packing tape, insulation ductsandwire,like, fills of thepavilion. Ariot,almostjungle- of one gallery of apparentlyHirschhorn burststhrough theroof work by theSwiss-born, Paris-based artistThomas pavilion’s fresco-covered dome. Anew site-specific by sculpture Fabio Mauriunderthe presentation of installations andvideos. Hestartswith adramatic punctuated thedisplay with somecrowd-stopping conceptual, monochrome, orarchival, Enwezor has thework onshow iscontrolled, Although much of Galerie Chantal Crousel Manifesta 10”,Frieze,Noemi Smolik.“Manifesta n°165,September 2014,pp. 146-147. Galerie Chantal Crousel Manifesta 10”,Frieze,Noemi Smolik.“Manifesta n°165,September 2014,pp. 146-147. Galerie Chantal Crousel gn tourists in St. Petersburg when I visited in late July, but relatively few of them focused on Manifesta. Manifesta. on focused them of few relativelyJuly, but late in visited I when Petersburg forei- St. many in great tourists a gn were There Russian. was audience intended primary the Ameri- so manyEuropeans, Westto and accessible cans readily not is is Russiaexpensive, art are Russian visas Because of Museum. Russia collection State another the Buil- Matisse; in Henri Staff by paintings General the and renovated Post-Impressionism newly to art, up world the going to devoted anniversary, in is 250th its plaza, and, celebrating museum main encyclopedic institution Museum, an city’s that Hermitage, Hermitage The the ding. of Square, buildings State main Palace Petersburg’s two enormous the St. the Hermitage, by New across and hosted Palace Winter edition, re- the most tenth in — housed This cities was European Belgium. Western in Genk, held is in art, cently contemporary of biennial European the Manifesta, view, “MANIFESTA 10,” General Staff Building, State Hermitage Museum. Hermitage State Building, Staff General 10,” Installation “MANIFESTA Helvetia.view, Pro Council of Arts Swiss support the and the Foundation LUMA With the Petersburg. meters. St. 3.25 × 10,” “MANIFESTA 9.36 by × Commissioned 16.5 Russia, Petersburg, St. the Museum, Russian of collection State the from Rozanova Olga and Filonov Pavel Malevich, Ka- zimir by paintings with media Mixed 2014. ABSCHLAG, Hirschhorn, Thomas David .“A Carrier Dispatch from10””,artcritical “Manifesta ,August 25,2014. http:// http://www.artcritical.com/2014/08/25/carrier-manifesta-10/ Galerie Chantal Crousel sexuality, and so temporarily counted as givinga political gesture. them his privileged place in the Hermitage weretisse. Building.) its paintings bodyremovedStaff and (His female deal General too They the the with to Ma- to Winterdedicatedusually the Palace of tworooms the occupied Eisenman Nicole and Dumas Lassnig, displayed in the former emperor’s private quarters. In a challenging variation on this familiar procedure, Maria Frauture mit Hund (“Woman with Dog,”Russia’s 2004), which alludes to the of life historical high society, is sculpture The Institute (2002) is installed alongside an etching by Piranesi and whenBourgeois’ssilver Louise Katharina when Fritsch’strue is This connections. identify sculp- to upon called then is imagination distant, gallery. visually connected worksfind one in however,When, physically the contiguous historicallyworks are thus westyle.Normally late his of example marvelous a (1655-57), Egypt to Flight the Reston his and ter; la- years 20 than more painted Rock(1649), Waterthe Striking from Moses (1625-26); Amalekites the Over earlyJoshua’sbetweenhis Victoryrelationship the see youcan Poussin Nicolas devotedto Hermitage the of alongside the classicsthis procedure deservesis a common occurrence.”discussion. In Thethe gallery logic of As the Hermitage’s director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, rightly notes in the catalogue, “Displaying contemporary art a home with the museum; and a painting from 1966 by Gerhard Richter made similarly theaffecting site. use of sculpture; Tatzu Nishi’s temporary wooden Greek livingancient for room gallery built the around blocksin a concrete chandelier Favaretto’sin Lara of the installationHermitage. WinterNew the Palace, creating of case Susan Philipsz’s piano recording inspired by James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake,2001); Cage, whichJohn (FatChance I was Studio playedNauman’sthe Bruce Mapping stores; on the German main East stair-in shortages food Beuys’sJoseph Wirtschaftswerte on Values,”of commentary (“Economic said a be 1980), can same long.The hours, especiallyeffect an evocativetwo-and-a-half far-North in St. Petersburg, days summer the where so are cycleinto twenty-four-hourlight the compresses which (2003), Fishkin’sDay Vladim Speedy and A liquids; floating of Veronicainstallations Ann beautiful Janssens’smonochromes;very handsome Mosset’s large, vier Oli- of true is this Certainly America. in exhibitions suchdisplayed kindat non-Russiansthe by was art the includingof art, most the whichmuchpublicperformances, exhibitionsite), of central werethe outside held or performances the attend to not able (Iwas see I could as far So faced. he franklyarticulateddifficulties the terviewsManifesta’s König,Kasper curator who Russiadescribed repressive“a as country,”authoritarian and in- in Crimea, country’sthe Facingcontroversythe in about Russian action also,about laws and, anti-LGBT Palace.Winter the of courtyard the inside Curtain, tree Iron a into the car of of model side now-obsolete a other Lada, Russian a the crashed to Belgium native his from travel Francis to And was rodents. invading dream controlling boyhood whosebasement, Alÿs, museum the in back are today but perished siege, they museum; the the during of residents longtime cats, Hermitage the of story the presented Lieshout van Erik installed. are ConstructivistsRussian revolutionary the worksbywhich a in showedbuilding collapsed 10,” gigantic “Manifesta for designed was (2014) Abschlag whose Hirschhorn, Nureyev. Thomas Rudolf Tchaikovsky,and PyotrDiaghilev — Russians Sergei three including men Dumas gay Marlene famous II. WarWorld during of removed portraits was showed art its when Hermitage the of drawings on based phs - photogra dressed made artist Morimura themes. the Yasumasa Russian offered also of artists photographs foreign Some Monroe. of Marilyn as series a (1993), Love Tragic with represented was streets, the in up beaten been had who artist gay Mamyshev-Monroe,a Vladislav Kiev.late in The camp protesters’ a of phs photogra- presented Mikhailov Boris Dijkstra. Rineke by dancers young of video a and Lidén Klara by class Sukha- society. Alexandra Russian Russian in a Worlddance from reva, Russian,whophotographs is issues presented War archives.of II video a is There contemporary to specifically to responded artists the of Some David .“A Carrier Dispatch from10””,artcritical “Manifesta ,August 25,2014. http:// http://www.artcritical.com/2014/08/25/carrier-manifesta-10/ Galerie Chantal Crousel Thimothée Chaillou.«ThomasMagazine, Hirschhorn», n°16,Juin, juillet,août2014,pp. 63-65. Galerie Chantal Crousel Thimothée Chaillou.«ThomasMagazine, Hirschhorn», n°16,Juin, juillet,aoû2014. Galerie Chantal Crousel Thimothée Chaillou.«ThomasMagazine, Hirschhorn», n°16,Juin, juillet,aoû2014. Galerie Chantal Crousel Judicael Lavrador «ThomasUnp(n)eudéjanté»,Beaux-Arts, Hirschhorn June 2014,p. 94-95. Galerie Chantal Crousel Judicael Lavrador «ThomasUnp(n)eudéjanté»,Beaux-Arts, Hirschhorn June 2014,p. 94-95. Galerie Chantal Crousel William Massey. «Thomasenconversation Hirschhorn avec L’officiel BiceCuriger», Art, n°9,March-April-May 2014,196-201. Galerie Chantal Crousel William Massey. «Thomasenconversation Hirschhorn avec L’officiel BiceCuriger», Art, n°9,March-April-May 2014,196-201. Galerie Chantal Crousel William Massey. «Thomasenconversation Hirschhorn avec L’officiel BiceCuriger», Art, n°9,March-April-May 2014,196-201. Galerie Chantal Crousel William Massey. «Thomasenconversation Hirschhorn avec L’officiel BiceCuriger», Art, n°9,March-April-May 2014,196-201. Galerie Chantal Crousel William Massey. «Thomasenconversation Hirschhorn avec L’officiel BiceCuriger», Art, n°9,March-April-May 2014,196-201. Galerie Chantal Crousel William Massey. «Thomasenconversation Hirschhorn avec L’officiel BiceCuriger», Art, n°9,March-April-May 2014,196-201. Galerie Chantal Crousel ramène lePalaisde d’accès, pleined’outilsdivers,cetteinstallation, voire mêmecetteinvasionde d’un espacederésistanceoùlacréationretrouve sadimensionparticipative,festiveetengagée.Libre molle, d’unefrontièreplastiquequiauraitproliféré auseinduPalaisde ou théorisation;lesmontagnesdepneusquilimitent l’espacesedressentàlamanièred’unebarricade En cesens,lapropositiondel’artisterepensequestion del’installationsansimposerdidactisme interventions uneénergie nouvelleetunevéritableurgence. réflexion surlesmodalitésd’unvivreetêtreensembleportéparundésirvivifiantdedonner àses Avec Flammeéternelle, visiblejusqu’au23juinauPalaisde Tokyo, Thomas Hirschhornpoursuitsa moyens artistiquesdepensernotresociété. Ciel (25.04.14—23.06.14),Palaisde Tokyo © Adagp, Paris2014—Photo: André Morin Vue del’exposition Thomas Hirschhorn«Flammeéternelle»,danslecadredelasaisonL’Etat du GuillaumeBenoit.«Thomas-Palais Hirschhorn Tokyo», SlashParis,May 19,2014. Tokyo aucœurdesesplusbeauxobjectifs;uneouvertureà touslespublicsdes http://slash-paris.com/articles/thomas-hirschhorn-palais-de-tokyo T okyo, dessinantlescontours Thomas Hirschhorn Galerie Chantal Crousel du Ciel (25.04.14— 23.06.14), Palaisde Tokyo Photo:Guillaume Benoit /Slash-Paris Vue de l’expositionde Thomas Hirschhorn «Flammeéternelle »,danslecadredela saison L’Etat L’Etat duCiel(25.04.14—23.06.14),Palaisde Tokyo Vue del’exposition Thomas Hirschhorn«Flammeéternelle»,danslecadredelasaison de l’observationetlacréationcontenait,contienttoujours,révolutionnaire. réseaux sociauxetdelacommunicationnumériquecequel’expériencephysiquerencontre, marqué HirschhornaupointquecetteFlammeéternellenousrappelleaujourd’hui,àl’heuredes de l’invention.Unecultureladifférence, dusinguliertoutautantquedel’échangequiaura de laculturebourgeoise pourluiopposeruneculturedupartage,del’opposition,lalutteet Paris 8 Vincennes, del’histoire del’artausurf,lapenséefrançaises’émancipait,sanssacrifier, à Foucault,ducortègedel’observatoiredesprisonslajunglebigarréeamphithéâtres toujours voulucassersesfrontières.DeDeleuze(àquil’artisteconsacraunmonumenten2000) bibliothèque rempliedephotocopiesenlibreaccès,démocratisantparlàunepenséequiavait formidables. Bravantalorstouteprudenceenmatièrede©, Thomas Hirschhornexposaitune Nuit blanche,ancrantauseinduPalaisunamphithéâtredefortune,assortid’outilspédagogiques alors Thomas Hirschhornlorsdeceprojetquiaccompagnaitl’unedespremièresitérationsla du siècleloind’êtreàportéedemain,24h/24.24hFoucault,c’estprécisémentcequeproposait d’alors, Internetétaitloind’êtreaccessibledepuissontéléphone,lestextesdesplusgrandslivres Il ya10ans,MichelFoucaultétaithonoréparHirschhornauPalaisde Tokyo. Danslemonde GuillaumeBenoit.«Thomas-Palais Hirschhorn Tokyo», SlashParis,May 19,2014. http://slash-paris.com/articles/thomas-hirschhorn-palais-de-tokyo Galerie Chantal Crousel sous nosyeux,ressortiraitdelapureutopie. res autantquedeplastique,Flammeéternelleconstitueunvéritableuniversqui,s’iln’étaitréalisélà, acte. Au sondeslecturesd’intervenants,discussionsdevisiteurs,odeursbombes depeintu aux micros,toutsembleparticiperd’unmêmeorganisme quiseferaitfilconducteurd’unepenséeen translucide, chaqueélémentdecetuniversperdsesanglesdroits,arêtestranchantes,etdescanapés chhorn réussitd’embléeuncoupformeld’envergure ;enrubannés,recouvertsdeceplastiquemarron trale oùl’onpartageunverre.Jouantàpleindesonmatériauprédilection,lescotch, prêtes àaccueillirlesœuvresetmessagesdesesvisiteurs;autantsatellitesautourd’uneagoracen projection avecsaDVDthèque,unebibliothèquedelivres,desbombes,rouleauxscotchetparois autant d’espacesd’activitélibresd’accèsquisont,uncoinInternetavecdesordinateurs,salonde mi-chemin entrel’œuvremonumentale,ledesignetl’architecture,Flammeéternelleestpenséecomme ble danslequels’installer, créer, partageroutoutsimplementflânerressortdelaparticipationactive.À Car c’estunevéritableexpériencedessensquisejoueici,unterritoireesthétiqueetconceptueltangi alimentés desregardsetdel’attentionautres, den’importequi. moyens deproduction,ellescontinuentrayonner etbrûlerontaussilongtempsqu’ellesseront garde àlapenséeetcréation;quelsquesoient leursmoyensdedif Alors cette«Flammeéternelle»trouvepeut-être saraisondanscetattachementvivacequel’on sa proprequalitéde«n’importequi»,s’inscrire dans uneœuvrecommune. sans senoyersousledidactismeetlapédagogie. L’invitation enjeuici,c’estpouvoirsoi-même, en risque dediviser, c’estqu’elleparvientàrendretangiblelegéniebrutd’unepenséedel’invitation Hirschhorn n’ajamaiscesséderepenserlesfrontières. Denseetengagée,sisaFlammeéternelle l’inventivité desonaménagementintègrentparfaitementladimensionpolitique,dont Malgré l’absencedethématiquefondamentaleaccordéeàcetteFlammeéternelle,l’explosivitéet du Ciel(25.04.14—23.06.14),Palaisde Tokyo Photo:GuillaumeBenoit/Slash-Paris Vue del’exposition Thomas Hirschhorn«Flammeéternelle»,danslecadredelasaisonL’Etat GuillaumeBenoit.«Thomas-Palais Hirschhorn Tokyo», SlashParis,May 19,2014. http://slash-paris.com/articles/thomas-hirschhorn-palais-de-tokyo fusion, quelsquesoientleurs Thomas Hirs- - - - Galerie Chantal Crousel du Ciel(25.04.14—23.06.14),Palaisde Tokyo Photo:GuillaumeBenoit/Slash-Paris Vue del’exposition Thomas Hirschhorn«Flammeéternelle»,danslecadredelasaisonL’Etat GuillaumeBenoit.«Thomas-Palais Hirschhorn Tokyo», SlashParis,May 19,2014. http://slash-paris.com/articles/thomas-hirschhorn-palais-de-tokyo Galerie Chantal Crousel exposition page configurations aléatoires.configurations des hasard au filigrane en dessinent se des motifs pourtant, Parfois bons. sont combustibles les tous flamme, la éternelle « interventionsdeaux commun thème un d’identifier impossible,sinon difficile, est il raison, cette Pour d’inviter. pouvoir Christophe le délégué et tour leur à ont qui Fiat, Joseph Manuel proches, ses de deux à celles-ci de partie une confiant interventions, d’annoncercalendrieret cesun de intervenants aux éditorial agenda un d’indiquer refusé a Hirschhorn programmation « est principesquatre Production « àappartient L’exposition« et s’applique au concept de « de concept au s’applique et Derrida Édouard Glissant est celui qui « qui celui est Glissant Édouard particularismes des refus le à à la crème parfois opérante tant qu’artiste en mais concerné, sens me je que Européen ou Suisse blanc, que visuel impact fort un avec plastique matériau un parler en pour utilisant en mais peuple, son de souligner de Hirschhorn Thomas Et principe. de accord seul du rarement naît l’influence « avec résonances les divers, du poétique encore ou relation d’Édouard Glissant chez les artistes. Monde-chaos, identité- l’œuvrel’objet fait a dont privilégiée réception la thème pour prenait Boulbina Luste Seloua de l’intervention Tripp, termes de mobilité et de différence. en groupe de et d’identité notion la repenser de tentent qui plastiques pratiques nombreuses de à substrat de deux toutes servent qu’elles moins pas reste n’en il gimmick, un communiqués de presse en communiqués de presse comme l’une ou l’autre notion intervention le 16 Édouard Glissant. La formule, prononcée en ouverture de son Ingrid Luquet-Gad.«Ducombustible Ingrid laflamme»,Quotidiendel’art, pour entretenir n°610,May 23,2014. 11 Flamme éternelle Flamme « Simple concours de circonstances, Conçue comme un dialoguevidéasteConçueavecuncommeCaeciliala

