JOHAN GRIMONPREZ
28 MARCH – 7 JUNE 2009
Johan Grimonprez’s latest work Double Take (2009) is part of the Magasin 3 collection and is here presented for the first time at an institution in Europe. The film is a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock and his popular role as presenter in his own TV series The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1955-65). Material by and about Hitchcock is interwoven with TV footage of the Cold War – a period where prosperity and the American idyll were disrupted by political turbulence. Fact and fiction merge in this experimental film investigating how our perception of reality is influenced by mass media, advertising and Hollywood. The narrative is inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ short story August 25, 1983 where the author meets an older version of himself. For Double Take the British writer Tom McCarthy has changed the plot to make Hitchcock meet himself. To a certain extent the work is an adaptation and continuation of Grimonprez’s film Looking for Alfred (2005).
The exhibition’s curator, Tessa Praun, says: “The exhibition also features the work Manipulators – Maybe the sky is really green, and we’re just colorblind / YouTube-o-theque from 2006 which is a collection of video clips taken from the Internet’s endless flow of information such as on YouTube and blogs. Again we find a mix of reality and fiction and an imminent risk of manipulation.”
Curator: Tessa Praun
Approximate screening times: Thursday–Sunday: 11:10, 12:30, 13:50, 15:10: Thursday also: 16:30, 17:50
Johan Grimonprez had his great breakthrough at the end of the 1990’s with the work Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997) – a film collage of airplane hijackings as shown in different media such as TV news, propaganda films and cartoons. The artist was born in 1962 in Belgium; he lives and works in Brussels and New York.
WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION
“DOUBLE TAKE”
Johan Grimonprez
2009, 80 minutes
Collection Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall
“MANIPULATORS – MAYBE THE SKY IS REALLY GREEN, AND WE’RE JUST COLORBLIND / YOUTUBE-O-THEQUE”
Curated by Johan Grimonprez and Charlotte Léouzon
2006
"Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Number Twenty-Two." Still from "DOUBLE TAKE" by Johan Grimonprez, 2009.
Courtesy of Universal |
"Leonid Brezhnev - Nikita Khrushchev, April 17, 1964."
Still from "DOUBLE TAKE" by Johan Grimonprez, 2009.
Courtesy of Zapomatik |
"Unknown Unknowns, Donald Rumsfeld, Department of Defense News Briefing, February 12, 2002" Still from "DOUBLE TAKE" by Johan Grimonprez, 2009
Courtesy of Zapomatik |
"Manipulators-YouTube-o-theque". Installation view Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, 2009.
Courtesy Johan Grimonprez and Charlotte Léouzon. Photo: Anna Eriksson |
PROGRAM IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EXHIBITION
Lecture by Johan Grimonprez
Thursday May 28th at 6pm in the lobby at Magasin 3
As a point of departure for his talk, Grimonprez will use a work, the so called YouTube-o-theque, that is shown in the lobby at Magasin 3. This collection of video clips taken from the Internet’s endless flow of information, illustrate his interest in how media influences our perception of reality. Starting with this general theme of interest Grimonprez will then mainly focus on the making of his newest film Double Take that is on display at Magasin 3 until June 7. The lecture will be held in English.
COLLABORATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EXHIBITION
PRESS CLIPPINGS (in Swedish)
Birgitta Rubin's interview published in Dagens Nyheter 2007-02-06
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=614322
Clemens Poellinger's interview published in Svenska Dagbladet 2007-02-08
http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/kultur/did_14583128.asp
Cristina Karlstam's review published in Upsala Nya Tidning 2007-02-10
http://www2.unt.se/avd/1,1786,MC=5-AV_ID=578856,00.html
Towe Matre's feature, broadcasted by Radio P1, Studio 1
http://www.sr.se/webbradio
Cecilia Blomberg's review broadcasted by Radio P1, Kulturnytt
http://www.sr.se/webbradio
