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9/2/2007

The V Effect

Nikolaj Kunsthal - Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen

Group show

curated by Sanne Kofod Olsen

Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, presents the exhibition The V-effect which takes as its starting point playwright and social critic Bertolt Brecht who in the 1920’s and 1930’s revolutionised dramatic art with
his theory on the Verfremdungseffekt (“the alienation effect”). The V-effect undermines the dramatic illusion by pointing to the constituent parts of the play itself as fiction and constructed reality. Brecht used his Verfremdung to provoke his audience to take a stand in terms of society and culture. The artists of this exhibition similarly concern themselves with societal issues - with a direct or indirect reference to Brecht’s epoch-making dramatic theories, his plays or his life and person.

Joachim Koester (DK) presents the photographic work Brecht-huset, ("The Brecht House"), showing Brecht's house in Svendborg where he lived in exile from 1933 to 1939. In Koester's work, there is a tension between the idyllic atmosphere surrounding the house and the harsh European realities of the time which had forced Brecht to flee. The photographs were taken in 2005 but refer to events in the past, thus creating a time gap between past and present.

Frans Jacobi (DK) takes as his starting point the Brecht play The Roundheads and the Peakheads, revolving around racism and Nazism in the 1930's. For The V-effect, Frans Jacobi in two performances will reenact the play, but in the process translating the cast and the scenes into a contemporary Danish context. Performances at the opening on February 9 at 6 pm and on Sunday February 18 from 1 to 5 pm. Video documentation of the two performances will constitute the work at the exhibition.

For this exhibition, Michael Baers (US) has created the work The Truth is Concrete and the Concrete is Abstract. The work is a cartoon, taking as its starting point Brecht's stay in Svendborg and juxtaposing it with today's Danish policy towards foreigners. Theoretically, the starting point is Brecht's theories on the epic theatre and its function, employing the "Verfremdungseffekt" as the work's artistic method.

Maryam Jafri (US/PAK/DK) The work The American Theatre consists of sound and pictures from the trials against Communists in the US in the 1940's and '50's - including the trial against Brecht himself. As sound and images, the trials have been staged in an installation, revolving around themes such as the act of accusation; the state of being outside the prevalent societal norm; and the limitation of freedom of speech.

In his work, Lars Mathisen (DK) works with a theoretically precise method of "Verfremdung". His work in three parts Den som ler har endnu ikke hørt de dårlige nyheder ("He who laughs hasn't heard the bad news yet") is a video projection based on Danish public information, European mysticism and American pop music.

Yvette Brackman (US/DK) takes as her starting point an interpretation of Brecht's Lehrstück ("learning-play") The Catalyst. The work consists of a video depicting factory workers in Russia and in Majorca and addressing issues such as power hierarchies, oppression and adaptation. The work furthermore includes a performance of The Catalyst which will take place on Saturday February 10 at 2 pm, Saturday February 17 at 2 pm, and on Thursday February 22 at 5 pm.

In her work Founding of the City of Mahagonny, Ann Lislegaard (NO/DK) uses page one of the Brecht play Mahagonny to create a sound installation in which a number of voices quote excerpts from the original text. Each word on the page has been subjected to close scrutiny in Lislegaard's search for a "third meaning" or hidden potential in the text.

Using a Brecht quote as his starting point, Lars Bent Petersen (DK) has produced a series of drawings which, from a critical perspective, depicts everyday life in Denmark today. Among other things, he looks at the cut-downs in public benefits and the current large private consumption.

In his work Local News, Gerard Byrne (IRL) employs the "Verfremdungseffekt" as his working method. It consists of photos of different Dublin localities and using the subject matter of these photos, the artists points to some current states of affairs and trends.

Nikolaj - Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center
Nikolaj Plads 10 - Copenhagen
Opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm; Thursday 12 pm - 9 pm; Monday closed

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