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» de » ❚ ❚ 2014 En En La Galerie Chantal Crousel and relatedprogramsto animate theideasofItalianMarxist Antonio Gramsci,andthensome. makers and doers have sketched out an exhaustively ambitious schedule of talks, plays, poetry readings, seventy-seven daysthis summer, youwill haveamplereasontodoso,asHirschhornand hisbandof imagination andwhatever materialsyouhadathand,thenwilllovespending timehere. And for elevated walkwayslinkallofthedifferent spacestogether. Ifyouever madefortressesasakidfrom art classes,andaneditorialofficeproducingadaily microcommunitynewspaper station, GramsciMonumentincludesabar, alounge,anInternetcafé,library, aworkshopforkids’ cobbled togetherfromanexplosionofplywood, Plexiglas, andpackingtape.Inadditiontotheradio sing project,ForestHouses.Inkeepingwiththe artist’s unmistakablestyle,thepiecelookslikeitwas ment isatemporarystructuresetagainstthegrassy hillsofanincongruouslygreenSouthBronxhou- The fourthandfinalinstallmentinhiscontinental philosophyquartet,Hirschhorn’ the veryrealanddeliberateriskofblowingupin everyone’s face. because, likesomuchofHirschhorn’s work,themonumentnotonlyflirtswithfalsenotesbutalsoruns for opinionswithanopennessthatsetsadmirabletonetheproject. This mattersinnosmallpart critical tothetimesandcircumstancesweareliving.Howeverfauxhisnaïveté,Bederiscastingaround moreover, whythearguments employedtoelucidateanddefenditareinteresting,urgent, andeven storied New York radiostation WBAI. IamsureheknowsverywellhowHirschhorn’s workisartand, His bashfulnessonlyjustcoversuphismischief. A formerschoolteacher, Bederisaveteranofthe Monument. “Iunderstandbooks,sculptures,andpaintings,”Bederadds.“Lesssotheephemeral stuff.” says asIstepintohisradiostudioonthedampopeningdayof Thomas Hirschhorn’s majesticGramsci “I NEEDSOMEONEwhounderstandsarttocomedownhereandtellmehowthisisart,”PhilBeder Monument radiostation.(Allphotos:Kaelen Wilson-Goldie) Left: JoeBudda,ErikFarmer, Thomas Hirschhorn,andSusieFarmer. Right:Phil BederoftheGramsci Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. “Art House”,Art Forum, July 15,2013. http://artforum.com/diary/#entry41969 . A mazeofstairsand s makeshiftmonu - Galerie Chantal Crousel Theater. Left: PhilosopherMarcusSteinweg.Right:OpeningdayperformanceofSteinweg’s Gramsci a basketball and takesaneasylayup into oneoftwohoops,labeled LOVEandPOLITICS ontheir dissonance and anedgeofBronxattitude. At regular intervals,ayoungman sauntersonstagewith begin shoutingallatonce andontopofoneanother, asifbombardingtheaudiencewithintellectual meone handsmeaphotocopy ofthescript. There arelines ofdialoguefor“Anyone.” The characters Deleuze, Badiou,andBrecht. Iseesomeonenamed“SecondMarxist”but can’ adorned withthenames of theircharacters,amongthemGramsci,Heidegger Hirschhorn forfifteenyears. Thecastismostlywomen. Theystandinfrontofcardboard placards Gramsci Theater, aplaywrittenbythephilosopher MarcusSteinweg,whohasbeencollaboratingwith A cacophonyofvoiceseruptsfromthe Antonio Lounge,whereadozenactorsarerunningthrough drawing, orportrait.It’s oureveryday life.” fundamental ofarttoForestHouses,”saysFarmer, “becauseartissomuchbiggerthanapainting, the monumenthappenhereratherthanelsewhere. “We haveseventy-sevendays toteachthebasicand president oftheForestHousestenants’ associationand,accordingto Hirschhorn,themanwhomade per, editedby LakeshaBryantandSaquanScott,featuresaninterviewwithErikFarmer, charismatic tial answerstoBeder’s question. The frontpageofthefirstissueGramsciMonumentNewspa I duckoutoftheradiostudioandwanderovertonewspaper, whereIfindthefirstofmanypoten- sation and,atthesametime,creatingareadymadeaudioarchive. seemed guaranteedtogeneratecountlesshoursofdebate,drawingeveryoneintoameaningfulconver- ve ofsongsandtalent,includingrappers,beat-boxers,poets,the“whatmakesitart”question says. Two DJsfromtheneighborhood, GucciandBabyDee,werealreadyonboardwithadeepreser- months. “We’re tryingtoget asmuchroyalty-free,publicdomainmusicwecanmanage,”Beder daunted bytheprospectoffillingupsevenhoursairtime,everyday one-mile rangeon91.9FM,andtotheworldonline.Onopeningday, July1,heseemedgenuinely Beder isincharge oftheradiostation,which,fromnowthroughSeptember15,isbroadcastingtoa Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. “Art House”,Art Forum, July 15,2013. http://artforum.com/diary/#entry41969 , forthenexttwoandahalf , Derrida,Nietzsche, t findthefirst.So- - Galerie Chantal Crousel Chelsea. Vergne calls it adefiningmoment. Yasmil Raymond,meanwhile, tellsme:“Iam no longerthe the firstpublic artprojectfundedby Diasince1996,whenJoseph Beuys’ limelight. GramsciMonument istheonlyHirschhornmonumentrealized intheUnitedStates,and Somewhat malignedinrecent years,Diaistheinstitutionnowhurlingitself backintotheartworld’s the back,lookingamused inabrightyellowraincoat. from theStudioMuseum inHarlem.Philippe Vergne, director oftheDia Art Foundation,hangsout at Sheena Wagstaff andNicholasCullinan fromtheMet,PeterEleeyMoMA PS1,and Thomas Lax ment ballcaps),andasmallbutseriouscontingent ofthecity’s luminousmuseumcurators,including a documentaryfilmcrew, HalFosterandBarbaraGladstone (eachresplendentinredGramsciMonu people whoareofficiallyonstaff (andpaidadecenthourlywage),belovededitors, ahandfulofcritics, tion ofcops,securityguards,thecuriousandpalpably skepticalresidentsofForestHouses,forty-five During Steinweg’s firstlecture,“What IsPhilosophy,” theopeningcrowdbeginstoappear, acombina forty minutes.InfactIamlazy.” Notetoself. seventy-seven lecturesinarow,” Ioffer. “Mostpeopleworkeighthours aday,” hereplies.“Ijustwork if his T-shirt issoakedthroughwithrain,sweat,oraspilleddrink.“Itmust takealotofenergy togive Souls”—but Steinwegisimprovisingallofthem.“Idon’t liketobetooprepared,”hesays,asIwonder le—from “WhatIs Art,” “WhatIsaProblem,”andSex”to“RomanticShit”“Beautiful of normality.” Forhispart,Steinwegisgivingalectureeveryday. The topicsaresetontheschedu- too muchsense. That’s whyIlikethisswarmofmeaning,theoverproductionsenseisanewkind says Steinweg.“You heartwodifferent registers.Strongvoicesandchaos. There’s toomuchmeaning, Gramsci Theater isbeingperformedeveryMondayafternoon.“IlovenotrecognizingwhatIwrote,” says: “Pullyourselftogether, notevenyourgraveisforfree.” respective backboards.Pluckedatrandom,thelinesarehilarious.IswoonforMarguerite Duras,who Foundation directorPhilippe Vergne. Left: Dia Art FoundationcuratorandGramsciMonumentambassador Yasmil Raymond.Right:Dia Art Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. “Art House”,Art Forum, July 15,2013. http://artforum.com/diary/#entry41969 s 7000Oaks wasrestagedin - - Galerie Chantal Crousel Left: DealerBarbaraGladstone.Right:GramsciMonumentlibrariansFreddy dise. to befoundin hisconstellationofinfluential writersandthinkers. the subjects of Hirschhorn’s fouraltars,eightkiosks, andfourmonuments aremen,withfewwomen ligious elementthatseems tolurkinthecornersofhisoeuvre. Another isthefactthatallbutthreeof canian) real,andhisself-representation asanartist-worker-soldier—is thequasi-missionary, pseudore- through hiscommitment to“doingartpolitically,” hisinsistenceontouchingthehardcore ofthe(La- people thinkIamapriest oraneccentricrichman.”Oneofthetensions running throughhiswork— A yearago,HirschhorntoldtheNew York Times’ RandyKennedy thatinForestHouses,“some the present,andoutoflove. likely tomakeyoufulfilloneofthemonument’s keymissions,whichistoreadandthinkGramsciin “The foreigncountryis Thomas Hirschhorn’s GramsciMonument.”) Butofanyone,Raymondismost tecraft anddiplomacyoverthecareofcuratorship, same.(“Thehomecountryisart,”Raymondsays. rary artistsMarxists?”) Ambassador of whatandtowhom,Ihavenoidea. Why intimationsofsta (Questions fromthecommunityshe’s fielded oflate:“Whatisfascism?”and“Whyareallcontempo Gramsci’s PrisonNotebooks.Sheposts anoteofherown,everyday, onthemonument’s website. lucid connectionsbetweenawallethousedinglassvitrineandanextendedpassageonmoney Museo di Antonio GramsciinSardiniaandtheFondazioneIstitutoRome. And she’llmake English, in1967.She’llwalkyouthrough“theincredibleculturalobjects”borrowedfromtheCasa collection donatedbyJohnCammett,whowasthefirstpersontowriteabookaboutGramsciin Italian American InstituteatQueensCollege,loanedtoForestHouses,fromafivethousand–strong She’ll tellyouaboutthefivehundredbooksthat Anthony Tamburri, deanoftheJohnD.Calandra it isart,thentagalongwithRaymondforalittlewhile. ci’s thought,andifyouwanttostartpeelingbackthelayersofhowmonumentwasmadewhy if youwantmorethaneasyplatitudesandpatquotes,todigintothesubstanceofGrams curator ofDia.Forthenextseventy-sevendaysIamambassadorGramsciMonument.”Indeed, Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. “Art House”,Art Forum, July 15,2013. http://artforum.com/diary/#entry41969 Velez andMarcellaPari - - - - Galerie Chantal Crousel Museum of Art. Sheena Wagstaff, chairmanoftheDepartmentModernandContemporary Art attheMetropolitan Left: MoMA PS1curatorPeterEleeywithStudioMuseuminHarlem Thomas Lax.Right: in it? This isthe challenge.InErikFarmer, Ifoundakey figure,”heexplains.“This iswhyGramsci the fifthfloor there,ontheeighth floor there,willtheycome downandenjoythis and beimplicated red tothefifteenbuildings ofForestHousesandsaid:“Thisisonlythe beginning. to arearesidents. The strengthofhisrhetoricisenough towinoveranyone.Onopeningday, hegestu- Rennes, wasvandalized twice anddestroyedbyfire,promptinganimpassioned letterfromtheartist To befair, Hirschhornhasweatheredsimilarstrife. In2010,his Théâtre Precaire, intheFrenchcityof politics ofraceandclasshavechangedinNew York inthepasttwenty years. ferent kindofvitality.” To comparethetwoprojectsnowisaninterestingmeasureofhowmuch the was tryingtochangetheartworld,“givingrichwhite peopleabridgetothelifethere,anddif- told thewriterJaneKramer, intheNew Yorker, thathewasn’t tryingtochangetheSouthBronx.He from whereHirschhornstandsnow, usingartasatool toknowtheworldandconfrontreality. Ahearn or judgmental.Heconsideredhisartworksaloving tributetohissubjects.Inthatsense,hewasn’t far Glenn O’Brienwroteinaforceful,movingpiece for Artforum atthetime, Ahearn wasn’t beingcritical ned, Ahearn tookthesculpturesdown. They movedtoPS1,and then totheSocratesSculpturePark. As excruciating controversy ensued, with accusations of racism slung everywhere. Dejected and dishearte- bronze sculpturesmadefromcastshehadtakenofthreepeopleknewtheneighborhood. and Jerome Avenue where,aspartofapublicartprojectin1991,theartistJohn Ahearn installedthree Forest Houses,inMorrisania,isnomorethanfifteenblockseastofthetraffictriangleat169th Street Egenhofer makesacompellingargument aboutthesitesofsocialtensionthatartistseeksto“ex of locationisanythingbut.(InHirschhorn’s EstablishingaCriticalCorpus,thephilosopherSebastian work “attendsto Antonio Gramscibypayingnoattentiontohim,”saysSteinweg—whilehischoice Paradoxically, anotherstillisthesensethatHirschhorn’s choiceofsubjectsissomehowarbitrary—the Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. “Art House”,Art Forum, July 15,2013. http://artforum.com/diary/#entry41969 Will thepeopleon An Galerie Chantal Crousel Right: DJBabyDee. Left: Anthony Tamburri oftheJohnDCalandraItalian American InstituteatQueensCollege. “into theheartofpeoplehere,andme.” it everyday. The thirdphasestarts tomorrow,” headds.Fromthenon,themonumentwilllodgeitself is tocreateacommonmemoryofthissummer. To createanewkindofmonument,wehavetobuild is toconstitutethemonumentasart,andmemory. “Thisisveryimportant,”hesays.“WhatIwant encounter possible. The firstphasewasmeeting. Thesecondphasewasconstruction.” Thethirdphase said, ‘Doithere.’ This ishowitworks. This ishowanartist’s fieldworkmakestheconditionsforan Monument ishere.NotbecauseoftheurbansituationorarchitecturebutErikFarmer Kaelen Wilson-Goldie. “Art House”,Art Forum, July 15,2013. http://artforum.com/diary/#entry41969 Galerie Chantal Crousel The temporaryGramsciMonument,underconstructionattheForestHousesdevelopmentinSouthBronx understand that Iamserious.” he saidlatelast yearinaninterview, ashewas makinghisvisits.“But thatisO.K.aslong they “Some peoplethinkIam apriestoraneccentricrichman,andsomepeople justthinkI’maloser chhorn wasn’t interestedintradingonhisreputation. Thomas Hirschhorn,a56-year-old Swissartistwithahuge internationalfollowing.ButMr. Hirs- Neither Mr. Farmer normanyofthepeoplewhoattendedthese meetingshadeverheardoftheman, Bronx. sident oftheresidents’ associationatForestHousesprojectintheMorrisania sectionoftheSouth “Believe itornot,peoplehavecometouswithstranger ideasbefore,”saidErikFarmer, thepre- Gramsci, whodiedinRome1937. ble dream:findingpeopletohelphimbuildamonument totheItalianMarxistphilosopher attended residents’ meetingsandspokerapturouslyinaheavyGermanic accentaboutanimproba- Morrissey andSamuelBeckett—beganshowing upathousingprojectsalloverNew York City. He Last yearatallmanindarksuitwiththickblack-frameglasses—somethinglikecombination of Randy Kennedy. toBronx: “BringingArtandChange ThomasPicks Hirschhorn Bronx http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/arts/design/thomas-hirschhorn-picks-bronx- Development York asArtSite”,TheNew Times,June 27,2013. development-as-art-site.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& Antonio ,” Galerie Chantal Crousel Thomas Hirschhorn,attheForestHousesconstructionsite from theKevinCostner film “Waterworld.” It looksmore,infact,like anadulttreehouseoramakeshiftbeachcabana orachunkofsethijacked and gloweringstatuesthat dottherestofNew York. And itdoesn’t lookmuchlikeanartwork,either. signature artsupplies— theGramsciMonumentbearsnoresemblancewhatsoever tothecenotaphs Handmade fromplywood, plexiglassandmilesofbeigepackingtape— one ofMr. Hirschhorn’s off thebeatenmuseum-and-gallerypathandquestiontheirideasaboutvalue andpurposeofart. parallel universefromtherestofcity’s big-moneysummerexhibitions,daringviewerstoveerfar vision ofhonoringGramsci,unveilingamonument onthegroundsofForestHouses.Itwillexistina On Monday, withthehelpofDia Art Foundation andMr. Farmer, Mr. Hirschhorn willrealizehis that makesiteasytoignoreallthosethings. table issues:oppression,poverty, abuseofpower, theatrocitiesofwar, andaculture ofeasypleasure totems ofapostapocalypticgarbagecult—haslong forcedartloverstofacesomeveryuncomfor- Hirschhorn. Hisdeeplypoliticalwork—usuallymadewithcheapmaterialsassembledtolooklike For thelasttwodecades,fewcontemporaryartistshavebeenseriousinquitesamewayasMr. Randy Kennedy. toBronx: “BringingArtandChange ThomasPicks Hirschhorn Bronx http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/arts/design/thomas-hirschhorn-picks-bronx- Development York asArtSite”,TheNew Times,June 27,2013. development-as-art-site.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& Galerie Chantal Crousel center forthe development.Inconstant motionarounditsgrounds inamotorizedwheelchair (helost enthusiasm of Mr. Farmer, 43,whohas livedtherealmosthisentire lifeandfunctions asthenerve cluster ofhigh-risebuildings completedin1956,housing3,376people— largely becauseofthe After narrowingdownthe possibilitiestosevenprojectsintheBronx,he choseForestHouses—a “It hastobeoutsidethe center.” “I decided—O.K.,almost forpoliticalreasons—thatIwasn’t goingtodoitinManhattan,”hesaid. idea. eventually visited46ofthe334projectsonthatmap, tryingtofindresidentswhowouldembracehis monument, hecamecarryinganobsessivelyannotated New York City Housing Authority map;he And sowhenhebeganflyingtoNew York fromhishomeinParis lastyeartoplantheGramsci for art. who gotomuseumsandgalleries,hesays,though theyareonlyasmallpartofthepotentialpublic about theimportanceofseekinga“nonexclusive audience”forart.Suchanaudienceincludesthose national artfairs,whereitsometimesfunctionsastheobnoxiouspartyguest.Buthehaslongspoken represented bytheprestigiousGladstoneGallery, andhisworkregularlyshowsupatimportantinter- chhorn istherareartistwhoseemstomoveinandoutofitwithanondenominationalfluidity These days,asthecommercialartworldfeelsincreasinglylikeabranchofhighfinance,Mr the powerofarttomakepeoplethinkaboutissuestheyotherwisewouldn’t havethoughtabout.” my dreamisnotsomuchaboutchangingthesituationofpeoplewhohelpme,butshowing wanting todothesethingsarepurelypersonalartisticreasons,’”Mr. Hirschhornsaid.