Harun Farocki Retrospective

Neuer Berliner Kunstverein

Harun Farocki: Mit anderen Mitteln – By Other Means

September 14, 2017 – January 28, 2018

Opening: September 13, 2017, 6pm

Curators: Antje Ehmann and Carles Guerra

Opening Hours: Tuesday—Sunday 12—6 pm, Thursday 12—8 pm

Free admission

> Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Chausseestraße 128/129, 10115 Berlin

The exhibition Harun Farocki: Mit anderen Mitteln – By Other Means at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) combines works by Harun Farocki, which deal with the logic of cinema – lms are quoted and their visual languages are analyzed. For instance, On Construction of Griffth’s Films (2006) deals with the montage principles of the early lms by D. W. Gri th, whereas the 6-channel video installation Feasting or Flying (2008) examines the motif of male suicide in ctional lm. The 5-channel video installation War Tropes (2011), however, brings together key motifs of the war lm genre, and Dubbing (2006) is dedicated to the e ects of the translation of lms. In the predominantly multi-channel installations “soft montage” is used, which is key to Farocki’s work: the images are assembled not only in succession, but also in juxtaposition. The “soft montage” is also transferred to the exhibition space where the works are not shown separately in black boxes, but in a way that allows it to look at them together and in comparison.

Apart from the analysis of the lm images, another motif is central to the works shown at n.b.k.: iteration, the images iterating within the works and in the exhibition. This principle is demonstrated in particular by the work Re-Pouring (2010). This work, which deals with automated work processes that Farocki repeatedly addressed in his oeuvre, illustrates especially the concept of iteration in the context of the exhibition – quasi an allegory of the functioning of images in the greater part of Harun Farocki’s oeuvre. Presented in the entrance area, it is the only work in the exhibition not to quote cinema, but it attempts to stage a Fluxus performance by Tomas Schmit from 1963 under today’s conditions, in this case by means of a robot. Beyond that, the exhibition will be completed by documentary material and Harun Farocki’s radio feature So long good-bye (1978).

Harun Farocki: Mit anderen Mitteln – By Other Means is not only part of the comprehensive Harun Farocki Retrospektive, but also the third part in a series of exhibitions conceived by Antje Ehmann and Carles Guerra. 2016 already saw the two exhibitions Harun Farocki. What is at Stake at the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (January 20 – May 22, 2016) and Harun Farocki. Empathy (June 2 – October 16, 2016) at Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona. With this series, Ehmann and Guerra continually explore the importance of Harun Farocki’s œuvre and examine the many implications of his works.

The Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) is a site of contemporary art and discourse production. It was founded in 1969 with the goal of presenting contemporary fine art to a broader public, and to inviting that public to actively participate in cultural processes.

In 1970, n.b.k. founded one of Germany’s first “artotheks,” from which art enthusiasts can borrow from over 4,000 works of international art from the twentieth and twenty-first century free of charge. Artothek mobile creates exhibitions for public institutions, schools, and businesses. With the new design of the usage zones, n.b.k. will be presenting the Artothek collection with changing thematic emphases and in various forms of presentation. With the Video-Forum, n.b.k. possesses a collection of over 1,600 international art videos that has constantly been expanding since its founding in 1971. Since the summer of 2008, the holdings of the Video-Forum have been viewable in a separate space. Presentations and screenings relevant to the collection explore current and historical developments in video art. Both collections—Artothek and Video-Forum—are open to the general public, and offer space for experimental art and cultural education.

n.b.k. and its partners aim to promote recent artistic developments and underline the social importance of current art. Together with Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, n.b.k. publishes the book series “n.b.k. Exhibitions”, “n.b.k. Discourse,” and “n.b.k. Berlin”. “n.b.k. Exhibitions” will provide information about the artists exhibited. “n.b.k. Discourse” will present current approaches in the theory and practice of art. “n.b.k. Berlin” will provide insights into Berlin’s cultural life. n.b.k. understands itself as a platform for the young art scene in Berlin. The residency program of n.b.k. with its studio apartment in the renovated garden city Atlantic, Berlin-Gesundbrunnen offers fellows the opportunity to explore Berlin and develop projects.

The Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) is funded by the LOTTO-Stiftung Berlin.