RE-Enactment: erfaring, hukommelse og rekonstruksjoner er en serie på tre forelesninger i april 2005 organisert av Kunstakademiet i Bergen og Bergen Kunsthall.
Onsdag 6. april 2005 kl. 19.00
Onsdag 13. april 2005 kl. 19.00
Onsdag 20. april 2005 kl. 19.00
Onsdag 6. april 2005 kl. 19.00
Screening: Jeremy Deller and Mike Figgis, ‘The Battle of Orgreave’ (2001), 60”
Preceded by Igor Sevcuk, ‘The Lost Village’ (2001), 12”
Jeremy Deller’s ‘The Battle of Orgreave’ is a piece of ‘living history’. It is a spectacular re-enactment of the violent confrontation between striking mineworkers and the authorities at the village of Orgreave in 1984, which marked a tragic turning point in the struggle between the trade union movement and the Thatcher government. Together with historical re-enactment expert Howard Giles, Deller orchestrated a restaging of the dramatic event with miners and policemen who had been involved in the actual conflict as well as members of re-enactment societies accustomed to assuming historical roles. The event provided an opportunity for reunion and reminiscing, but also for reliving still-raw emotions. More than a reconstruction, the re-enactment seems to instigate a reworking of the conflict in the present and a complex renegotiation of positions and perspectives. In an extra twist, some of the police were played by former miners, and vice versa. ‘The Battle of Orgreave’ was filmed by documentary maker Mike Figgis, who intercut footage of the re-enacted clash and its production with dramatic stills from the 1984 conflict and a commentary on the misrepresentation of the course of events in the original media coverage.
Jeremy Deller is an artist based in London, and winner of the prestigious Turner Prize in 2004 Much of his work involves collaboration with individuals and groups of people. He acts as curator, producer or director of a broad range of projects, including orchestrated events, films and publications, which draw attention to forms of culture on the fringes of the mainstream or reveal hidden histories.
With thanks to Artangel for the permission to screen the film.
Onsdag 13. april 2005 kl. 19.00
Screening: Peter Watkins, ‘Punishment Park (1971), 120”
British filmmaker Peter Watkins makes historical re-enactments and fictional documentaries that challenge the conventions of reportage. The re-enactments are made in collaboration with nonprofessional actors, who are required to research their character’s subject position within the enacted situation. And the camera is always visibly present, making us aware that the media and the viewers are more than passive observers.
‘Punishment Park’ presents a ‘what if’ scenario or ‘alternate history’. In the story, civil unrest caused by America’s military involvement abroad leads to the declaration of an ‘internal security emergency’. Secret detention camps are established to hold antiwar demonstrators, militants, pacifists and those who ‘may be involved in future, possible certain acts of sabotage’. Convicted offenders are given the chance to avoid lengthy prison sentences with the option of a three-day stay in Punishment Park. The film follows Corrective Group 637 through their trial and their fatal journey through Punishment Park, where they must cross the desert and reach an American flag while being chased by the National Guard. A BBC documentary crew films the proceedings.
The scenario of ‘Punishment Park’ seems shockingly pertinent today. Yet in the context of 1971 it can also be seen as direct commentary on the US involvement in the Vietnam War and the trial of the Chicago Eight war protesters. The film was wholly improvised on location by non-professionals who actually held the political views they express in the film. The resulting climate became so realistic and tension-filled that at one point Watkins feared the actors playing Guardsmen had loaded their weapons with live ammunition to shoot real bullets at the protesters.
With thanks to Rebond pour la commune for permission to screen the film.
Onsdag 20. april 2005 kl. 19.00
Screening & talk: Deimantas Narkevicius
Lithuanian artist Deimantas Narkevicius creates complex, poetic explorations of post-Soviet society and the relationship of its peoples to their past, and grapple with universal questions about how, why and what we remember. The films often explore the collisions between individual and collective history, and between people’s experience in concrete historical situations and ideological myths. Narkevicius focuses on the individual, structuring his work around personal stories and testimonies. Yet his works also challenge the supposed truthfulness of the documentary genre, by employing found footage, animation, and historical visual techniques and by separating the voice of the narrator from the image we see. Narkevicius will present his films ‘His-story’ (1998), ‘Energy Lithuania’ (2000) and ‘The Role of a Lifetime’ (2003) (with and about Peter Watkins), and talk about his interest in history, memory, recollection and reconstruction.
Erfaring og hukommelse befinner seg i krysningspunktet mellom det personlige og deT kollektive. Disse forelesningene har til hensikt å vise hvordan kunstnere bruker dramatiserte rekonstruksjoner for å utforske hvordan erfaring og hukommelse er kulturelt konstruert og basert på personlige erfaringer ladet med begjær og frykt, så vel som politiske ideologier.
Foredragsholderne vil fokusere på hvordan kunstnerne tar i bruk lekne og parodierende virkemidler og utsetter ofte den individuelle kroppen for fare, både i metaforisk og bokstavlig forstand. På denne måten opplever betrakteren en erkjennelse av det umulige i å innta et distansert standpunkt, eller i å skille mellom følelsesmessig reaksjon og analytisk refleksjon, noe som kjennetegner nettopp erfaringens og hukommelsens landskap.
Anke Bangma