“Mygoalor “I tellthem,‘Thisisnottoserveyourcommunity, perse,butitistoserveart,andmyreasonsfor however, areneverstraightforwardlybenevolent. working class,withtheiragreementandhelp.Mr. Hirschhorn’s motivations inchoosingthesites, numents havebeenplannedandconstructedinhousingprojectsoccupiedmostlybythepoor in 2000andathirdtoGeorges BatailleinKassel,Germany, in2002.Fromthebeginning,mo- a monumentdedicatedtoSpinozain Amsterdam in1999,onetoGillesDeleuze Avignon, France, final suchworkinaserieshebeganmanyyearsagodedicatedtohisfavoritephilosophers,following The projectisthefirstthatMr. HirschhornhasbuiltintheUnitedStatesandwillbefourth several weeks. Mr. HirschhornandapaidcrewofworkerschosenfromtheForestHouseshavebuilt overthelast lectual Woodstock, withlectures,concerts,recitalsandartprogramsonthestagespavilionsthat Throughout thesummer, themonumentwillfunctionasakindof villagefestival,orinner-city intel- would beginasmuchinculturepoliticalpower. spent mostofhisadultlifeinprisonunderMussoliniandenvisionedaworking-classrevolutionthat sopher itisnamedfor, themonumentepitomizesbroadlyhumanisticworldviewofGramsci,who Though itmightservetomemorializeMr. Hirschhorn’s tenacityasmuch,ifnotmore,thanthephilo Randy Kennedy. toBronx: “BringingArtandChange ThomasPicks Hirschhorn Bronx http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/arts/design/thomas-hirschhorn-picks-bronx- Development York asArtSite”,TheNew Times,June 27,2013. development-as-art-site.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& . Hirs- . Heis - Galerie Chantal Crousel “I’m sorryyou hadtoseethat,butit’s self-policing, andthat’s how thatshouldwork,”he said.“That plywood and immediatelywentback towork.Mr. Farmer, watching fromhiswheelchair, shrugged. Mr. Hirschhorn lookedoningrimsilence,andassoonthe incidentwasoverhegrabbedasheetof bloodied. Hestaggeredaway, to shoutedthreats. for themonument,tackled himandpunchedkickedforseveralminutes untilhisfacewas project’s buildings. Two ofthemenchasingaccusedthiefcaughthimnear aplywoodwalkway noon, ayoungmansprintedby, followedbyothersshouting thathehadrobbedamaninoneofthe a factoflife.OnedayasMr. Hirschhorn andtheworkerstookabreakduringheatofafter- Forest Housesisadifferent placetoday, withadramaticallylowercrimerate,but violenceisstill roofs, thenwalkdownthestairs,fanningouton every floorinashowofforce. several buildings. The officers,walkingwiththeirgunsdrawn,wouldridethe elevatorstobuildings’ crack epidemic, and I accompanied a team of police officers on what wascalled a “vertical patrol” of several daysatForestHousesin1993whenitwas roiledbyviolenceintheaftermathofcity’s It wasnotthefirsttimeIhadvisitedproject. Asacityreporterfor TheNew York Times, Ispent hour.) staff themonumentarebeingpaid$12anhour;state’s minimumwageiscurrently$7.25an employees oftheDia Art Foundation,whichisfinancingtheproject.(Thosehelpingtobuildand ment inconsultationwithMr. Farmer, whosejob,among others,wastohireresidentsastemporary Over thelasttwomonths,IspentseveraldayswatchingMr. Hirschhornasheplottedoutthemonu show elsewhere;thematerialswillbegiventoForestHousesresidentsinalottery (At theproject’s end,themonumentwillnotbepackedupandreconstitutedasanartworktosellor is kindofliketheworldcomingtousforalittlewhile.” a boxhere,inthisneighborhood. We needtogetoutand find outsomethingsabouttheworld. This chhorn and several residents hard at work on the monument’s plywood foundation. “It’s like we’re in “There’s nothingculturalhereatall,”hesaidoneafternooninearlyJuneaswatchedMr. Hirs- that itcouldmeanmoreforthedevelopment. nument wouldprovidetemporaryconstructionandsecurityjobsforresidents,butbecausehehoped Mr. FarmersaidhedecidedtomakeapersuasivecaseforForestHousesnotonlybecause themo- through. of hisartwork,hecallsthem“keyfigures”—whowouldbeabletohelphimseethemonument fairs, embracedtheidea,Mr. Hirschhornsaid,hefeltthathadfoundpartners—inthecosmology monument proposal. And whenheandClyde Thompson, thecomplex’s directorofcommunityaf He wasoneoftheonlypeopletoaskMr. HirschhornforGramsci’s writingswhileconsideringthe who livesinitsbuildingsandtocommand,ifnotauthority, atleastrespect. the useofhislegsinacaraccidentwhenhewascollege),Mr. Farmerseemstoknoweveryone Randy Kennedy. toBronx: “BringingArtandChange ThomasPicks Hirschhorn Bronx http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/arts/design/thomas-hirschhorn-picks-bronx- Development York asArtSite”,TheNew Times,June 27,2013. development-as-art-site.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& .) - - Galerie Chantal Crousel came to hear, andmaybe theylearned something thatmatters.” a Swissartist whocamefromParisto tellNew Yorkers aboutadeadItalianphilosopher, andpeople and Ithinkwhat willremainbe a certainwaytothinkof theworld—ifonlyan urban legendof Mr. Vergne added,“Peopleaskwhatwillremain afterthemonumentcomesdowninthreemonths, changes somethinghere, evenslightly, well,youknow, that’s goingin therightdirection.” “For himthisisaworkof art,”headded.“Forme,it’s aman-made communitycenter. And if it here.” Mr. Farmersaidareasonthetideturned wasthatMr. Hirschhorn“worksharderthananyoneelseout led. “Thingskindofgelledafterthat.” boss, andyouarenotmyemployees.Iamtheartist, andyouarehelpingme,’ “Thomas said:‘It’s true.Idocarevery muchaboutmywork,butIcareyou,too.amnotthe with hiswifeandtoddlerson. spend thesummeratmonument,aswillMr. Hirschhorn,whoislivinginanearbyapartment ‘You justcareaboutyourwork;youdon’t loveus,’ ”said Yasmil Raymond,Dia’s curator, whowill pushed theworkerstokeepatitinasteadyrain,andtheybalked.“Andsomebodysaid As inanyambitiouscreativeendeavor, tensionshavesometimesflared.OnedayMr. Hirschhorn but I’mmakingaworkofarthere.” who ishelpingbuildthemonument.“You startthinkingit’s yourthing,too.Imean,I’mnoartist, “You workonsomethinglikethis,andafterawhileit’s notlikeajob,”saidDannionJordan,42, complained thatitlookedlikeashantyrisingintheiryard. recognition tonear-wholesale emotionalownershipoftheproject,evenolderresidentswhoinitially Forest Housesresidents,manyofwhomhaveprogressedfromsuspiciousbemusementtogrudging get thedistinctfeelingthatvisitorsarelessimportanttohimthanparticipationandacceptance of frame seemingtobeeverywhereatonce—working,sweating,recruiting,philosophizing. At ForestHouses,Mr. Hirschhornpursuesthatbeliefwithamessianicfervor, hiswiry, energetic from thebeliefthatartreallycanchangesomething,andnotjustalivingroom.” which took on the project as its first public-art commission in more than 15 years. “Thomas proceeds that manypeoplefindtheirwaythere,”saidPhilippe Vergne, thedirectorofDia ArtFoundation, pect Avenue subwaystop(ontheNos.2and5lines)isverymuchanopenquestion.“We allhope Whether summertouristsandotherartpatronswilldriveuporwalkthefewblocksfromPros residents chosenbyMr. Farmer. Marcus Steinweg;adailynewspaperpublishedbyresidents;radiostation;andfoodprovided days aweekthroughSept.15,withlecturesfromscholarslikethephilosophersSimonCritchleyand Once themonumentbeginsitsprogrammingonMonday, itwillbeopenfreetothepublicseven guy doesn’t livehere.He’s notgoingtocomebackhereandtryrobanybodyanymore.” Randy Kennedy. toBronx: “BringingArtandChange ThomasPicks Hirschhorn Bronx http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/arts/design/thomas-hirschhorn-picks-bronx- Development York asArtSite”,TheNew Times,June 27,2013. development-as-art-site.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& ”Ms.Raymondrecal Thomas, And you - - Galerie Chantal Crousel «And ifyouspillcoffee onthischair, there’s noproblem,»headded. homemade weatherprooffurniture. for doingthis,»Hirschhornsaid,summingupanimpromptudiscussionofhisartandthebenefits current projecttoaskepticallocalresident.«Therearepractical,aestheticandphilosophicalreasons Hirschhorn tookabreakfromcoveringanoverstuffed armchairwithpackingtapetoexplainhis On ahumidsummermorninginthecourtyardofSouthBronxhousingproject,artist Thomas by William S.Smith06/25/13 Under Construction: Thomas Hirschhorn’s GramsciMonumentintheBronx rhood inKassel, Germany. Hirschhorn’s contribution toDocumenta11, wasconstructed inapredominantly Turkish neighbo- located inunderservedcommunities withfewart-worldinstitutions.Bataille Monument(2002), Gilles DeleuzeandGeorges Bataille.LiketheGramsci Monument,thesetemporarystructureswere Hirschhorn haspreviously builtsimilarlyuntraditionalmonumentstophilosophers BaruchSpinoza, Simon Critchley. LaTasha Diggs,andseminarsonGramsciledbyprominent philosopherslikeGayatriSpivakand the offerings willbeartclassesforchildren,poetryworkshopswithwriterssuch asGreg Tate and an ambitioussummer-long scheduleofpublicprogramsaimedatarangeaudiences. Amongst Internet café,radiostation,newspaperoffice,workshop, loungeandbar More ofacommunitycenterthantraditionalmonument, Hirschhorn’s projectwillhousealibrary, high-rises inoneofNew York’s poorestneighborhoods. small buildingsonaraisedplatforminthecenter ofForestHouses,apublicdevelopmentbrick born, Paris-basedHirschhornandateamofBronxresidentshavebeenconstructingcluster sopher andrevolutionary Antonio Gramsci(1891-1937).Forthepastmonthandahalf,Swiss- Monument (July1-Sept.15),asprawlingplywoodcomplexdedicatedtotheItalianMarxistphilo- Along withothersimilarlyupholsteredfurnishings,thechairwillbepartofHirschhorn’s Gramsci Bronx. Photographs William S.Smith.; graphs William S.Smith.; Thomas Hirschhorn atworkonGramsciMonument,June24,2013,ForestHouses, The Thomas Hirschhorn’s GramsciMonumentunderconstruction,June24,2013,ForestHouses, The Bronx.Photo- William S. Smith.“UnderConstruction:Thomas Hirschhorn’s Monument Gramsci inthe http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-opinion/finer-things/2013-06-25/under- construction-thomas-hirschhorns-gramsci-monument-in-the-bronx Bronx”, Art InAmerica,June 25,2013. . The sitewillalsohost Galerie Chantal Crousel something in theircommunity,» Granttold A.i.A. «We’re proud ofit.»Granthadalso recentlybeen bed asenseof ownershipovertheproject. «Theywantedtohave peoplefromthiscommunity build for thesummer. Tyrone Grant,anoldfriendofFarmer’s whowasworkingasacarpenter, descri- Farmer alsocoordinated thehiringof15workerstobuildsiteandsix moretohandlesecurity philosophies,» Farmersaid. where hewascomingfrom becauseIhadreadsomuchaboutMalcolmX, andtheyhadthesame chhorn’s arrival,butthatthephilosopher’s messagefeltrelevant.«It waseasyformetounderstand Farmer acknowledgedthatGramscihadlittlename recognitioninhisneighborhoodpriortoHirs- mas tookcareofittogether.» York City Housing Authority toapprovethis,»Farmertold A.i.A. «That’s noteasy, butmeand Tho- helping tonavigatethecity’s byzantine permitting process.«We had togetthechairmanofNew project, accordingtoHirschhorn,Farmerhasbeen instrumentalinassuagingresidents’ doubtswhile directed workersinred«GramsciMonument» T-shirts andbaseballcaps.«Thekeyfigure»inthe Forest HousesResident Association. While Hirschhorndashedaroundtheconstructionsite,Farmer has beenworkingforthepastyearwithcommunityleadersincludingErikFarmer, presidentofthe To buildsupport forthemonumentandaddressconcernsofresidentslikeLeonard,Hirschhorn like shacks.» borhood. «Itlookslikesomethingthatshouldbeinathirdworldcountry,» shetold A.i.A. «Itlooks work, Leonardsharplyquestionedwhysucharough-hewnstructurewasbeinglocatedinherneigh- mess,» saidKarenLeonard. While praisingsomeoftheprogramsthatwillbeorganized aroundthe Some localresidentswhohavewatchedtheprojectcometofruitionwerecritical.«Itlookslikea hot Forest Houseshometakeinterestintheproject. for themonument’s duration,wasquicktoadmitthatthereis«noguarantee»thosewhocall the firstpublicforwork.» Atthesametime,Hirschhorn,whohastakenupresidenceinBronx «I reallyhopethattheresidentswillbecominghere,»Hirschhorntold A.i.A. «Thisneighborhoodis gaze (andresources)awayfromtheBronx? time, who will benefit when the project concludes, and the international art world once again turns its inequities. While theGramsciMonumentmayengagesomemembersofthiscommunityforashort the workissuretosparkdebatesaboutviabilityofartinfacedeepeconomicandsocial space, fosteringanauthentic«encounter»withacommunitythatisnothisown. At thesame time, Hirschhorn hopesthathisprojectintheBronxwillembodyaprovocativevisionforartpublic applied generouslytojointsandwindowframes. ding codes.Someoftherailingsandwallsmeetfloorsatoddangles,packingtapehasbeen major artworkcommissionedbytheDia Art Foundation,muchlessastructureuptoNew York buil- inexpensive materials,byoutwardappearancesGramsciMonumentisnotobviouslyidentifiableasa as wellaprevailingaestheticofinformalityandimprovisation.Builtwithnon-specialistlabor Hirschhorn callstheseworks«precariousmonuments,»atermthatcapturestheirlimiteddurations William S. Smith.“UnderConstruction:Thomas Hirschhorn’s Monument Gramsci inthe http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-opinion/finer-things/2013-06-25/under- construction-thomas-hirschhorns-gramsci-monument-in-the-bronx Bronx”, Art InAmerica,June 25,2013. Galerie Chantal Crousel kids aboutthis.» told A.i.A. «It’s goingtobeinpeople’s memoryforalongtime. We’re goingtobeabletellour Farmer, too,hashighhopesfortheproject.«It’s temporary physicallybutmentallyit’s lasting,»he also funtimetogether,» hesaid. the entireprocessandaskquestions.«Ithasbeenafantastic,beautiful,complicated,difficult this periodofconstruction,»hetold A.i.A., emphasizingthatthecommunityhasbeenabletowitness for mostofthesummer, theworkisalreadywellunderway. «Iwanttoinsistontheimportanceof Although theGramsciMonumentwillofficiallyopennextweek,forHirschhorn,whobeon-site for whathebelievedinandwenttoprisonit.» change fortheirbeliefs,»Grantsaid,drawingacomparisontoNelsonMandela,whoalso«stoodup extended imprisonmentatthehandsofFascists.«Inallsocietiesyouhavepeoplewhotoforce exposed toGramsci’s workforthefirsttimeandcometoadmirephilosopher, whodiedafteran William S. Smith.“UnderConstruction:Thomas Hirschhorn’s Monument Gramsci inthe http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-opinion/finer-things/2013-06-25/under- construction-thomas-hirschhorns-gramsci-monument-in-the-bronx Bronx”, Art InAmerica,June 25,2013. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Michael Dirisio. onhyperconsumption “Thomas Hirshhorn andresistance,” esse, spring-summer2012,pp.48-55. Galerie Chantal Crousel Schum, Matthew. Evaluation.” Flash Art,May-June 2011. “ThomasTheof Hirschhorn. Spectre Galerie Chantal Crousel Schum, Matthew. Evaluation.” Flash Art,May-June 2011. “ThomasTheof Hirschhorn. Spectre Galerie Chantal Crousel Schum, Matthew. Evaluation.” Flash Art,May-June 2011. “ThomasTheof Hirschhorn. Spectre Galerie Chantal Crousel Schum, Matthew. Evaluation.” Flash Art,May-June 2011. “ThomasTheof Hirschhorn. Spectre Galerie Chantal Crousel Schum, Matthew. Evaluation.” Flash Art,May-June 2011. “ThomasTheof Hirschhorn. Spectre Galerie Chantal Crousel Schum, Matthew. Evaluation.” Flash Art,May-June 2011. “ThomasTheof Hirschhorn. Spectre

