![]() |
Joseph del Pesco email |
Projects & Exhibitions: |
|
|
Black Market Type & Print Shop June, 2008
On Being An ExhibitionOctober, 2007
Collective FoundationApril, 2007
Project PlacementNovember, 2006
Heroes & AmateursNovember, 2006
3 Solo-Artist ProjectsApril, 2006
Horwinski Poster ShowSeptember, 2005
|
|
Domestic Multiplex: Heroes & Amateurs Artists: Althea Thauberger, Guy Ben Ner, Harrell Fletcher (with Chris Johanson and others), and Kevin Schmidt The Domestic Multiplex series brings four semi-narrative artist videos to the homes of local residents. Home-screening visits are made by appointment and are accompanied by the program curator. The program was limited to 10 visits. The word hero appears in Greek mythology denoting a person willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. More generally, a hero is one who displays bravery and strength and, in ancient Greece, was understood as living between the gods and man. The amateur, can either be understood as the opposite of a professional or, looking to the latin root, a "lover of." While the tension inherent in the binary proposed by the title of this program is not initially apparent, if translated into the contemporary vernacular: the fan (amateur) exists in relation to the star (hero). In these four videos, presented in two parts, the difference between hero and amateur is confused and complicated as the two roles are conflated via fictional narrative. More specifically, amateur actors, who are also often the subjects of these videos, take-on the role of heroes in various and unusual ways. In the program, artist Guy Ben Ner reinvents the famous Melville novel Moby Dick by tracing the storyline in a low-tech and often humorous form in the artist's kitchen in Israel. Taking on the role of Captain Ahab and other characters as a form of play with his young daughter, Ben Ner's video presents a domestic portrait set in contrast to one of the most important literary works of the 19th century. In The Forbidden Zone Harrell Fletcher & Chris Johanson work with David Jarvey, a developmentally disabled adult, who identifies with the character Christopher Pike from an early episode of Star Trek. Jarvey's long standing relationship with Fletcher and Johanson allows for a unique reenactment of the future. Althea Thauberger's video Northern is a single, continuous shot of a clear cut section of forest populated by young tree-planters who mysteriously awaken. The post-apocalyptic, verging on spiritual, undertones of the video are reflected by the extreme attire of the subjects and the mountain landscape. For Long Beach, Led Zep Kevin Schmidt powers up a electric-guitar amplifier via a portable generator and blasts Stairway to Heaven to a backdrop of crashing waves. Long Beach, which is part of the Pacific Rim National Park, was known as a place where "hippies would squat in driftwood shacks."
|