Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Music for Plutocracy Review - BT
«Music for Plutocracy»
• Kunstutstilling
• Kunstnar: Anne Katrine Senstad og med musikk/lydbilete av JG Thrilwell.
• Stad: S12 Galleri og Verksted, Bontelabo 2
• Utstillingsperiode: 16.01.2021-28.03.2021
Strålande lyskjekler av Renate Rivedal
S12 Galleri gjer det igjen – inviterer inn ein spanande og klok kunstnar som leikar seg i utstillingsrommet, mitt einaste problemet er at eg vil ha meir! Det kjennest ut som eg har smugkikka inn, og no lengtar eg etter meir lys, meir farge, meir neon. For neonlysa til kunstnar Anne Katrin Senstad er langt ifrå bråkete reklameskilt, det kjennest meir ut som om ein går inn i eit helande rom.
Det er noko digg og urbant, leikent og fargerikt over neonlys. Bergens Tidenes reklameskilt vakande over Torgallmenningen, Else Kåss sin gedigne McDonalds «M» hoverande over senga, Kanye West sin «Flashing Lights», amerikanske diners, glowsticks, rave og Euphoria.
Det smakar av ny tid og framtidsutsikter, men òg nostalgi, masseproduksjon og overforbruk. Det er både tiltrekkande og fråstøytande. Som ein vel-manikyrert, neonrosa peikefinger som lokkar deg til seg, før du blir blenda av digre bokstavar som skrik: KJØP! KJØP!
Anne Katrine Senstad sin installasjon er derimot langt ifrå bråkete reklameskilt, det kjennest meir ut som ein går inn i ein stilrein arkitektonisk komposisjon. At ein kjenner noko godt strømme ut av verket og inn i sinnet.
Det er som å bevege seg inn i eit stringent tempel eller ein sakral katedral. Installasjonen hennar består av tynne neonlysrøyr i ulike skarpe fargar som er festa til 10 blanke akrylsøyler. Langs veggane heng det blå og rosaraude lysrøyr som dannar store innramma felt. Om ein kjem tett innpå akrylsøylene speglar den blanke overflata seg i nettet av lysrøyr i rommet, og gjenskinet av travle vegar av energi blir vist.
Installasjonen har òg ein musikalsk dimensjon, der komponist JG Thirlwells lydbilete omsluttar verket. «Soundscape» eller lydlandskapet som er komponert særskilt til verket bølgar opp og ned i intensitet.
Av og til høyrest det ut som buldrande is, andre gongar som godteri som sprakar i munnen. Kunstverket er femte utgåve i ein serie som har blitt vist verda rundt frå Shenzhen i Kina, Jeddah i Saudi-Arabia, Tallinn i Estland, New York i USA, og no i Bergen ved S12 Galleri.
Materiale og den tradisjonelle bruken av neonlys vert ofte sett i samband med masseproduksjon, sal og reklame. Og i starten var det nettopp det som var formålet, lysande reklameskilt i Los Angeles som etter legenda faktisk skal ha stoppa trafikken i 1923.
Seinare trykte kunstnarar neongassen til sitt bryst, og i seinare tid er det gjerne «Light and Space Movement» som hadde sitt virke i California på 1960- og 70-talet som er mest kjende for sin leik med lys og eit minimalistisk geometrisk formspråk. Og det er i den meir moderne tradisjonen ein kan sjå Senstad sitt formspråk samstundes som ein kan trekke linjene langt tilbake i tid til meir klassiske byggverk.
Kunstnaren sjølv omtalar kunsten sin som både persepsjonskunst og kritisk samfunnskunst. Utstillinga kan altså sjåast på fleire plan. Ein kan oppleve den som ei reint estetisk oppleving, med sine reine fargerike flater og sin innbydande arkitektoniske form. Eller ein kan gå eit steg vidare og prøve å definere sanseinntrykka, tolke fargane og lyset sin påverknadskraft på mennesket. Korleis visuelle impulsar påverkar oss, og vårt daglege fysiske miljø. Kva fargar eigentleg gjer for oss, eller på den andre sida, kva fargar kan ta ifrå oss. Tittelen på verket «Music for Plutocracy» viser korleis kunstnaren leikar med ord. For «Musikk for plutokratiet» står i eit motsetningsforhold til det fysiske verket. Eit plutokrati er eit samfunn som er styrt av ein liten minoritet av dei mest velståande innbyggarane.