Galerie Chantal Crousel Philippe Dagen, “TonalitéPhilippe Dagen, sombre àla54èmeBiennaled’artdeVenise”, LeMonde, 4 juin2011. Shock of the news: recent exhibitions by the Swiss artist Thomas Hirsch…sm and violent world conflict | Art in America | Find Articles at BNET 24/04/09 14:58

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Topic: RSS Feed Shock of the news: recent exhibitions by the Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn probed the nearly imperceptible boundaries between Western consumerism and violent world conflict

Art in America , June-July, 2006 by Gregory Volk

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School is supposedly all about education, and Hirschhorn's "Anschool II" revealed his own informal artistic education, but in a way that did not spell anything out and left room for the viewer to make multiple connections. Jeudi 17.1.1991-Jeudi 28.2.1991 (1992), a wonderful small stack of drawings, paintings and mixed-medium collages on cardboard panels, relates to Flying Boxes (1993), an aerial display of cardboard packages, replete with abstract designs, photographs and mailing labels. Neighbors (2002), with a nasty assortment of burned wood, a partly burned toy car, and upended plastic chairs atop a rectangular pedestal, recalls the ethnic and religious strife that sometimes turns neighborhoods into battlegrounds. This work relates to Hotel Democracy (2003), in which rows of miniature hotel rooms in a two-story construction are furnished with plastic chairs, tables, cheesy wood paneling and beds wrapped up in tape. Walls in each room are entirely covered with disturbing photographic images--a grieving woman in a war zone, presumably in Iraq; marching Klansmen; people grasping for aid packages. Hotel decor is invaded by drastic visual news of the world, and Hirschhorn's meticulous, yet rickety, structure seems poised to be busted into smithereens.

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Sometimes chance discoveries were especially illuminating. The Procession and The Four Books (both 2005) feature mannequin hands protruding from mounds of what look like hardened red or blue foam. In the first, the hands hoist a coffin-shaped cardboard box festooned with snippets of dire headlines; in the second, the hands hoist extra-large and enchained versions of http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_6_94/ai_n16533178/pg_5/ Page 1 sur 2 truth or dare: the art of witnessing - artforum.com / in print 01/09/11 15:51

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recent issues September 2011 Summer 2011 May 2011 Thomas Hirschhorn, Das April 2011 Auge (The Eye) (detail), 2008, mixed media. March 2011 Installation view, The Power February 2011 Plant, Toronto, 2011. Photo: January 2011 Steve Payne. Archive to 1998 IN AN INTERVIEW published when his 2008 work Das Auge (The Eye) was installed at the Power Plant in Toronto earlier this year, Thomas Hirschhorn declared: “I want to give a form which resists facts, which resists opinion and which goes beyond actuality, which reaches beyond information—that is why I invented the motif ‘eye and its capacity to see everything red. . . . The eye doesn’t need to know—the eye just sees and that’s what counts.”¹ Coming from an artist famous for his impassioned political engagement, this statement is surprising, if not shocking. Hasn’t a great deal of politically inclined art, from the advent of Conceptualism to the heyday of institutional critique and right up to contemporary docudramatists such as Walid Raad and Emily Jacir, flaunted its proximity to information—taunting and titillating us with “facts” aimed at changing our minds (or merely confirming our beliefs)? And contra Hirschhorn’s claim that “the eye doesn’t need to know,” hasn’t the value of art, since Michel Foucault transformed cultural studies, been linked precisely to its status as knowledge, as discourse? And hasn’t this discourse been recognized as the mold for something promiscuously labeled a subject (an avatar put in place of the complexities of human experience that is so straitened in its capacities, so caricatural in its motivations, that it strikes me as more like a marketing profile than a breathing person)? Yet Hirschhorn still insists that he wants to resist facts, to reach beyond information, and to maintain the centrality of the eye that “just sees.” What is Thomas Hirschhorn trying to tell us? Does he really mean to say that Das Auge’s tableau of bludgeoned toy seals, its world flags and protest placards in various patterns of red, the horrible photographs of shattered bodies that paper so many of its surfaces, the chic dummies modeling blood-splattered fur on a diagonal runway, and the giant childlike model of an eye presiding over it all are not meant to tell us anything? The answer is YES! Hirschhorn understands that we are simply told too much. Most information, in art as in the media, is prepackaged pabulum: As he declares in the same interview, “There is more and more to analyze today, media, journalism, opinions, and comments want to impose their ideology of information. I do not need to be informed—I need to be confronted with the truth.”² If there is a politics of art today, it has nothing to do with the bland consumption of information— whether in newspapers, on iPads, or on museum walls. Neither can it be found in the inflated, politically correct “deconstruction” of discourse or the exposure of cartoon subjectivities. Let’s face the fact that most of what we call political art is no more than mildly polemical grist for the market: radical-chic consumption analogous in its (largely unintended) affirmative function to the expensive locavore markets and restaurants that are found in the same cities that serve as capitals of art exhibition and consumption. A truly political art now—if it is possible—has little to do with Adornian anti-art strategies of negation on the one hand or representing explicitly political themes on the other. One may easily glide unperturbed by the yards and yards of unambitious displays—“professional but flat,” a colleague quipped to me—of this year’s Venice Biennale, consuming the fully deracinated “politics” of curator Bice Curiger’s “ILLUMInations” without its having the slightest effect except mild dyspepsia (if, that is, one can stave off the more virulent affliction of boredom). The specificity of our current moment lies in a degree of image saturation that was unimaginable throughout most of the past century. As we are constantly told, we now consume images 24/7: on our phones, in elevators, in taxis, etc. Under these conditions, modernist tactics of trauma or defamiliarization are no longer effective. While ethical dilemmas regarding the challenges and seductions of spectatorship were central to the entire history of twentieth-century art, it is a result of critical laziness in recent years that Guy Debord’s concept of the spectacle—a surfeit of images,

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accumulated like capital—is so often posited as a quasi-totalitarian condition of visual domination, both in the art world and in consumer culture at large. Hirschhorn is among the few artists who have succeeded in introducing sufficient complexity—and ambiguity—into the mechanisms of the spectacle to push viewers beyond either blind affirmation or blanket condemnation. He has put in their place new strategies of selection and affect: an epistemology of search. When he says, “I do not need to be informed—I need to be confronted with the truth,” truth for him means making a decision about what to see and how to look.

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Thomas Hirschhorn, Crystal of Resistance (detail), 2011, mixed media. Installation view, Swiss pavilion, Venice. From the 54th Venice Biennale. Photo: Kate Lacey.

The kind of confrontation Hirschhorn demands is a form of witnessing. You and I don’t need an artist to tell us for the thousandth time that wearing fur is bad. We need to feel it incumbent on us to decide for ourselves. Witnessing requires us to shift our spectatorial position: to enter the time of image circulation and make a judgment about what we see there. The acts of being present and giving testimony sound deceptively simple, since any visit to an exhibition, no matter how casual, requires physical presence and the expenditure of some modicum of attention, a prerequisite for testimony. But passing by a long sequence of works on, say, the walls of the Arsenale in Venice and ticking them off with an art-historical sound bite (i.e., a “meaning”) does not cross the threshold of presence, let alone witnessing. It merely constitutes consumption, which requires nothing from us (except, when necessary, that we pay). To be present in a deeper sense requires what Boris Groys has identified as a vivid realization of contemporaneity: the status of being “‘with time’ rather than ‘in time,’” or that of being a “comrade of time.”³ Consumption implies closure: We consume what has assumed a form (even if that thing and that form are “immaterial”). Being a comrade of time means that the work unfolds simultaneously with our reception of it. While this is hardly a new idea (it has motivated a great deal of art since Minimalism), it is one that has become harder and harder to realize as it has become easier and easier to commodify or monetize anything from garbage to shares in mortgages anywhere in the world. The two most talked-about art events in New York of the past couple years—Marina Abramović’s The Artist Is Present, 2010, in her retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, and Christian Marclay’s The Clock, 2010, at Paula Cooper Gallery (and currently in Venice)—are both paradigms of works that stage vivid situations of contemporaneity (not coincidentally, each was set up in a kind of theater within a museum or gallery). It was extraordinary that so many visitors to MoMA waited in line for hours to gain a place across a table from Abramović in order to meet her gaze as part of The Artist Is Present. What I found more surprising was that crowds with no intention of seeking a seat at the table spent significant lengths of time riveted by the sight of others having this experience. What did they see? No more (and no less) than a naked version of the fundamental creaturely link: a mutual gaze. At any moment this gaze could be broken or generate unpredictable effects (tears, yawns, giggles). Although Abramović was criticized by many in the art world for self-promotion, I see her work differently. It was an uncompromising and undoubtedly exhausting commitment to liveness—at the very moment when liveness seems most under threat by our famously mediated forms of socializing. The Clock, on the other hand, which marks time on a twenty-four-hour cycle through a collage of film clips featuring clocks showing the actual time, creates an oxymoronic form of mediated

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liveness. Viewers are simultaneously in the time of cinematic narrative (with its formulas of suspense, horror, conflict, and romance) and still rooted in the time of their own unfolding day. I found myself watching The Clock just before a lunch date, glad to be both immersed in the work of art and on time for my appointment. The “escape” function of cinema was bent back into the everyday exigencies of marking time.

