Last year I saw an excellent exhibition by Spanish artist Jordi Colomer, at the Jeu de Paume in Paris. I almost did not go and see it, as I am not a big fan of video art ( but this is changing). My favourite installation was the Anarchitekton series.
In Artforum, Lillian Davies writes:
Using the camera as a means to investigate sculptural and architectural forms, Jordi Colomer tugs at
the fabric of urban life. In this exhibition of new and recent works, he transforms the gallery space,
intensifying the scenarios embedded within his still and moving images. Colomer infuses the
galleries with a visceral aesthetic: His films are projected onto wooden panels, and a motley
collection of beat-up chairs is arranged against the wall of almost every room. In his installation
Anarchitekton, 2002–2004, four projected films and maquettes offer a lo-fi mimicry that strikes at the
constructed fiction of an original. Sending his character Idroj Sanicne through the bustling streets of
Barcelona, Bucharest, BrasÃlia, and Osaka while carrying a cardboard model of a high-rise building
visible along his route, Colomer evokes acts of both protest and devotion.
These images are from here.
Behind the room showing the videos of the man running with the cardboard buildings were the actual models themselves. They were all lined up, leaning against a white wall. I have to say that these works were amongst the best things that I saw on my whole trip. I really loved the video element but I loved the cardboard buildings even more. They were rudimentily made but captured perfectly the essence of not only the original buildings, but also and more importantly the essence of what he was saying about the whole thing. So simple and yet so complex at the same time. And on top of all that, it was also very funny. I realised how important objects were to me, that the experience of looking was enhanced by the real object, not an image of it, or a video. That an object tells the story of how it was made and also why it was made.
This image is from here
In Artforum, Lillian Davies writes:
Using the camera as a means to investigate sculptural and architectural forms, Jordi Colomer tugs at
the fabric of urban life. In this exhibition of new and recent works, he transforms the gallery space,
intensifying the scenarios embedded within his still and moving images. Colomer infuses the
galleries with a visceral aesthetic: His films are projected onto wooden panels, and a motley
collection of beat-up chairs is arranged against the wall of almost every room. In his installation
Anarchitekton, 2002–2004, four projected films and maquettes offer a lo-fi mimicry that strikes at the
constructed fiction of an original. Sending his character Idroj Sanicne through the bustling streets of
Barcelona, Bucharest, BrasÃlia, and Osaka while carrying a cardboard model of a high-rise building
visible along his route, Colomer evokes acts of both protest and devotion.
These images are from here.
Behind the room showing the videos of the man running with the cardboard buildings were the actual models themselves. They were all lined up, leaning against a white wall. I have to say that these works were amongst the best things that I saw on my whole trip. I really loved the video element but I loved the cardboard buildings even more. They were rudimentily made but captured perfectly the essence of not only the original buildings, but also and more importantly the essence of what he was saying about the whole thing. So simple and yet so complex at the same time. And on top of all that, it was also very funny. I realised how important objects were to me, that the experience of looking was enhanced by the real object, not an image of it, or a video. That an object tells the story of how it was made and also why it was made.
This image is from here