Men installasjonen som møter oss er det motsette, eit demokratisk verk, der vi som betraktar vert invitert inn i verket. Avstanden ein finn mellom eit klassisk oljemåleri på veggen og mennesket, er i Senstad sitt verk viska ut. Du vert ikkje lenger berre ein betraktar eller berre ein gjest på galleriet, men du går inn og blir ein del av verket. Og det er noko særskilt med kunst som ein kan tre inn i og verte ein del av. Opplevinga her vert forsterka av følelsen av å kjenne lyset som eit konkret objekt. Eg opplevde ei erkjenning av lys og farge som eg ofte ikkje er bevisst. Dei blanke søylene kunne for meg også reflektere menneskjeforma.
Som dei straumfarande partiklane som flyttar seg gjennom lysrøra, flyttar våre eigne celler seg rundt i kroppen vår, søylene vert som eit ekko av menneskje. Det einaste eg kunne ynskje å endre på ved utstillinga «Music for Plutocracy» er at eg ynskjer meg meir av den.
Monday, December 7, 2020
Thursday, November 26, 2020
MÔNOSIS/MONOSIS (How We Live Together)
MÔNOSIS/MONOSIS is the second short film in the cinematic monologue reading series How We Live Together with acclaimed film and TV actor Bill Sage based on French philosopher Roland Barthes lecture series How To Live Together on various formats of ideorrythmic living-together Created during the pandemic of 2020 as response to isolation and societal changes, Bill Sage adds a warmth of spirit through his narrated interpretation of the academic and literary philosophical text.
MÔNOSIS/MONOSIS examines aspects of isolation and the separation between the compartments of our inner selves, leading to conflict and displacement from unity. Barthes presents philosophical investigations on the monastic living format as a participatory yet distanced form of living in order to maintain tolerance of the repressed and a sense of unity with the utopic. The short films are considered art works for exhibition but also for regular short film screenings and festivals, and are taking place as ongoing remote collaborations between artist Anne Katrine Senstad, actor Bill Sage and composer/sound producer JG Thirlwell as the world keeps changing. The texts for each short film in How We Live Together are chapters that derive from French philosopher Roland Barthes' 1977 lecture series on ideorrythmic living formats; How To Live Together: Novelistic simulations of some everyday spaces. The first film UTOPIA was created in context of Senstad's solo exhibition How We Live Together at Yi Gallery and screened on Streaming Museum fall of 2020 as part of Senstad's ongoing critical research project Capitalism in the Public Realm.
Monday, November 23, 2020
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
ROME Central Oct 23 2020
By Sveva Manfredi Zavaglia
PATIOO Monoroom's Camilla & Firouz FarmanFarmaian opens with The Sensory Chamber by Anne Katrine Senstad, taking experiential Art to the South of Spain
PATIOO will launch September 17th, 2020 deploying the videolight work of Norwegeian- NYC based artist Anne Senstad that has created a unique site-specific video installation alongside a signature light sculpture calibrated for the occasion for the first time in Europe.
I think I have developed my artistic technique over the years as mentioned , as a result of the accumulated expriences in various fields. And hands on projects. But I went to art school in New York, at Parsons School of Design, and The New School for Social Research so my formal art education is anchored in New York. Living in New York in the 90’s through the 2000’s was a great place to develop my artistic language as well. All the museums, galleries and the intensity of the city was a great place to develop as a young artist. I also learned a lot in real time and practically hands on, out in the field working on experimental land art projects and socially engaged projects.