Such kinds of contemporaneity fulfill one precondition of witnessing. Aside from presence, however, a further requirement is the positive decision to testify, which is a decision not only about how and what a spectator sees but also a weighing of its veracity, its authority, its ethical consequences, etc. This necessity of taking a stand is what makes witnessing a political form of spectatorship. But I wish to be explicit here: I am not arguing that the onus of creating the conditions for presence and testimony falls entirely (or even preponderantly) on the spectator. The role of artists is not merely to provide content for such experiences but to generate situations that enable witnessing. We are used to consuming countless images in endless streams—it’s easy to become inured to even the most horrific pictures that enter our field of vision. On the other hand, it is an affirmative, political act for an artist to establish an occasion on which witnessing must occur—and this is extremely difficult to do.

Here is where Hirschhorn’s work has been so inventive. Crystal of Resistance, 2011, the artist’s installation in the Swiss pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, offers the latest example of the various types of pressure that he applies to visitors to lead them to confront their ethical position as witnesses. First, all of his environments are purposely and extravagantly overproduced, so one inevitably asks oneself on entering, “Where should I look first?” There is a kind of blindness involved in the horror vacui of Hirschhorn’s works that makes one acutely aware of the difficulty of finding a place for one’s gaze to rest. Consequently, the possibility of “comprehending” (or consuming) the structure of one of his installations is correspondingly remote. In short, one must decide how to navigate them. Second, with Hirschhorn’s recent use of extremely explicit images of war casualties, typically drawn from the Internet, one must also ask oneself whether to look—on account of both squeamishness (they are very painful to see) and delicacy (there is something obscene about peering at these shattered and often partially naked bodies gruesomely turned inside out). Finally, there is the fundamentally political question of one’s personal responsibility for looking. Hirschhorn can lead a spectator to this point, but it is her own responsibility to act on it (or not).

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Thomas Hirschhorn, Crystal of Resistance (detail), 2011, mixed media. Installation view, Swiss pavilion, Venice. From the 54th Venice Biennale. Photo: Romain Lopez.

The dense environment of Crystal of Resistance features several sculptural effigies of mobile devices such as smartphones and iPads, as well as a cyclonelike tower of monitors whose screens show images of fingers scrolling through a seemingly endless digital-camera roll of photographic carnage and occasionally zooming in, as if human digits were literally probing the gaping bodies made accessible through technological reproduction. A visitor encountering this tower is pressed to ask herself, What does it mean to “touch” these bodies? Is it OK to have the world on one’s smartphone and adopt “scanning” (the same type of looking fundamental to window-shopping) as one’s principle of global mobility? Is looking enough, or is looking too much? As the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk recently declared, “The reality construction of subjective capitalism is in fact fully built on competitions for visibility.”⁴ Hirschhorn stages such competitions as lures for the spectator. The most profound species of question prompted by Hirschhorn’s work is how to give meaning to looking. Networks are often imagined as sleek, smooth, and frictionless, while in reality they are full of trash, redundancy, and jury-rigging—just like Hirschhorn’s extravagant environments. As its title indicates, Crystal of Resistance makes use of crystalline principles of construction, characterized by a process of repetition and reflection that is rhizomatic in its irregularity and thus distinct from the geometrically ordered seriality of Minimalism or Conceptual art. As in nature, the crystalline in Hirschhorn’s hands is organic, so pictures and objects combine into formations rather than conforming

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to an “intelligible” discursive structure as would, say, a photo essay. Hirschhorn operates from the conviction that images follow their own set of “natural” laws. The mechanism of celebrity offers a good analogy. After a certain tipping point of dissemination, images begin to generate more and more reiterations: They become newsworthy in and of themselves. In other words, pictures grow like crystals, proliferating rapidly after their initial nucleation. Consequently, it is not the iconography of crystals that matters in this work, but rather the behavior of crystals—as a model of the origin, replication, and concentration of images. Hirschhorn’s environment, one might say, crystallizes out of the spectacle: Its form is as indigenous to its ecological conditions as stalactites and stalagmites are native to the environment of caves. The artist insists on this primacy of emergent form when he writes, in his statement accompanying the piece, Art is the problem and art can give form to the problem. There’s no solution to figure out—on the contrary—the problem must be confronted. And this is only possible in a panic. Panic is what gives form and this form is art.”

In its initial equation of information with objects, and in its subsequent belief that promulgating information can lead to “figuring out” a solution (even if through subversion or “deconstruction”), Conceptual art has lost its relevance. It and its progeny have tumbled into the status of just another “service product” sold in a knowledge economy. If, as Hirschhorn exhorts us, there is no right answer (or, in other words, no art-historical sound bite with which to categorize an artwork), we must be more alert in our looking and in our attesting to art. Hence the insistence that we must be present in order to make a decision about a formation of images, and that we must then testify to its effects, both personal and political. But first an artist has to lead us to the point of caring—perhaps even put us in a panic. For if art is ever to become genuinely political again, it will have to do so through a politics of witnessing. And this presumes the vivid, visceral assertion (at which Hirschhorn excels) that looking itself is not innocent—it is a commitment, a contract, an embarrassment, an accusation, a turn-on, and an assault, but never just a simple act of consumption.

David Joselit is Carnegie professor of the history of art at Yale University.

—-

NOTES

1. “Gregory Burke Speaks with Thomas Hirschhorn,” in Thomas Hirschhorn: Das Auge (The Eye) (Toronto: Power Plant, 2011), unpaginated. 2. Ibid. 3. Boris Groys, “Comrades of Time,” in What Is Contemporary Art?, ed. Julieta Aranda, Brian Kuan Wood, and Anton Vidokle (New York: e-flux journal, 2010), 32. 4. Peter Sloterdijk, Rage and Time: A Psychopolitical Investigation, trans. Mario Wenning (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010), 203.

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the Koran, the Torah and The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama (the Bible didn't make it into this show). At the bottom of one stairwell, among numerous photographs, I discovered an alarming image of a man, much of whose face was a freakish, bulbous mess intimating some kind of violent attack. The uncanny resemblance of this terrifying image to Hirschhorn's sinister mounds and other swelling deformities protruding from both human figures and maps elsewhere suggested a possible connection.

Among the many texts in the show, one could find a polite letter, dated Apr. 12, 2000, to curators Laurence Bosse and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, announcing Hirschhorn's withdrawal from an upcoming exhibition at ARC/Musee d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, and explaining his reasons for doing so. (2) He had already withdrawn one proposal for a project called Conduit, determining that it wasn't feasible. Instead, the curators suggested participating with an approximately 9 3/4-by-13-foot poster. After careful consideration, Hirschhorn declined, and his response is a wonderful statement of artistic integrity and tenacity. He simply wasn't willing to undertake a compromise project, however well intentioned. "The trouble," Hirschhorn wrote about the poster idea, is that "it isn't my project! I mean I would only be participating, rather than confronting myself, positioning myself, developing my ideas, proposing a reflection, concretizing a project." He acknowledged that the alternative project "wouldn't take much time or energy," but then declared that he is only interested in works involving "total, 100 percent energy." That's precisely the kind of energy Hirschhorn gave to this exhibition, which turned a selection of past works into a teeming installation chock full of driving ideas and esthetic risks.

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Home > Art News > World > You can love both Nietzsche and Hello Kitty

You can love both Nietzsche and Hello Kitty

Artist interview: Thomas Hirschhorn

Switzerland/--- 2008/6/30 The Art Newspaper

Mark Clintberg | 27.6.08 |

Location: Local China World

Date:

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Keyword:

Hotel Democracy

Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn's colossal, ramshackle installation Hotel Democracy, 2003, was shown at Art Basel's Art Unlimited earlier this month. The display marked the Swiss artist's return to his native country following a self-imposed exile in 2003. Hirschhorn had refused to exhibit his work in Switzerland in protest against the election to the governing federal council of Christoph Blocher, a millionaire industrialist who is vice-president of the right-wing Swiss People's Party. Mr Blocher resigned due to the loss of his seat at the Swiss National Assembly in December 2007, leading to Hirschhorn lifting his ban.

Hirschhorn

Hotel Democracy, one of nine works made by the artist since 1990 on the theme of freedom, is a 51-foot, two-storey sculpture made of found materials including plastic sheeting, packing tape and cardboard. Hirschhorn is known for his provisionally constructed altars, monuments, and kiosks dedicated to philosophers and cultural figures.

Over the last five years the artist has had solo shows at the Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Malaga,

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(2003), Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2004), Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, (2005), and exhibited at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris and Stephen Friedman Gallery in London last year.

The Art Newspaper: Regarding the Nietzsche Car piece which was on display with Galerie Chantal Crousel at Art Basel; could you explain the connection between Hello Kitty [a toy cat] and Nietzsche?

Thomas Hirschhorn: Both have a moustache! More seriously Nietzsche Car is the customised car made with the language of a Nietzsche-fan, and Hello Kitty is a form for showing love, and in this work, love for this specific philosopher. It is also my attempt to connect the two because I want to express: Yes, you can love both Nietzsche and Hello Kitty. Yes, you can agree with philosophy and you can agree with a toy kitty- cat.

TAN: You have decided to lift your boycott on exhibiting in Switzerland. What specific political events sparked your decision to not exhibit in your native country? And what influenced your choice to lift the boycott now?

TH: At the end of 2003 the Swiss national assembly elected an extremist-populist as one of the federal councillors. I decided to protest and as a concrete act, to boycott my home country with exhibitions of my work as long as this politician's national responsibilities would be maintained. At the end of 2007 that same Swiss assembly did not re-elect the extremist-populist demagogue. Consequently I could lift my boycott [Christoph Blocher declined to comment].

TAN: Why did you choose to exhibit a work from 2003 for Art Basel rather than a new work?

TH: Hotel Democracy is more actual than ever. Why should I accept the dictatorship of the new? Why systematically show a new work? Hotel Democracy—our common house in which we are guests—is about the will to be a real and primary democrat and the refusal to be a domesticated, democratised subject. Democracy today has to improve its meaning. Democracy cannot be turned into a holy cow. Furthermore, democracy has to be—every day—newly discussed and debated upon. Democracy cannot be exported as a plus-value, democracy has to fight to be incisive and convincing. Democracy is strong when the people are real democrats and resist the protection of self-interests.

TAN: Recently, environmental activists have expressed concern about your use of cardboard and other materials, suggesting that there is a great deal of waste involved. How would you respond to these claims?

TH: It's stupid because art is exaggeration, art is the movement of expenditure and non-economisation and art is waste. Art is waste of love, waste of passion, waste of infinitude, waste of energy, waste of ecstasy, waste of aesthetics, waste of the real, waste of power, waste of strength, waste of chaos, waste of production, waste of engagement, waste of generosity, waste of dream, waste of action, waste of hope, waste of intensity, waste of faith, waste of grace, waste of beauty, waste of happiness, waste of courage, waste of resistance, waste of conflict and waste of life. Art has nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with "protection" or with "conservation".

TAN: It is generally understood that Austrian novelist and playwright Elfriede Jelinek takes issue with your particular views on Marxism. Are you aware of her reasons for this, and would you care to respond to her views?

TH: I'm learning this from you. I did not know about it and I cannot comment on it.

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ENGLISH FRANÇAIS GUERRILLA MECHANICS GUERRILLA MECHANICS MÉCANIQUE SAUVAGE MÉCANIQUE SAUVAGE Thomas Hirschhorn's Studio L'atelier de Thomas Hirschhorn Florence Ostende

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SIMON STARLING For his studio, Thomas Hirschhorn has chosen C’est en banlieue parisienne à Aubervilliers, ville Melissa Gronlund Aubervilliers, a culturally diverse and working- multiculturelle et ouvrière, ancien bastion class suburb of Paris – once a communist communiste et berceau de l’industrialisation en EXHIBITION MEMORY L'EXPOSITION DIFFÉRÉE stronghold and the cradle of industrialisation in Île-de-France, que Thomas Hirschhorn a Jean-Luc Moulène Île-de-France. The artist, true to his reputation installé son atelier. Fidèle à son image de as a workaholic, has invested body and soul in travailleur acharné, l’artiste investit corps et this beehive-like superstructure where he is âme cette superstructure fourmilière où il THE INSTITUTE OF currently preparing the Swiss pavilion for the prépare actuellement le pavillon suisse de la SOCIAL HYPOCRISY Venice Biennale. Biennale de Venise. Damien Airault

EVERY TOWN SHOULD A visit to Thomas Hirschhorn’s studio really starts Une visite de l'atelier de Thomas Hirschhorn HAVE ONE outside, in the backstreets surrounding it. Wholesalers commence sans doute déjà dehors, dans les rues CHAQUE VILLE LA SIENNE display their stocks of computers, bags, shoes, parallèles. Les magasins de grossistes y épuisent leurs Martin Holman jewellery and clothes; mannequins are lined up behind stocks d'ordinateurs, sacs, chaussures, bijoux et the shop windows. I’m transported back to vêtements, les mannequins défilent derrière les CONTEMPORARY ART IN MOROCCO Hirschhorn’s 2007 exhibition Concretion Re at Chantal vitrines. J'ai l'impression de revivre l'exposition L’ART CONTEMPORAIN AU Crousel gallery, which featured bunches of sellotaped Concretion Re à la galerie Chantal Crousel en 2007 : MAROC dummies, their heads lined up on shelves. ‘Clearance’, les rangées de corps inanimés scotchés les uns aux Bérénice Saliou ‘surplus’, ‘end of stock sale’, ‘liquidation’ – back in the autres, les têtes alignées sur les étagères. streets the ads seem to pulsate behind the window’s "Liquidation", "surplus", "fin de série", "déstockage", les LE CONSORTIUM glass, reminding me of the artist’s own motto: ‘energy: formules publicitaires pullulent dans les vitrines et me LE CONSORTIUM yes, quality: no’, and of some of his exhibition titles rappellent le célèbre slogan de l'artiste "Énergie oui, Dale Berning such as Too Too – Much Much for the 2010 show at qualité non" et certains de ses titres d'expositions the Museum Dhondt Dhaenens in Deurle, Belgium. In comme Too Too – Much Much en 2010 au Museum

the lane leading to the studio, car wrecks, their Dhondt Dhaenens à Deurle en Belgique. Dans la rue LYDIA GIFFORD bonnets wide open, are quickly fixed up for the black qui mène à l'atelier, capots ouverts, des épaves de Simone Menegoi market. ‘That’s guerrilla mechanics’, says Hirschhorn, voitures sont bidouillées à la va-vite pour le marché who has also tried his hand at makeshift engineering noir. "C'est de la mécanique sauvage !", commente

in Poor-Racer (2009), a pathetically modified car made Hirschhorn qui pratique aussi le bricolage automobile MASTHEAD of cardboard and aluminium, standing like a dans Poor-Racer (2009), une pauvre voiture de tuning OURS ridiculously competitive Christmas tree. en carton et aluminium, misérable sapin de Noël de compétition. http://www.cataloguemagazine.com/contemporary-art/magazine/article/thomas-hi Page 1 sur 4 Catalogue Contemporary Art Magazine / Revue d'art contemporain -- Issue 6 / Numéro 6 > Guerrilla Mechanics / MÉCANIQUE SAUVAGE 29/03/11 16:21

compétition. Hirschhorn’s day-to-day activity resembles the routine of the manufacturers, suppliers, importers and De la production au transport, du stockage à la vente distributors settled in the area: like theirs, his work en passant par la gestion d'une équipe d'assistants, involves production, transport, storage and the l'activité quotidienne d'Hirschhorn n'est pas si éloignée managing of a team of assistants. The artist has de celle des fabricants, fournisseurs, importateurs et chosen to leave Paris to move into a former factory in distributeurs installés dans son quartier. L'artiste a Aubervilliers, a North Eastern suburb of the capital. He volontairement quitté son atelier parisien pour venir proudly shows me the garage door linking his storage s'installer dans une ancienne usine en banlieue nord- space to the street: ‘I need to feel that my work can est de la capitale, à Aubervilliers. Il montre fièrement go out, that it’s connected with the outside world’, he la grande porte de garage qui relie son espace de tells me. ‘Here trucks can come, load and unload. In stockage à la rue : "J'ai besoin de sentir que mon Paris, my studio was in a residential building, it felt travail peut sortir, qu'il est connecté à l'extérieur. Ici like going to a flat.’ les camions peuvent venir, charger, décharger. À Paris, mon atelier se trouvait dans un immeuble, j'avais Work work work! l'impression d'entrer dans un appartement."

