Musée d'art contemporain
February 11th - May 22nd 2016
curated by John Zeppetelli
Video Installation
In his dramatic and humorous works, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson combines live performance with music to create manifestly romantic environments. He probes the tragicomic aspects of life in which sadness collides with happiness, horror with beauty, and drama with humour; he plays with themes from art history—the painter and model, the sacred space of the artist’s studio—which he then deconstructs by opening his studio to the public.
Kjartansson stages performances that are melancholic, but also contain comical and absurd moments in which he exaggerates the poses and attitudes of a diverse set of images of the artist. In his performances, which may stretch over weeks or even months, he studies not only his own physical and psychological limits, in the tradition of early performance art, but also the status of the artist and its multiple representations.
Thoughts
The Visitors was most striking. Beautifully and gently sorrowful while being filled with joy. Engaging interplay between moving viewers and moving performers. Completely captivating.
I enjoyed that I could experience the piece for the nostalgia of past togetherness, for the playful game of trying to place together the house that they were performing in, and falling into the mesmerizing qualities of their unaffected airs. The whole piece felt so incredibly sincere.