I don’t really have a typical day apart from the regular tasks like emails in the morning. I work best on creative and intellectual tasks in the evening, so I section up my creative work to last half of my day which is good for when I’m working in different time zones, and I do the practical things in the first part of the day – but it all varies depending on what projects I’m doing and in what part of the world. Now that we live in a new and very uncertain reality, travel is not the regular part of my time like it was before. If I’m working on several shows at once, it’s quite intense over several months, like a marathon, then I try to have a short break in between, and try to travel to replenish my energy and inspiration, but now that we are stationed with so many restrictions, one has to find new ways of taking healthy breaks. I would say my time is similar to how film productions happen probably, intense and with and arch for several months or years at a time.
I am very inspired by all the land artists, Robert Smithson, Michael Heizer, Nancy Holt. I also love the California light and space artists like Robert Irwin , Larry Bell and that whole crew. Then we have Dan Flavin of course who was an early inspiration for me. Around 12 years ago I made a piece in response to Flavin’s legacy, a text work in neon entitled “Forget Flavin”, which is a word game on Baudrillards “Oubliee Foucault” denouncing Foucault as the high priest of contemporary philosophy in France. But I would admit my piece is an ode to Flavin as much as a denouncement of ones heroes. I also love the large light environments of Lucio Fontana and of course James Turrell although I think he is over exposed now. The latin American Arte Concrete movement is very important to me, both philsosophically and politically (like the Arte Povera group was ) with the Brazilian artist Helio Oiticia and Lygia Pape. I also like the critical conceptual artist Hans Haacke a lot, and early on I was inspired by the Dadaists. Otherwise I’m very inspired by film, writing and the worlds of philosophy and ideas. Sound is a very strong inspiration to me, right now I’m listening to the minimalist composer Terry Riley’s collaborations with Don Cherry.
I use technology as a tool. The work is not about technology like many digital artists are locked onto. I wish I knew more about technology and knew it better, but I think my version of technology is an analogue take on the digital, so I mix the past and the future to create a work for the present. I’m not into VR or AR at all. But I like technology in the sense of achieving the ultimate possible sound quality and visual quality for the situation. I like the fetishistic approach to technology. Its fun to play with and have. I think technology is extremely important today, especially while we go through the societal changes and challenges, in order to keep a form of global infrastructure working, the medical industry and communication. I think its amazing that and important that artists work in technology to counter the militarization of it. For art I think it can degrade it too, it exposes weakness very fast. But we are also seeing a lot of really amazing new programs being developed now, improving the tools. I recently started following a an AI artitist on instagram to see what it would produce. Of course it’s a young female cute artist, and not an old guy! And I have to say the work she is producing is really bad, which is pretty funny. The programmers of the AI had only inserted some very limited skills and creative possibilities in it, since they are not artists themselves I imagine. I think the AI artist is already in the auction market with steep prices after only a few months art production and no history at all pre 2020.
For my creative process I am deeply influenced by space, the history , the narrative. And it also influences the development of an artwork, by contextualizing it. For example I have created large light installations in cathedrals and churches. But the installation was informed by the history of the church, its architecture, its dedication, the light of the space and how I felt there. In Texas is created a multi projection installation with sufi meditation sound in a church that was built for the first freed slaves , in 1965 as part of the Aurora Audio Visual festival. The projections merged with the stained glass windows, and also the ceiling and walls of the small church, the composition acted as a kind of soothing space of universality tat was absorbed through sound narratives, color compositions transforming the space and the act of spatial intervention. It embedded a narrative of equality for all present in the space. It was a very humbling experience. The narrative of a geographic location is interesting to consider as to how to shape an installation. Nature , light, air, aromas, sounds, people, language – all the experiential aspects of being in a location. And for me, how I can shape that into something new or transform it, and reshape the narrative to tell a new story. Meaning I use a space as the canvas and material and I alter the whole perception and nature of its existence for a set amount of time . Another large scale site specific installation I created that transformed the meaning of the place and its identity, to create a new work from, is my installation “Projections of the Surreal”, 2012 that I created in Las Posas, Xilitla, in Mexico at The Surreal Gardens, which was established by the british eccentric Edward James in the 1950’s. it’s a massive concrete sculpture park deep into the jungle resembling the manifestation of an Alice in Wonderland fantasy, merged with ideas of what the surreal is as architectural form. I was invited by the architect restoring the park and the Edward James foundation, to create color projections in transition onto the grey concrete structures, merging my work with the manifestations of this man’s mind located far into the jungle in an area that was at the time, infested by cartels. I had to get power supplied and ran projectors off of daisy-chained extension cords. As a result I documented the installation and created a short film of it. So in this instance the narrative space and geographic location informed my work very strongly and created the frame work for it. With The Sensory Chamber at Patioo Monoroom, the geographic location is for me a great inspiration that I was very excited about. The idea of the Gibraltar, the passage to the Atlantic and the new world , the architecture of the space, and the landscape informed the potential of the installation. One can say that the use of the color blue in the context of the space has a whole other connotation and experiential impact in a coastal region and its specific history.