Visiting a studio, one often has the secret hope of Work work work! stumbling upon new artworks, unpublished sketches or abandoned prototypes never shown before. But to Les visites d'atelier nourrissent souvent l'espoir caché visit Hirschhorn’s studio is a whole different ball game de découvrir des pièces inconnues jamais exposées, in that all it reveals is the work itself. In his practice, des travaux préparatoires inédits ou des prototypes there’s no separation between working process and abandonnés. L'expérience de celui d'Hirschhorn est finished artwork. The studio’s inside and outside une autre affaire, dans le sens où il ne donne rien literally replicate the artist’s production. Visiting the d'autre à voir que le travail lui-même. L'intérieur et artist’s studio echoes the experience of his exhibitions l'extérieur de l'atelier dupliquent son œuvre de façon so strikingly that the two seem to merge. The littérale. L'effet de miroir entre la visite d'atelier et suburban former factory feels like an organic l'expérience de ses expositions est saisissant, elles continuation of the work in every aspect, even the semblent fusionner. Cette ancienne usine de banlieue most trivial ones – like the calendar of due dates, est le prolongement organique de l'œuvre jusque dans which is hand-drawn with same intense and ses moindres détails, y compris dans sa fonctionnalité determined style as the artist’s drawings. Hirschhorn’s la plus triviale – par exemple, un banal calendrier des ‘all-encompassing’ technique mirrors the formal échéances fait main, dans le même style dense et profusion of his urban surroundings and of his own déterminé que ses dessins. La méthode "totalisante" interior moods, which are as nervous and agitated as de l’artiste imite la profusion formelle de son his edgy neighbourhood. environnement urbain et les humeurs intérieures, agitées et nerveuses, de son voisinage humain, lui Hirschhorn’s lifestyle reflects his super-productive aussi dans l'urgence. working method. He tells me that he thinks about his studio very often, particularly when he’s travelling. ‘I Le mode de vie d'Hirschhorn est à l'image de sa like to think about my studio, its shape, its space’, he production, inépuisable. Il avoue très souvent penser à says. ‘It’s a very important place, people only think son atelier, en particulier lorsqu'il voyage : "J'aime about art but for me the work is everywhere and not réfléchir à sa forme, à son espace. C'est un lieu only here. I’m not afraid to say that I’m work- important car on ne pense qu'à l'art mais pour moi, le obsessed. I’m in the studio every day. I also like to travail est partout, pas seulement ici. Je suis un come here at the weekend, when the assistants are off. travailleur et je le revendique. Je viens ici tous les I even come sometimes not to do anything, just to jours, j'aime m'y rendre le weekend quand les hang out and look at things.’ Has Hirschhorn ever assistants ne sont pas là. Je viens parfois même pour suffered from artist’s block? Felt discouraged or ne rien faire, juste pour traîner et regarder." uninspired? ‘Never’, he says. ‘I’ve got no time for that. Hirschhorn a-t-il déjà connu l'angoisse de la page You have to carry on, to persevere, otherwise you blanche ? Une petite déprime passagère ? Le manque won’t do anything. I’m for perseverance. All the great d'inspiration ? "Jamais", affirme-t-il, "on n'a pas le artists have persevered, take Warhol for example, or temps de cultiver cela. Il faut insister et persévérer, Beuys, or Mondrian.’ And anyway, considering sinon on arrive à rien. Je suis pour la persévérance. Hirschhorn’s current schedule, he doesn’t really have Tous les grands artistes ont persévéré, Warhol, Beuys, the luxury of slowing down. The studio is a beehive- Mondrian." Vu son emploi du temps actuel, il serait like superstructure. On the ground floor, things are malheureux que le corps ou l'esprit le lâche. L'atelier produced and stored; gigantic working surfaces occupy d'Hirschhorn est une fourmilière. Au rez-de-chaussée, the space and bits of installations are stacked up in on produit, on stocke : de gigantesques plans de the corners, waiting to be transported somewhere else travail occupent l'espace et des fragments or put away. The main space is pretty much taken up d'installations s'entassent dans les coins, en attendant by a huge wooden structure, and assistants are un imminent transport ou un espace de stockage. Une building hundreds of cardboard logs for the énorme structure en bois occupe tout l'espace central, forthcoming exhibition It's Burning Everywhere at the les assistants construisent des centaines de rondins Kunsthalle Mannheim. en carton pour l'exposition It's Burning Everywhere à la Kunsthalle Mannheim. The first floor is dedicated to the administrative side of the operation: there, assistants deal with À l'étage, on gère la correspondance, recherche de correspondence, look for new images on the web and nouvelles images sur l’Internet, archive les expositions archive past exhibitions. A folder for each show allows passées. Chaque dossier permet de pouvoir refaire it to be precisely remade and re-installed without the l'exposition et de piloter à distance son accrochage. artist being present. Texts written by Hirschhorn are Dans un coin, les textes écrits par l'artiste sont stacked up in a corner – he is currently working on a empilés, un livre est en préparation. En revanche, book. But the studio isn’t exactly conducive to reading. l'atelier n'est pas propice au temps de lecture : "Je ‘I can’t read here’, says Hirschhorn. ‘My library is at n'arrive pas à lire ici, ma bibliothèque est à la maison, home. For me, the studio is first and foremost a space l'atelier est surtout un espace de production pour moi. of production. And I don’t read that much’, he adds. Et puis je ne lis pas tant que ça ! J'ai la chance d'avoir ‘I’m lucky enough to have philosopher friends who do des amis philosophes qui réfléchissent pour moi et the thinking for me and send me short books.’ m'envoient de petits livres !". http://www.cataloguemagazine.com/contemporary-art/magazine/article/thomas-hi Page 2 sur 4 Catalogue Contemporary Art Magazine / Revue d'art contemporain -- Issue 6 / Numéro 6 > Guerrilla Mechanics / MÉCANIQUE SAUVAGE 29/03/11 16:21

Department Stores Grands magasins

Hirschhorn’s favourite place is on the ground floor, Son espace préféré est au rez-de-chaussée, derrière behind a big raised desk that allows him to see un très grand bureau en hauteur placé de telle façon everything at once, like a conductor on his podium. qu' Hirschhorn peut garder, tel un chef d'orchestre, His exhibitions function according to the same logic of une vision d'ensemble. Ses expositions obéissent the whole: the eye sweeps over a total installation d'ailleurs à cette même logique de l'ensemble : le without being able to make out individual works. The regard balaye une totalité sans pouvoir identifier assistants, scissors in hand, sift through news d'œuvres individuelles. Ciseaux à la main, les magazines (Time, Newsweek, The Economist, Nouvel assistants épluchent tous les magazines d'actualités Observateur...). Hundreds of torn-out pages carpet the (Times, Newsweek, The Economist, Nouvel floor. The cut-out images are kept in cardboard Observateur...). Des centaines de pages déchirées boxes, lined up against the wall as if in a shop. Each tapissent le sol. Les images découpées sont one is labelled with a theme written in capital letters conservées dans des boîtes en carton, alignées contre with a black felt-tip pen: MONUMENTS, ALTARS, le mur comme dans un magasin. Chaque boîte est TERRORISTS, PRISONERS, WOOD, GYM, WORK, TATOOS, marquée d'un thème écrit en majuscules au gros SADDAM HUSSEIN, NATURAL FIRE, DESTRUCTIVE FIRE, feutre noir épais : monuments, autels, terrorists, COUNTRYSIDE FIRE ... The rows of stacked up boxes prisonniers, bois, gym, travail, tatoos, sadam hussein, have something of the stalls, booths and vitrines feu naturel, feu destruction, feu de campagne... Les reoccurring in the artist’s works, as, for example, in rangées de boîtes évoquent les stands, étals et vitrines his 24 heures Foucault shown at the Palais de Tokyo in récurrents dans le travail de l'artiste, on pense aux 2004. From his very first collages on notebooks to his boîtes superposées dans les salles de 24 heures more recent 3D installations, Hirschhorn has always Foucault au Palais de Tokyo en 2004. Des premiers insisted on the importance of the terms ‘layout’ and collages sur cahiers aux œuvres tridimensionnelles, ‘display’ to describe his work – a work whose Hirschhorn insiste depuis toujours sur l'importance overarching logic is to link disparate elements and to des termes "layout" (mise en page) et "display" (mise create a continuous motif in space. en espace) pour décrire son travail dont la logique est de relier différents éléments entre eux et d'assurer la At the back of the studio, a large instruction panel continuité d'un motif dans l'espace. details the various steps of an exhibition hang. Dozens of small images are sellotaped on it, showing the Au fond, un grand panneau d'instructions documente installation in minute detail, and captions written in minutieusement les étapes d'un montage d'exposition black felt-tip pen and ballpoint pen identify each afin que les assistants puissent reconstituer son fragment of the display. Large sketches of this kind, to assemblage complexe. Des dizaines de petites images be found everywhere in the studio, very much fixées au scotch permettent de visualiser le moindre resemble Hirschhorn’s wall pieces such as Wall détail de l'ensemble ; les légendes écrites au Documentation (1995), which documents his practice marqueur noir ou au stylo à bille d'identifier chaque up to 1995. In light of the artist’s entire production, fragment de l'installation. Ces nombreux schémas the instruction panel mentioned above thus becomes présents dans l'atelier ressemblent à s'y méprendre à an artwork, reminiscent of the draft-like aesthetic of certains panneaux muraux comme Wall documentation Hirschhorn’s early pieces: the hand-written titles and (1995) qui retrace toute la documentation de son captions, the quick corrections, capital letters, travail jusqu'en 1995. Ainsi, ce banal panneau fait underlined words, arrows, black felt-tip, ball-point œuvre à la lumière de l'ensemble de sa production pen, sellotape. Upstairs, another hand-drawn big panel artistique et rappelle l'esthétique brouillonne de ses (bearing the categories ‘what to do’, ‘what to buy’) premiers collages : titres et légendes manuscrites, organises the steps to be taken for the current project: style d'écriture nerveux, sommaire et expéditif, the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. retouches grossières, lettres majuscules, mots soulignés, flèches, marqueur épais noir, stylos à bille, Crystal Museum scotch, etc... À l'étage, un autre grand tableau tracé à la main (avec les catégories "quoi faire", "quoi The Venice show is articulated around the motif of acheter") organise les étapes logistiques du grand crystal, and a gigantic sketch entitled Crystal of chantier actuel : le pavillon suisse de la Biennale de Resistance details the preparatory iconographic Venise. research. ‘It’s the very first time I’ve worked with this material’, says Hirschhorn. ‘I find it very interesting Musée du cristal because it’s both very mundane but has countless uses. There are crystals inside the ear, in mobile Le gigantesque schéma intitulé Crystal of Resistance phones, on jewellery, in glass. I also like its esoteric détaille les recherches iconographiques de l'exposition and philosophical connotations. Paul Klee used to think vénitienne placée sous le motif du cristal. "C'est la that crystals represented perfection in art.’ Hirschhorn première fois que je travaille sur ce matériau. Il has gathered a hundred images and text snippets m'intéresse car il est très banal et à la fois très riche which help him remember the exhibition’s various dans son utilisation. Il y a des cristaux dans l'oreille, shapes: they picture a crystal meth laboratory, les téléphones portables, les bijoux, le verre... J'aime stalactites, a gym, or else a man eating alone in his aussi ses résonnances ésotériques et philosophiques, living room. ‘I’m fascinated by this image’, says the Paul Klee pensait que les cristaux représentaient la artist. ‘This man eats alone in front of a head lying on perfection de l'art." Hirschhorn a assemblé une the table, next to a pile of medicines. His fireplace, full centaine d'images et de fragments de textes qui to the brim with domestic objects, has something of a l'aident à mémoriser les différentes formes de domestic altar. I’m interested in this organised chaos l'exposition : un laboratoire de crystal meth, des as an ensemble.’ Among the books on rocks and stalactites, un club de fitness ou encore la minerals lying on the studio table, Hirschhorn is photographie d'un homme seul en train de manger particularly taken by the catalogue of a crystal dans son salon. "Cette photographie me fascine. Cet museum from his native Switzerland and he has homme seul mange seul devant une tête posée sur la analysed its display techniques with great attention. table, à côté d'une pyramide de médicaments. Sa ‘The show in Venice is a mix between the décor of an cheminée bourrée d'objets ressemble à un autel alpine crystal museum, a country disco, a third rate domestique. Ce chaos organisé m'intéresse comme un sci-fi film and a clandestine crystal meth laboratory’, ensemble". Parmi les livres sur les roches et les http://www.cataloguemagazine.com/contemporary-art/magazine/article/thomas-hi Page 3 sur 4 Catalogue Contemporary Art Magazine / Revue d'art contemporain -- Issue 6 / Numéro 6 > Guerrilla Mechanics / MÉCANIQUE SAUVAGE 29/03/11 16:21

