KOCHI:
Over the course of an engrossing evening conversation here on Wednesday, Marcel Odenbach – one of Germany’s foremost video artists – expounded on infusing art history, meaning-making and architectural aesthetics into his over four-decade-long artistic practice.
An architect by training, Odenbach went on to become one of the pioneers of a new generation o
“These works are completely different from my past works: both in their themes and how I produced them. These are based on two architectural constructions that embody in themselves the culture of the spaces they inhibit. The two videos, each 15 minutes long, were produced last year. They are part of installation works that need space and a loop effect,” Odenbach said.
The discussion – part of the Kochi Biennale Foundation’s ‘Let’s Talk’ series – was moderated by Dr Martin Wilde, director of the Goethe Institute/Max Mueller Bhavan in Mumbai. The event held at the Pavilion in Cabral Yard was supported by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, HCL, and Goethe Institute. A collaboration between Odenbach and Wilde – titled Disturbed Places – shot along a stretch from Kolkata to the Sunderbans was screened at the first Biennale in 2012.
In Ein Bild vom Bild machen, the residence of Peter and Irene Ludwig – the couple who gifted the Ludwig museum to the city of Cologne – is the setting. “Ludwig museum has the biggest pop art collection in the world, but it also has all kinds of contemporary art. Last year, for the museum’s 40th anniversary, I was invited to do a work, for which I went to the house,” Odenbach said.
“I wanted to reflect how the lives of the rich were different in the 1960s and 1970s. I wanted to shoot lived-in rooms like the kitchen, which had a coffee machine from the 1950s and the garage, the inside of which has some of their art collection. A garage like that will be hard to find elsewhere. I combined this with footage of the couple,” he added..
For Fishing is not done on Tuesdays, Odenbach spent three whole weeks inside a house he designed and built on the west coast of Ghana. He ended up with nearly 20 hours of video that had to be edited down to 15 minutes for display at this year’s Berlinale. “I wanted to be like a monk to work for this film. I just wanted to deal with the house. The only relation I had with outside word was through a teles
cope, the footage from which is included in this work,” he said.
“The house is the only one designed by me that has contemporary English design, but adapted to the place it is situated. The living area of the house doesn’t have walls or windows. In the end, we decided to include various dimensions of the house and sounds of the ocean, the sounds from the church, from the jungle and helicopters overhead,” Odenbach said.
more recommended stories
Bassist Mohini Dey Reacts to Rumours of her Link-up with A. R. RahmanMUMBAI:As the controversy around the divorce.
Soman’s Leisure Tours Gets ISO CertificateM K Soman, Managing Director of.
Blood Donation Camp Held at InfoparkKOCHI:State Industrial Security Force (SISF) organised.
Infopark Techies Showcase Creativity at 5-day Photo ExhibitionKOCHI:Showcasing the creative flair of its.
Photo Exhibition of Techies Started at InfoparkKOCHI:The five-day photo exhibition organised by.
Alisha Moopen Honoured with Pravasi Bhushan AwardKOCHI:Alisha Moopen, Deputy Managing Director, Aster.
Ernakulam Milma to Become India’s First Fully Solar-powered DairyKOCHI:Ernakulam Regional Milk Producers Cooperative Society.
Goethe-Zentrum to Host Jazz Concert on Nov 8THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Goethe-Zentrum, in association with Goethe Institut/Max.
Trained Social workers – Need of the Day: Minister P RajeevKOCHI:State Industrial and Law Minister P.
Tamil Thriller “Un Paravail” Launched at Indian Film Festival of IrelandKOCHI/DUBLIN:The highly anticipated Tamil thriller “Un.