Happy Year of the Ox
New Gonzomechanics Artist | Chen Hangfeng
Gonzomechanics is pleased to add artist, Chen Hangfeng, to our artist collective. Look for more of Hangfeng's interactive work in our upcoming projects this year.
Image from installation, 'Where the Wind Comes From', 2010.
Image from installation, 'Where the Wind Comes From', 2010.
“‘Where the Wind Comes From’ explores the museumification of traditional culture – which has become more of a specimen of observation rather than a living, breathing part of contemporary Chinese culture. In this way, it seems the Chinese traditional culture can only come alive when we engage with it – read the classics, study poems or practice calligraphy. Without the presence of our gaze it becomes lifeless and still.
When the viewer comes close to this work, a motion sensor sets a number of fans into action, causing the plastic bamboo leaves to rustle in the wind. A “fake” traditional Chinese painting in fact revives the spirit of traditional gardens in the middle of a bustling street, which reflects on our own temporary presence as a “wind” stirring this changing society.”
Chen Hangfeng (1974) works in graphic, paper-cut, drawing, painting, installation, performance, photography and video. His practice has been focusing on film and moving images since 2010. His work deals with the issues of identity, contradictions brought by globalization, environmental changes and cultural transmutation; often realized through playful metaphor, and he merge concepts and mediums like an alchemist. He sees artist as a present-day incarnation of ancient philosopher, artisan and literati.
Chen currently works and lives between Shanghai and Amsterdam. He will become a researcher at the Master Program of Netherlands Film Academy from September 2021.
more about hangfeng’s work.
WFNEO lyric video | BELLSAINT
BELLSAINT’s gorgeous animated video for her new single WFNEO, runs its melody along a visual kaleidoscope that includes details from my mixed media work “Love and Terror” as complement to its empowering lyrics.
It’s a pleasure to have my work incorporated in the visual message of this grounding anthem.
more about BELLSAINT here.
more of my mixed media work here.
Love and Terror Cover Art | BELLSAINT'S single "WFNEO"
Really proud to have the piece Love and Terror used as BELLSAINT’s cover art for her new single “WFNEO”.
Love and Terror is a mixed media work from 2010 that was inspired by Emerson’s words in ‘The Problem’ in which life is described as the physical cumulation of decisions we build around us like a house:
“Such and so grew these holy piles / Whilst love and terror laid the tiles.”
I couldn't be happier to collaborate with my sister, combining these two complimentary works and giving voice to an anthem calling for change based on our collective coming together in love and bravery. In her words:
“If you look closely at the painting, you can see this line inscribed on the left edge of the mountain. “Love and terror” feels like a good way to describe the collective trauma we’ve been experiencing during this pandemic (& basically the past 4 years), and it reflects the emotion of “WFNEO” perfectly.”
We f*ing need each other.
Listen on soundcloud below:
GÖKÇEN DILEK ACAY | Böse in Mir/Dir
Congratulations to fellow-Gonzomechanic, Gökçen Dilek Acay. Her show ‘BÖSE IN MIR/DIR’ runs until 21.11.20 at Galerie Eigenheim, weimar.
details below:
GÖKÇEN DILEK ACAY - Böse in Mir/Dir
Vernissage 23.10.2020 um 19 Uhr
Dauer 24.10. – 21.11.2020 / Ort EIGENHEIM Weimar, Asbachstraße 1 (Gärtnerhaus im Weimarhallenpark), 99423 Weimar / Rahmenprogramm23.10. um 19:30h – Konzert mit Ayşe Kurultay (Gitarre), Josephine Prkno (Trompete), Stephen Nolan (Gitarre) und Gökçen Dilek Acay (Violine) / 30.10. ab 19:30h – Stickabend / 06.11. ab 14h bis 22h – Fotogram Workshop / 19.11. um 20.00h – Jam Session Music Abend
“Gökçen Dilek Acay diskutiert in ihrer Arbeit Konzepte der Unterdrückung, Macht und den zerstörerischen Aspekten des Menschen. Acay verwendet verschiedene Symbole um den Kontrast und den gegenseitigen Einfluss zwischen dem tierischen im Menschen und dem menschlichen im Tier zu zeigen. Macht ist ein Spiegelbild der modernen Gesellschaft und der politischen Struktur des Rohen und Instinktiven. Der moderne Mensch besteht nach Acay aus Widersprüchen. In ihrer Arbeit versuche sie, diese Wildheit und die Gewalt gegen weniger begünstigte Wesen sowie gegen den objektivierten und missbrauchten Körper herauszuarbeiten und darzustellen. ”
More about artist collective Gonzomechanics.
the creative life under corona
“Poetry slows us down, cherishes small details. A large disaster erases those details. We need poetry for nourishment and for noticing, for the way language and imagery reach comfortably into experience, holding it and connecting it more successfully than any news channel we could name.”
My fellow artists and I are lucky our profession isn’t limited to good times — that our work grows best under the effects of self isolation and pressure.
Instability has been part of most of our journeys for so long we’ve adapted to it, learning to navigate instead with intuition and grit, letting go of luxuries we never really needed.
Everything will be ok, even though it isn’t right now. Nothing is under control, and it never was.
Let’s keeping making our work.
Happy Year of the Rat | 新年快乐!
wishing a new lunar year of fresh beginnings to you and your loved ones with all the creativity, wit and adaptability the year of the rat has to offer.
looking forward to all the things ahead this upcoming year.
新年快乐!
Was Truthähne zum Bauhaus sagen | Moz.de
Moz.de’s words about the DID YOU MEAN BAUHAUS? Exhibition at Galerie Bernau (with some words on my performance with the Callings musical score at the opening).
