Received 18. 10. 2006 -- 23:50 from from
Family Values / Familienwerte
/ Family Values
/ Familienwerte
/ Valeurs de famille
/ Valores de la familia
RUEDIGER JOHN
Installative interventions in private nyc
residences as a situative
aesthetic approach on micro-politics in social
subsystems.
At five venues in New York City, Manhattan
(Upper East Side, Chelsea, Midtown, Greenwich
Village, Hells Kitchen)
Tuesday, September, 19th to Monday, September,
25th 2006
"- Ever been to a private dwelling at Upper East
Side, perhaps to one
with a magnificent view on Central Park and a
porch appropriate to the
social position of its inhabitants? It might look
like a pleasure to
live there at first, but you shouldn't judge too
easily. The remnants
of familiy traditions fill as furniture actually
generous town lofts
and are often accompanied by newer objects made to
look alike; or
interior designers have left undeniable traces in
a permanent race to
compete in what is representative and socially
indispensable.
But more things linger in the heads of some
old-established family
bonds, network of relatives, not to mention the
neighbours - among them
some stories you don't want to know and topics you
should better not
come up with. But let's have a look just at the
furnishing and see
what we can do about that..."
Along with an ongoing conversation with the
inhabitants, the artist
Ruediger John altered furnishings and interior
design elements within
the residences, added objects and parts to
camouflage or as situative
emphasises - according to his aesthetic approach
of artistic work.
Focused details by taking photos will become part
of the permanently
exhibited art.
This exhibition is part of a week-long series of
events and meetings
referring to the european turn-of-the-century
intellectual salon
culture. Curated by Paul Kovac, in five private
spaces an invited
audience will meet, participate, discuss and enjoy
exhibited works of
art, literature and music, performances and
presentations.
To be visited by invitation only.
http://artrelated.net/ruediger_john
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/ ad utrumque paratus
/ Some Remarks On Aesthetic Possibilities Of
Unfinished Works of Art
RUEDIGER JOHN
Artist Statement & Talk
for NYU students and open to the public
New York University
Languages & Literature Building
19 University Place
Wednesday, September, 20th 2006 - 3:30 pm
In his statement the artist Ruediger John points
out the intrinsic
possibilities - or rather abilities - a work of
art can have if it is
still unfinished (or considered so).
"[...] Typically we rely on and value works of art
that are already
completed by the artist (unless there is a nice or
tragic little
anecdote why he or she was not able to finish it)
- because we want to
be sure e.g. a) it is worth the time to look at b)
we can lean back to
enjoy, judge and criticise c) it can be bought as
it is d) and so forth.
The crucial point is: We want to be secured about
the character and
impact of the piece of art. But what if an artist
obviously does not
give the audience this secured position? What if a
work of art can bite
you in the ass some time later - because it is
developing its teeth
while you already own it (as a simpler way of an
interventionistic
effect)? Or, more important, if a work of art uses
its obviously
unfinished characteristic to refer to, or rather
inherit the qualities
of what remains open and 'unsolved' as an
additional source of 'value'?
But not to define every detail of a work can make
it more dependable on
influences of its surroundings (it is a problem
every artwork faces -
and most of all the classical form of painting
does) - a contemporary
artist has to incorporate this in the work during
the process of
creation [...]"
(Ruediger John in an interview with Paul Kovac)
He also talks about what happens if he employs
elements and tactics
used in performance art to create installative
works in an
interventionistic way (e.g. outside the
preoccupied perspective of
audiences in gallery spaces, museums and other
'white cubes') using
camouflage and irritation to guide and focus the
aesthetics of an
audience - to ultimately broaden its experiences
(maybe).
