U
dal 10/3/2004 al 18/4/2004
Segnalato da
10/3/2004
U
Fundacio Joan Miro', Barcelona
The Joan Miro' Foundation presents 'U', an exhibition by the French artist Claude Closky that is a reflection on market forces, the designer label fetish and the consumer society that surrounds us. 'U', his project for the Espai 13, is a video installation consisting of a succession of advertising slogans aimed directly at the viewer/customer – U know how, U save 50%, U have an eye 4 beauty, etc. – banal messages that no longer sell brands but lifestyles. Closky uses SMS language, the way of writing created by mobile phone users that the advertising world has adopted in order to reach the maximum number of consumers.
by Claude Closky
Espai 13
Angle of vision: 143º
Objects in the rear view mirror are closer than they appear
Curator: Montse Badia
'U' by Claude Closky
The Joan Miró Foundation presents 'U', an exhibition by the French artist Claude Closky that is a reflection on market forces, the designer label fetish and the consumer society that surrounds us.
'U', his project for the Espai 13, is a video installation consisting of a succession of advertising slogans aimed directly at the viewer/customer – U know how, U save 50%, U have an eye 4 beauty, etc. – banal messages that no longer sell brands but lifestyles. Closky uses SMS language, the way of writing created by mobile phone users that the advertising world has adopted in order to reach the maximum number of consumers.
By confronting us with this specific form of communication that we all live with, Closky provides us with a self-portrait of the society to which we belong, but in a light-hearted manner without any moralising overtones. He subtly underlines the techniques of seduction and suggestion that daily determine our choices through the messages that bombard us on all sides. He appeals to our capacity for reaction in order to alter our perception of reality, to increase our awareness and to stimulate us into questioning and doubting.
Claude Closky (Paris, 1963) works with different media – drawing, video, photography, objects, sound and computers – according to his needs. He invents systems of classification in which he at times identifies an order, at other times destroys them, reaching the conclusion that their logic is absurd. He creates directories and lists of abstract typologies, questioning structures that are seemingly objective, such as letters, calendars or numbers, and treating them all as trivialities. He likes to produce inventories, such as the first thousand numbers in alphabetical order (1989), a list of the days by order of magnitude (1994), lists of sayings, arranging them in size from the longest to the shortest; or he invites us on an entertaining journey during which we have to constantly choose between two alternatives, in order to demonstrate how impossible it is to systematically classify replies in fixed or conclusive interpretations (Do you want Love or Lust, 1997).
For more information about Claude Closky please consult his website or contact the Press Department at the Joan Miró Foundation: Mercè Sabartés.
Opening: Thursday, 11 March, at 19.30.
Image: Espai 13
Fundació Joan Miró
Parc de Montjuic, s/n
08038 Barcelona
Tel. 00/34 934 439 484
Fax 00/34 933 298 609