Josh Muller
dal 16/1/2003 al 16/2/2003
Segnalato da
16/1/2003
Josh Muller
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art - Old location, New York
Explosive detection system (Sculpture) and N.I.C.J.O.B 'Breaker', video. Explosive Detection System, a full scale replica of a baggage x-ray machine, is a return to the archetypal airport of Josh Muller's 2000 series 'Les Constructions du Ciel.' N.I.C.J.O.B. (Nicolas Jasmin) does just the opposite with Breaker. By digitally looping a break-dancer into a never-ending head spin, he defies that dancer's physicality, rendering him unaccountable to forces like gravity and fatigue.
"Explosive detection system" (Sculpture)
&
N.I.C.J.O.B "Breaker", video
Explosive Detection System, a full scale replica of
a baggage x-ray machine, is a return to the
archetypal airport of Josh Müller's 2000 series "Les
Constructions du Ciel." Unlike the miniaturized
gangways and terminals in that series, however,
Explosive Detection System focuses on an apparatus
often seen but rarely scrutinized, investing it with
an existential weight that's almost human.
Indeed, Explosive Detection System is not so much a
replica as it is a portrait in sculpture. Faithful
in every external detail, the interior of the
sculpture is nonetheless empty and non-functional,
fore- grounding the physicality of something
originally designed without regard to its
appearance. As in a human portrait, Müller's
sculpture turns an agent into an object, deflecting
the significance of the x-ray machine away from how
it sees and onto how it looks. With its masses of
rectangular volumes commanding the center of the
gallery, Explosive Detection System represents a
powerful vision of maximal minimalism.
N.I.C.J.O.B. (Nicolas Jasmin) does just the opposite
with Breaker. By digitally looping a break-dancer
into a never-ending head spin, he defies that
dancer's physicality, rendering him unaccountable to
forces like gravity and fatigue. The man simply
becomes a machine, his perpetual motion inseparable
from that of the electrical equipment playing it
back.
The hip-hop subject is an apt one for N.I.C.J.O.B.,
whose appropriation and re-mixing of existing
footage places him firmly in the "scratch video"
tradition. "Scratch video" is a relatively recent
development in video art, and its practitioners take
their inspiration from the sampled, cut and looped
approach pioneered by hip-hop and techno deejays.
And in keeping with the spirit of these musical
genres, the rhythm of Breaker is a celebration of
movement. In time, though, the impression shifts.
As its repetition gives way to a meditative state,
its lone figure begins to recall a yogi mastering a
particularly difficult pose.
Müller and N.I.C.J.O.B. are both re-construction
workers, painstakingly building new realities from
existing fragments.
Opening reception: January 17, 7-10 pm
Join Priska Juschka and the artists at the gallery
for an opening reception on Friday, January 17th
from 7:00 - 10:00 PM.
Gallery hours: Thursday through Monday 12:00 to 6:00
PM or by appointment.
Image: N.I.C.J.O.B "Breaker", video still, 2002
PRISKA C. JUSCHKA FINE ART
97 North 9th Street, (Berry Street & Wythe Ave.) Brooklyn, NY 11211
T: 718 782-4100 F: 718 782-4800