10- What would you like to give to your public during the exhibit?
I would love for people to feel a sense of calmness and a sense of beauty, to be reminded what beauty is in this troublesome world we are in currently. Art has the ability to reach and communicate on endless levels, so there is something for everyone to take away with them from the installation. I think it is important to allow oneself to be moved by art, and not focus only in the philosophical or theoretical sides of an installation. There needs to be an aesthetic realm to it for people to engage in. But I never dictate what people should feel. Everyone is different in their responses and I love to hear what people experience from the visits.
I am working on a solo show in Norway for january 2021, that was postponed since may this year. So that will be especially meaningful to me now, both for the exhibition to produce it after all the dramatic displacement of the art from the pandemic, but also its very nice to exhibit in my home country and continue to be active there. I like the Nordic art scene a lot. This exhibition was originally part of my show at the He Xiangning Art museum in China, in 2018, so it has been waiting in storage since then. The installation is a multi chromatic large scale neon installation in the Elements series, and it will be the 5th version of my spatial neon sculpture installations. The title of the exhibition is Music for Plutocracy, which references our critical times, and the need for transformation from greed and the disenfranchisement of humanity towards a radically new value system. The title is a word play on what I see as Brian Eno’s 70’s muzak venture, “Music for Airports”. Neon was traditionally used for selling products, for seduction, and for propaganda or signage with statements, it is a symbol of the capitalistic system in that identity. Here in this version of “Elements”, it is re conseptualized into a matrix system and structurally a “tunnel of light”, referencing the traditional symbol of rebirth. In my more critical work, I merge the conceptual and spatial and use that as a platform to discuss philosophical approaches to ethics and societal issues. Another series of works I am doing now, is a short film series in collaboration with a well known American actor from the independent film scene, Bill Sage, where my 10 min short film vignettes take on 5 chapters from Roland Barthes pedagogical book “How To Live Together”. So we completed the first chapter, Utopie/Utopia, which has been shown with Yi Gallery in New York and in a group show with Nordic artists working in technology in response to today’s global situation at Streaming Museum. So the next step is the production of the next 4 chapters from the book. This is a remote collaboration, so it’s a pretty interesting way of working, Afterall the film is also about the human condition of the current times, so the process is part of the film as well.
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
THE SENSORY CHAMBER - PATIOO MONOROOM / SPAIN
The Sensory Chamber
Anne Katrine Senstad with sound by JG Thirlwell
Patioo Monoroom
Sotogrande, Spain
September 17 - December 17, 2020
Almost out of the sky, half of the moon anchors between two mountains.Whirling, wandering night, the digger of eyes.Let us see how many sparkling stars disperse a watery body.
Almost Out of the Sky, Poem 11
Pablo Neruda, 1924
The Sensory Chamber presents a multi sensory environment where we are invited into an intimate dialogue between two central art works, The Sensory Chamber, Version III, 2020 and Babel no 08, 2020. The Sensory Chamber explores the immensity of space by invoking the internal geography of the viewer’s physical self through the use of transmitted color in hues of blues and whites enveloped in a radiant soundscape resonating the experience of light particles, electricity and spatial vastness created for the installation by acclaimed New York based composer JG Thirlwell.
Press Release HERE
Visit PATIOO Monoroom website HERE