he explains. ‘But crystal is only a motif, the theme is minéraux étalés sur la table, Hirschhorn porte une resistance. I want to show that resistance is interesting attention particulière au catalogue d'un musée du in itself. It is often discussed as being "against" cristal en Suisse. Il analyse rigoureusement ses something, but one forgets that resistance can also be techniques muséographiques : "L’exposition de la "for" something. It’s a positive and intense movement – Biennale de Venise est un mélange entre le décor d’un of belief, of birth, of production and of creation.’ musée du cristal de montagne, une discothèque de campagne, un mauvais film de science fiction et un Hirschhorn’s project, which, like crystal, is a precise atelier clandestin de crystal meth. Mais le cristal n'est accumulation of hundreds of elements, will continue to qu'un motif, le thème, c'est la résistance. Je veux grow for the next few months. Bit by bit, crystal in all montrer que la résistance est intéressante en tant que its different shapes invades the studio like the telle. On parle souvent de résistance 'contre' quelque concretions and outgrowths in the artist’s work (even chose mais on oublie que la résistance est aussi 'pour'. though he insists on their difference: crystal is C'est un mouvement positif, de croyance, de mineral, concretion organic). Rhizome, confusion, naissance, de production, de création et d'intensité." contamination, information, accumulation, the artist deploys the same strategy in his work and in his La structure du cristal, formée d'un empilement studio. The outside is mirrored inside, the container ordonné d'un grand nombre d'atomes, continuera de reflects the content and everything is work. Visiting croître pour quelques mois encore. Par petites Hirschhorn’s studio, one cannot escape a feeling of touches, le cristal sous toutes ses formes envahit déjà-vu, the feeling to be experiencing not only the l’arrangement spatial de l’atelier, semblable aux working process but also the artwork itself. The energy concrétions et excroissances qu’Hirschhorn a invested in the production of the works is so optimised fréquemment utilisé (même s’il insiste sur leur that everything is used up. ‘If when you die when you différence : le cristal est minéral, la concrétion est haven’t given it all, it’s a bit of a waste. It’s just like organique). Rhizome, confusion, contamination, with athletes. That’s why I really admire Paul McCarthy, information, accumulation, les stratégies à l'œuvre not only his work but also his whole character. He’s dans sa production sont identiques à celles de son lieu 65 and he lives 100%, he really goes for it!’ d'activité. Le dehors contamine le dedans, le contenant reflète le contenu, tout devient travail. La visite de la "manufacture Hirschhorn" révèle une sensation de Florence Ostende is Catalogue’s co-editor. déjà-vu, l'impression de ne pas seulement traverser le processus de production de son œuvre mais l'œuvre elle-même. L’énergie investie dans la fabrication des IMAGE CREDITS pièces est optimisée jusqu’à ce qu’il ne reste plus Photographies prises dans l'atelier de Thomas Hirschhorn, 2011 rien : "Si tu meurs et que tu n'as pas tout donné, c'est Photographe : Florence Ostende raté, c'est un peu bête et j'aime ça, comme chez les sportifs. C'est pour ça que j'admire Paul McCarthy, son travail mais aussi le personnage, il a 65 ans et il vit à SHARE / PRINT fond la caisse, il y va !"

Florence Ostende est corédactrice de Catalogue.

IMAGE CREDITS Photographies prises dans l'atelier de Thomas Hirschhorn, 2011 Photographe : Florence Ostende

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in)? How can I make in the current – my historical filed – make a super-historical work?” Faithful to his unique way of giving form, the confusing architecture of his latest installation follows Opening on Friday, April 27, 2007, 6-10 pm its own artistic logic. And if apparently excessive as part of the Third Berlin Gallery Weekend demands are raised to a principle of form giving, this is informed in H irschhorn by a concept, because Arndt & Partner is pleased to present its fourth solo “chaos is the world in which I live, and chaos is the show of the Swiss artist Thomas H irschhorn, to mark time in which I live,” as he explains. Art, on the other the opening of the Third Berlin Gallery Weekend. hand, for him is a tool “to get to know the world, to confront it, to experience the age in which I live.” Thomas H irschhorn’s sculptural constructions and environments are famous for transporting knowledge The choice of materials is also a conscious political and information by alienating the usual means of decision. The cheap product packaging materials of presentation and skewing our perspective on things. the consumer goods industry for H irschhorn are an To achieve this, H irschhorn frequently favours appropriate, stringently used means of expression for elaborate, expansive installations, seemingly chaotic his socially critical art. In them, his resistance against structures that use everyday materials that are cultural grievances is articulated, as is a revolt against nonetheless symbolically charged. H irschhorn’s capitalisms desires, which H irschhorn translated into spatial assemblages are skilful stagings of the a state of permanent creative anarchy. Available in imperfect, wild associative landscapes whose energies every household, because of their everyday familiarity are intended to inspire thought, as H irschhorn they avoid any appearance of exclusiveness, and thus himself stresses: “I don’t want to make interactive art, underline the inclusion of the beholder which is so I want to make active art, work that activates the important to Thomas H irschhorn: „Stand-alone is, as brain.” The result are installations where the beholder always, made for a non-exclusive audience, and as has to engage with signs, symbols, and memories, always, I want to include without neutralising, I don’t and which change our perspective on the possibilities want to exclude anybody.“ of art and life. With Stand-alone, Thomas H irschhorn once again In H irschhorn’s new work Stand-alone, which will reveals his ability to translate, through his aggressive extend over all four rooms of our Gallery 1st Floor, the visual worlds, political ideas and philosophical beholder also is confronted with the richness of visual language into an accessible understandable language, materials that is so typical for the artist, materials that to create reference and literally create new spaces for make connections between apparently unconnected ideas and engagements. The result are art productions things. Kicked-in doors, sofas and armchairs wrapped that make no aesthetic claims, but instead call for in tape, are made equal by their wrapping and placed confrontation and dialogue about existing conditions, next to each other. Cardboard fireplaces, old electronic and which the New York Times considers “some oft devices, wood, clocks, books, and other documents the best being made today.” form a spatial collage, the purpose of which is “to create a new world from elements of the old one.” Thomas H irschhorn was born in 1957 in Berne; from Without pretension and exceedingly cleverly, 1978 to 1983 he was a student at the Schule für H irschhorn succeeds in creating a sense of profusion, Gestaltung in Zurich. Since the mid-1990s, he has chaos, and the potential of conflict that goes hand in gained international acclaim for his installations, and hand with the experience of current life worlds. today he is considered one of the most important artists of his generation. H e has been living and In his latest exhibition, Thomas H irschhorn is working in Paris since 1984. H is works have been showing a three-dimensional realisation of his plan shown in countless solo and group exhibitions. H e “Where do I stand? What do I want?” (which is conceived and realised more than 50 works for public available for visitors of the gallery) that thematizes the spaces. question of the artist’s own position, possibilities of giving form, and independence in terms of content. Thomas H irschhorn’s work can currently be seen in “ How can I make a work that doesn’t in any way the group exhibition Swiss Made 1: Präzision und subject itself to historical facts? And how can I make a Wahnsinn: Positionen der Schweizer Kunst von work that touches the beyond of history (which I live Hodler bis H irschhorn at Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, March 3 to June 24, 2007. Also, some works will be exhibited in the shows Into Me / Out of Me (MACRO Partner are hosting a further lecture by the artist at 2 – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma, April 21 – p.m., 28.04.07, in Gallery 1st Floor in Berlin. September 30, 2007) and Airs de Paris“ (Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, April 15 – August 15, 2007).

At 8 p.m., 26.04.07, Thomas H irschhorn will give a lecture with the title “Arbeit, 1990–2007” at Berlin’s H umboldt University. The venue is lecture room 3075 in the Main Building at Unter den Linden 6. Arndt & Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn, in Vittoria Martini, Federica M…nother Exhibition, Postmediabooks, Milan 2011. | Biennial Foundation 08/06/11 16:55

Search... 05.05.2011 Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn, in Vittoria Martini, Federica Martini, Just Another Exhibition, Postmediabooks, Milan 2011.

Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn, in Vittoria Martini, Federica Martini, Just Another Exhibition. Representing Nations in Contemporary Exhibition Practice, Postmediabooks, Milan 2011.

A Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn:

In your reply to our invitation to discuss biennials and international exhibition practices, you wrote, “I doubt I have anything to say because I am not interested in the subject and especially in ‘Biennials and International Art Practices’. I – THE ARTIST – am only interested in my work, I – THE ARTIST – occupy myself exclusively with doing my work, and I – THE ARTIST- am

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interested in exhibiting my work”. How do you see your participation in the Venice Biennale, in the Swiss pavilion, located in an exhibition space that is not neutral, but rather linked to international cultural policies and diplomatic relations?

Your questions have given me the chance to clarify certain things, things that have been clear to me for a while and constitute the basis of my work. I have never produced an artwork especially for a context. I am not interested in contexts, since I believe in the autonomy of Art. Art is autonomous and such autonomy is what gives it beauty and makes it absolute. I believe in Art. I believe that Art – because it is Art – can create the conditions for engagement that transcends everything, going beyond the issues of countries, nations, or states. The cultural policies of this or that nation do not interest me, nor do the diplomatic relations among states. For me – as an artist – it is normal, and also necessary, to be interested first and foremost in my own work, to be interested in producing my own artwork, and to be interested simply in Art; art, which is beauty and absolute. In any case, what interests me is Art and its power of transformation – because it is Art. Yes, I believe that art can transform a human being, any human being.

This is my challenge in Venice, like elsewhere: to produce work that http://www.biennialfoundation.org/2011/05/crystal-of-resistance-thomas-hirschhorn-in-swiss-pavilion-venice-2011/ Page 2 sur 7 Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn, in Vittoria Martini, Federica M…nother Exhibition, Postmediabooks, Milan 2011. | Biennial Foundation 08/06/11 16:55

has the power to transform. Participating in an event like the Venice Biennale is a wonderful chance to show your work; show it to the general public for a long time, six months. It is an opportunity to produce a new coherent piece and to try to answer – through that artwork – questions like, where do I place myself? What do I want? Moreover, how do I take a stand? How do I give a form to such a position – the essential problem in art – and how can this form create a truth that transcends cultural, aesthetical, and political practices? How can it create a universal truth? Other words can replace universality: justice, equality, others, and a one and only world. I cannot create universal truth through critical discourse; I must give it a form. I want to give it a form – one that must be precise and exaggerated at the same time – in order to establish a contact with a “non-exclusive audience”. The “non-exclusive audience” are the viewers for my work in Venice, like elsewhere. All this is offered to me with the possibility of exhibiting my work at the Venice Biennale, which increasingly entails having a space to conquer through my notion of Art, and a space to conceive in order to establish a Critical Body.

Do you believe that the Venice Biennale can be a productive location for artists and for building

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critical discourse about a system based on national representations?

As I have already tried to answer above, I do not see why or how critical discourse on the system of national representations should interest me. Having discussions, in general, does not interest me. What I want to do with my work is to define a limit – a new limit for Art. This is my artistic ambition. This is my mission! I wouldn’t be tempted with sterile, and especially narcissistic “critical discourse”, under any circumstances. This is why I do not want to feed any narcissistic illusions nor dreams, just like I do not want to fall into distant and pragmatic cynicism. What I want to do is to establish a Critical Body and not engage in “critical discourse”. What I want is to believe in art and prove it. Believe that Art – because it is Art – can create conditions of involvement, dialogue, and one-to- one confrontation. I refuse to hold a complacent discussion when faced with a complex and chaotic world in conflict. This does not interest me, nor has it ever interested me. This famous critical discourse is fed to the artist just like a bone – often already chewed – is given to a dog. I will not bite it, although the participants of the universe of facts, opinions, and comments dislike my conduct. I am not interested, nor have I ever been interested in these particular problems. The only thing that I am

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overwhelmed with is the universal, which seems acceptable not only for an artist, but for any human being. It is an extraordinary challenge to figure out how to produce work that looks beyond the historical facts, how to produce work that clashes with the history in which I live, and how to produce work, today, that will become an ahistorical piece. I do not know of any artist who can seriously imagine basing his or her work on this type of problem in particular. Art is universal – simply because it is Art.

Having produced Swiss-Swiss Democracy in 2004, how do you view your participation as an artist who will represent Switzerland in the 2011 Venice Biennale in the national pavilion?

There is no artistic or “political” contradiction in the work I produce. There aren’t even any contradictions in the way I fight to keep my position and my art form. There is, on the contrary, coherence and a will that I want to affirm, increase and enlarge every day, for the sake of my work. I am forced to say this in such a direct way because I am under the impression that I am being understood increasingly less. I ought to say, on this occasion, that what I did with Swiss-Swiss Democracy is of evident clarity and transparency. I kept up my boycott not to exhibit in Switzerland during the period in which an http://www.biennialfoundation.org/2011/05/crystal-of-resistance-thomas-hirschhorn-in-swiss-pavilion-venice-2011/ Page 5 sur 7 Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn, in Vittoria Martini, Federica M…nother Exhibition, Postmediabooks, Milan 2011. | Biennial Foundation 08/06/11 16:55

extreme right wing Federal Councillor was in office. I totally kept it going. I maintained it because I had stated precisely that I would not exhibit in Switzerland – in fact, Swiss-Swiss Democracy was produced in Paris, France. If you boycott something, you need to find ways to maintain it – and that is what I did. You need to keep your word – and I did. I never claimed that I would give up being Swiss or that I would never work with the Swiss – I said I would no longer exhibit in Switzerland. In any case, as an artist, exhibiting is the thing I pay more dearly for. Declaring a boycott must primarily cost you something. Otherwise, it is not a boycott. None of my galleries exhibited my work for four years; therefore, none of my work sold – except for one piece at Art Basel, in Switzerland. I ask you to take my word for it, nothing more, nothing less. I’d like to be taken at my word. I was successful because my boycott was a successful one – just like all boycotts that are maintained. After four years, the extreme right-wing Swiss federal Councillor was never re-elected. He was never re-elected, much to everyone’s surprise, and I can say that it is thanks to my boycott! This boycott was successful. Since then, I have been able to exhibit in Switzerland once more, and this makes me happy! Regarding my famous contradictions, they are

http://www.biennialfoundation.org/2011/05/crystal-of-resistance-thomas-hirschhorn-in-swiss-pavilion-venice-2011/ Page 6 sur 7 Conversation with Thomas Hirschhorn, in Vittoria Martini, Federica M…nother Exhibition, Postmediabooks, Milan 2011. | Biennial Foundation 08/06/11 16:55

part of human nature: I am in favour of peace among people. I really would like everyone to lend each other a hand, though when I say this I imagine the artist as a warrior. We all must be passionate warriors! When I say this, I mean that I am in favour of the weak and of helping the weak, of working with and for the weak – although weakness, as such, is one of the things I hate the most! I admire those artists that do “nothing”. And although I love my work, I have never done enough. Yet I actually am a true workaholic.

SWITZERLAND

Crystal of Resistance

Thomas Hirschhorn

Commissioner: Urs Staub. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

Chewing the Scenery

Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz, Maria Iorio/Raphaël Cuomo, Uriel Orlow, Eran Schaerf, Tim Zulauf/KMUProduktionen and others.

Commissioner: Andreas Münch. Curator: Andrea Thal. Venue: Teatro Fondamenta Nuove (until October 2nd, 2011)

www.crystalofresistance.com

© 2011 Biennial Foundation - disclaimer

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ARTGUIDE DIARY PICKS NEWS IN PRINT FILM 500 WORDS VIDEO PREVIEWS TALKBACK A & E BOOKFORUM 中文版

500 WORDS Thomas Hirschhorn 04.24.11 RECENT ARCHIVE links

Zin Taylor talks about “The Units” Ryoji Ikeda talks about his latest work David Gordon reflects on the life and art of Max Gordon Marina Naprushkina discusses her recent work Polly Apfelbaum discusses her show in Switzerland Barbara Kruger talks about her latest exhibition

Left: Thomas Hirschhorn's schema for Crystal of Resistance. Right: Thomas Hirschhorn, Crystal of Resistance (work in progress), 2011, mixed media, dimensions variable. Along with Andrea Thal, Thomas Hirschhorn will represent Switzerland in this summer’s Venice Biennale. To complement Crystal of Resistance, his new work for the Swiss pavilion, he has made a website, which he discusses here. A monograph titled Establishing a Critical Corpus will be published on the occasion of Hirschhorn’s work in Venice. NEWS DIARY PICKS I DECIDED TO MAKE A WEBSITE to inform people about my work Crystal of Resistance. I want to Newest Reviews offer material about this new work and I want to propose an inside view––from myself––about my work Zhang Ding for the Venice Biennale. My website is not an artwork of mine but stands alongside the artwork Crystal “Fluxus and the Essential of Resistance. I want to show how I proceed in working. I want to explain where my inspiration, my Questions of Life” references, my influence, and my input––for this biennale work––are coming from. Beyond this, my Hassan Sharif website wants to assert my artistic project in general, my work position and my ambition as an artist. Matt Keegan Furthermore, I want to assert my belief in art and why I believe in art. I made this website to express: Alan Shields Where do I stand? What do I want? And also to say that I am the art worker, that I am the art soldier, “Alias” that I am the one who is doing the artwork! I want to speak in my own words––beyond journalism–– about my convictions, about my will to give form through my work and only through my work, and I “After Hours: Murals on the Bowery” want to insist on my own terms of art. I do not have an artist homepage or a blog; I do not use Paul Kos Facebook or Twitter. This is my second website: In 2009 I made a time-limited website for my work The Bijlmer Spinoza Festival in Amsterdam. “Bye Bye Kitty!!!” Richard Prince My work Crystal of Resistance will resist––as all artworks do. My website is not the artwork and my Paul Sietsema website is not part of my artwork. The site is an assertion; it is pure assertion coming from myself–– Nairy Baghramian directly––without mediation or commentaries. No press releases are needed. My site is meant as a Sean Landers toolbox, a free and open toolbox, and I hope it will work as a toolbox. My website is also an information Garth Weiser source for someone who cannot travel to Venice and cannot see my work there. My website functions Debo Eilers as a complementary fixing point during the exhibition, beside the catalogue Establishing a Critical Corpus which concerns previous works and specific aspects of my work in general and that will come out for the Biennale. I hope this website can create the conditions for a confrontation or a dialogue by establishing a critical corpus of my work and by including the nonexclusive audience. The site is a time-limited website, as announced: I will end it two months after the closing of the Biennale. It will be online for ten months altogether. It is good to renew and make space for new works. — As told to Lauren O’Neill-Butler

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Catherine Bastide Brussels, Belgium

Jacky Strenz Frankfurt, Germany Artist: Thomas Hirschhorn

Venue: The Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Exhibition Title: Crystal of Resistance

Date: June 4 – November 27, 2011

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Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com

Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com

Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com

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Courtesy of www.crystalofresistance.com

Photos by Contemporary Art Daily

Statement:

CRYSTAL OF RESISTANCE

Crystal of Resistance is the title of my work for the Swiss Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennial. Through my work Crystal of Resistance I want to question. First: Can my work create a new term of art? Second: Can my work develop a ‘Critical corpus’? Third: Can my work engage – beyond the art audience – a ‘Non-exclusive Public’? I want to answer each of these questions, these goals and these self-demanding ambitions – with my work and in my work.

I believe that art is universal, I believe that art is autonomous, I believe that art can provoke a dialogue or a confrontation – one-to-one – and I believe that art can include every human being. When I write ‘believe’, I’m doing it not because I think or know it, not because I can prove it – but because – in art – it’s a matter of believing.

With Crystal of Resistance I want to produce a work that is irresistible. This can only happen if I succeed in creating a work out of my innermost self, without confusing – as it is usually done – the inner self and ‘the personal’. I can only reach the universal if I risk conflict with my inner self. ‘The personal’ doesn’t interest me because it’s not resistant in itself, it is always an explanation – if not an excuse. My work can only have effect if it has the capacity of transgressing the boundaries of the ‘personal’, of the academic, of the imaginary, of the circumstantial, of the context and of the contemplation. With Crystal of Resistance I want to cut a window, a door, an opening or simply a hole, into reality. That is the breakthrough that leads and carries everything along.

CHILDREN AT THE RHONE GLACIER

What prompted me to work with crystals was an experience I had 15 years ago. It was on the Furkapass-Road car park, below the Rhone glacier, I saw some children who had spread out some crystals on a piece of cardboard – most likely crystals they found themselves – and were selling them. It was a simple, wonderful and universal picture, which impressed me. The same thing could have been done by children in China, Russia, Mexico or anywhere in the world. Since then I’ve wanted to do something with crystals some day.

CRYSTAL AS A MOTIF

With my work Crystal of Resistance I want to give a form that creates the conditions for thinking something new. It must be a form that enables ‘thinking’. That’s how I see the mission of art: To give a form that can create the conditions for thinking something that has not yet existed. With this form I want to create a truth, a truth that resists facts, opinions and commentaries. It is not about ‘my truth’, but about truth in itself. In order to make contact with truth, to confront truth and to be in conflict with it – conflict in art means: Creating something – I need a motif. That motif is ‘crystal’ in Crystal of Resistance.

Crystal is the motif – but the motif ‘only’ – of the form of Crystal of Resistance. Crystal is not the theme, nor the concept nor the idea of Crystal of Resistance. The motif is an assertion, a ‘setting’ and the motif is love. As a motif, ‘crystal’ is the dynamic which links and which puts light – a new light – on everything. It sheds light on its own meaning, its own time and its own raison d’être. The ‘crystal’ motif helps me point out one or several facets, because it’s only as facets – as a partial vision – that truth can be touched. ‘Crystal’ is the motif I decided upon, out of love for its beauty, for its rigor, for its power and for its openness. I, myself – must be open to its grace and its universality. I will consolidate and fix my form with the ‘crystal’ motif, I will strengthen and determine my form with the ‘crystal’ motif.

RESISTANCE

Art resists political, cultural, aesthetical habits. Art resists morality and topicality. Art – because it is art – is resistance. But art is not resistance to something, art is resistance as such. Art is resistant because it resists everything that has already existed and been known. Art, as a resistance, is assertion, movement, belief, intensity, art is ‘positive’. Art resists tradition, morality and the factual world. Art http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2011/06/venice-thomas-hirschhorn-at-the-swiss-pavilion/ Page 11 sur 14 Venice: Thomas Hirschhorn at the Swiss Pavilion (Contemporary Art Daily) 08/06/11 16:58 resists every argumentation, every explanation and every discussion.

I am not afraid of resistance, conflict, contradiction or complexity. Resistance is always connected with friction, confrontation, even destruction – but also, always with creativity. Resistance is conflict between creativity and destruction. I want to confront this conflict in Crystal of Resistance. I am myself, the ‘conflict’, and I want my work to stand in the conflict zone, I want my work to stand erect in the conflict and be resistant within it.

THE FOUR PARTS OF THE FORM AND FORCE FIELD: LOVE, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AESTHETICS

I decided – from the very beginning – to put my work in the form and force field consisting of the four parts: LOVE, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AESTHETICS. I decided that my work doesn’t have to cover equally all four parts, but every part – LOVE, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AESTHETICS – will always be covered to some extent. LOVE, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AESTHETICS are the parts of the field in which my work asserts itself and is moving.

When I decided about the two ‘light-parts’ – LOVE and PHILOSOPHY, I also decided to always include in my work the two ‘shadow-parts’ – POLITICS and AESTHETICS. I took this simultaneous decision for ‘light-parts’ and ‘shadow-parts’ because I live in a world that I understand as ‘One’, as an undivided and unique world, as a world with light and with shadow, with the negative and the positive but also with the ‘not-only-positive’ and the ‘not-only-negative’. That’s why there are ‘light- parts’ and ‘shadow-parts’ and why I set my work in the form and force field of LOVE, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, AESTHETICS.

LOVE

In the work Crystal of Resistance, the crystal is the LOVE part of my form and force field. The crystal stands for the universal, the ultimate and for the absolute. The crystal stands for beauty itself. I am thinking of someone. I am thinking of a child, a girl who finds her ‘own crystal’ – perhaps her first – she finds it herself or receives it as a gift, and – for this girl – it’s the most beautiful crystal, and to her, it will always remain the ‘most beautiful’! That’s why each crystal is for me the ‘most beautiful’. This is the LOVE part in my form and force field. I know that there are different qualities and that these quality differences can be explained. I am interested in the ‘beauty’, not in the ‘quality’ of the crystal. ‘Quality’ has never interested me and to me it’s an exclusive and empty word and I decided years ago to always follow the ‘guideline’ in my work: “Quality = No! Energy = Yes!”. Because clearly, beauty is not subjective – beauty is absolute and universal.

PHILOSOPHY

The part PHILOSOPHY in Crystal of Resistance stands for the conviction that art is resistance, resistance as such. Other concepts for resistance are: Headlessness, Hope, Will, Madness, Courage, Risk, Fight. These terms belong to the PHILOSOPHY part of my form and force field and are what I want to give form to. A form that only I can give, a form that only I see in that way and that only I understand, a form that only I know, and a form that only I can defend. Crystal of Resistance wants to be a form that – in itself – is resistance.

The most important thing in art is the question of form. To recognize this, is the PHILOSOPHY part of my form and force field. Therefore, in Crystal of Resistance the question of form is the central concern. Form is the essence and the ‘setting’ of this work. Crystal of Resistance will – in itself – be form in itself, the truth in itself, the real. I want Crystal of Resistance to be ‘the new’ – something which has created its own body.

I ask myself: How can I give a form that resists historical facts? How can I give a form that goes beyond the here and the now? And how can I make a trans-historical work, in my time, in my history, today? My problem – as an artist – is: How can I take up a position and give that position a form? How can that form – beyond conventions – create a truth? How can that form, my form, create a universal truth?

POLITICS

In Crystal of Resistance the part POLITICS questions: How to act? How to work? With and under what conditions? I want to work in necessity, in urgency and in a panic. This should be understood as: Panic is the solution! That’s the POLITICAL. Art reaches beyond solutions, art can confront problems, art is the problem and art can give form to the problem. There’s no solution to figure out – on the contrary – the problem must be confronted. And this is only possible in a panic. Panic is what gives form and this form is art. Therefore panic is a necessity in art.

I want to work in over-haste, I want to work in headlessness and I want to work in panic.

I want to work with the precarious and in the precarious. This is to be understood as the POLITICAL. The POLITICAL is, to understand the precarious not as a concept, but to understand it as a condition. http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2011/06/venice-thomas-hirschhorn-at-the-swiss-pavilion/ Page 12 sur 14 Venice: Thomas Hirschhorn at the Swiss Pavilion (Contemporary Art Daily) 08/06/11 16:58

A condition that is a matter of accepting – frenetically and in awareness.

The precarious must be affirmed and it is necessary to enter the camp of the precarious. The change, the new and the revolutionary lie in this affirmation – this is the POLITICAL. The precarious is the dynamic, the path, the possibility and the movement that is offered to human beings. The future consists in the affirmation of this precarious. This precarious which is also the non-assured, the non- guaranteed, the non-stabilized and the non-established. It will be the future because the precarious is always creative, because the precarious is always inventive, because the precarious is in motion, because the precarious leads to new forms, because the precarious shapes a new geography, because the precarious starts with a new exchange between human beings and because the precarious creates new values.

Wouldn’t it be possible, that instead of wanting to shield ourselves from the precarious, instead of wanting to deny the precarious and instead of wanting to turn away from the precarious, the opposite – its affirmation – be the universal? Wouldn’t it be possible that justice, equality and the truth be constitutive of the precarious – shared by so many today?

AESTHETICS

The AESTHETICS part consists of the questions: How does the work look? What visual appearance does it have? What materials and what colors come out? I want my work Crystal of Resistance to be an indestructible and earthly dwelling of the gods - as the cave of the giant crystals of the Naica Mine in Mexico. I want to create a place that is so strange, so entirely from myself – only from myself – and so distinct that it becomes universal. I want to make a large, dense, highly charged, luminous and meaningful work. There will be many elements to see, there will be ‘too much’. It has to be ‘too much’, not because it is important to get to see everything or spend a lot of time looking, but ‘too much’ so that the things do not lie. I want to give form to the thought, that truth can be shaped out of facets and that truth can be touched only in a non-unified scale.

With the AESTHETICS part of my form and force field I can create a frontal and bi-dimensional work in the available space. A work that doesn’t allow to ‘step back’. With my AESTHETICS decision there is no possible overview, no distance and no illusion of detachment. This is what AESTHETICS can do. This is what I – in full blindness and full speed – want to assert and ‘hold high’. It’s with this AETHETICS that I want to insist.

I want to produce a work that is reminiscent of the AESTHETICS of a ‘science-fiction’ B-movie film set, that derives from the AESTHETICS of a self-made rock-crystal museum, of the AESTHETICS of a ‘crystal-meth’ laboratory or that resembles the AESTHETICS of a cheaply decorated provincial disco.

SWISS PAVILION

I want the work Crystal of Resistance to be experienced as something autonomous. It therefore has to be inside a recipient or an envelope in order to make clear: This is a time-limited work. I’m thinking of a skin, a shell or a geode. I’m not thinking about altering the given exhibition space and I’m not interested in working ‘against’ or ‘for’ the existing architecture of the Swiss Pavilion. I work with the space that exists. It’s not about ‘negating’ an exhibition space – it’s always about how the work asserts itself in the space as something autonomous. What is important to me is to use the available exhibition space as a container for my work, I want to create the conditions, which make it clearly understandable, that the space is the shell which contains my work.

I want it to be explicit that the work Crystal of Resistance can also be shown at a different location, in a different city, in a different country or on a different continent. I am for universality and for autonomy – I am never concerned with context. The envelope or container that I will make is the assertion of my work’s autonomy. I believe that art is autonomous and I love art for its autonomy – the autonomy which gives the work its beauty and the autonomy which gives the work its absolute.

REFERENCE BOOKS

My reference books are the books and texts that I have read while working on Crystal of Resistance. They are my references and constitute a reference-booklist. These books aren’t the inspiration or the explanation for Crystal of Resistance and have no hierarchal order, all books and texts are equally important for me. All these books and texts can be significant to me, no book and no text is unimportant.

Reading these books was a pleasure. But it’s not by reading them that my work can be understood, because I read these books by luck and grace – I can even say: By chance. These books and texts accompanied me as I worked. I bought some books myself, others were given to me or brought to me by friends who knew that I wanted to do the work Crystal of Resistance. These books and texts are my companions.

These books or texts are: Fernando Pessoa: “Message”; Edouard Glissant: “Poétique de la Relation”

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Thomas Hirschhorn, Aubervilliers, 2011 (translated from German) www.crystalofresistance.com

Link: Venice: Thomas Hirschhorn at the Swiss Pavilion

Tags: Europe, Italy, Thomas Hirschhorn, Venice, Venice Biennale, Venice Biennale 2011

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