DID YOU MEAN BAUHAUS is curated by @annkathrinrudorf with photos by @alena_schmick.
The exhibition runs 1 Aug - 20 Sept.
read the entire article here.
Learn more about my calling blind series here.
DID YOU MEAN BAUHAUS? | galerie bernau, bernau bei berlin
drawings from my callings series, a collection of musical scores for wild bird calls, are on view at galerie bernau as part of the group show DID YOU MEAN BAUAHUS? running from 1.08 - 20.09.2019.
the calling blind works explore how the act of calling is a metaphor for human exploration and the vulnerability and bravery involved in the act of waiting with hope.
denise rosero bermúdez, constanza carvajal, ah ram chae, sophie foster, kathryn gohmert, devadeep gupta, stefan lesueur, ma hie, yael peri, yagmur iskin ruzgar, nora spiekerman, edoardo tedde, jakob wirth, wong sze ting, astrid true may, sergio valencia
curated by ann-kathrin rudorf
photos: alena schmick
article in moz.de: https://bit.ly/2msvwvz
see more images on instagram here.
KULTURSYMPOSIUM WEIMAR 2019 video
very grateful to goethe-institut and kultursymposium weimar for the video inclusion of accountability machine in action during “die route wird neu berechnet” video released online this week.
(accountability machine caught pointing north at :59)
more about my work here and more about gonzomechanics and its machines here.
KULTURSYMPOSIUM WEIMAR | images
Images from Kultursymposium Weimar’s opening and (and after party) this past weekend, with Accountability Machine interacting on-site. This was a blast.
Read more about how Accountability Machine is trying to save the world.
more about goethe institut’s “DIE ROUTE WIRD NEUE BERECHNET” here.
more about the sculpture Accountability Machine here.
KULTURSYMPOSIUM WEIMAR 2019
KULTURSYMPOSIUM WEIMAR 2019 takes place next week, 19 – 21 June at various locations in Weimar.
The theme “die Route wird neu berechnet” (recalculating the route) will be explored in the various lectures, performances, exhibitions and discussions going on during that time, and Compass: Accountability Machine will one of the interactive works featured on-site. Gozomechanics is very pleased to participate as an artist collective.
Visit the KSWE19 website for the lineup of speakers/artists/discussions/performances or find more details about the event on their facebook page.
IMAGINARY BAUHAUS MUSEUM | images
IMAGINARY BAUHAUS MUSEUM is in its last week and on view until June 2 at Schiller-Museum Weimar.
The finissage is on Sunday, June 2, 14 - 18 Uhr.
Accountability Machine (2017) with work by Minhee Ahn in background.
Life is Short, Buy the Shoes (2019) by Moawya Al Kadra
The Midas Touch - Money Talks (2019) by Edoardo Teddes.
Read the Washington Post article talking about the show here.
More about the Imaginary Bauhaus Exhibition here.
Now Germany’s Bauhaus is Getting its Due | The Washington Post
really grateful to the Washington Post for mentioning the imaginary bauhaus museum exhibition in this article exploring the 100 year anniversary of Bauhaus.
Read the whole article, including interview with Danica Dakic, here.
IMAGINARY BAUHAUS MUSEUM | Schiller-Museum, weimar
IMAGINARY BAUHAUS MUSEUM group exhibition opens at Schiller-Museum, Weimar, this Wednesday, 3 April at 18 Uhr.
Please join if you are in the area to explore the utopian possibilities of a future Bauhaus collection. The show runs 3 April – 2 June, 2019.
More info about the exhibition concept, participating artists and opening hours can be found on the IMAGINARY BAUHAUS MUSEUM website or the facebook page.
Leipziger Buchmesse | Thüringer Allgemeine
Thüringer Allgemeine’s Culture section exploring the Leipziger Buchmesse this year. My board game installation, Citizenship: German Edition (2018), is mentioned here in relation to Bauhaus Universität, what books reveal about Homo Sapiens and the concept of exactly what and who is foreign/local today.
The whole article is here in German and English.
WOCHE DER DEMOKRATIE, Angela Merkel | images
some images from the Woche der Demokratie opening at the deutsches nationaltheater, weimar last weekend.
it’s also an honor to have work exhibited in the same building Angela Merkel visited to honor the 100 year anniversary of the Weimar Republic this week (image below courtesy of @stadtweimar).
(image @stadtweimar)
more here about the Woche der Demokratie exhibition at the deutsches nationaltheater, weimar and why this year is such an important year for german history.
WOCHE DER DEMOKRATIE | deutsches nationaltheater, weimar
thank you to everyone that visited and took part in WOCHE DER DEMOKRATIE at the deutsches nationaltheater in weimar over the last 10 days. it was lovely interacting with you.
also very honored that angela merkel visited the deutsches nationaltheater during the exhibition to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the weimar republic.
photos of chancellor merkel’s visit to the exhibition.
more images of accountability machine on display during woche der demokratie can be found on instagram via: @kathryngohmert or @gonzomechanicsstudio.
WOCHE DER DEMOKRATIE | deutsches nationaltheater, weimar
very pleased to have recent work included in the WOCHE DER DEMOKRATIE opening this friday, 1 february, at the deutsches nationaltheater in weimar.
this will also be the public debut of the gonzomechanics artist collective, as we show the interactive sculpture, compass: accountability machine together.
the exhibition celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the meeting of the national assembly in weimar in 1919 which began the famous weimar republic.
the full line-up of lectures, performances and concerts can be found on the WOCHE DER DEMOKRATIE website, and image updates can followed on instagram.
MANIFEST OF PRACTICE | images
Thank you to everyone that joined the Manifest of Practice exhibition vernissage at the Thüringer Staatskanzlei in Berlin and made the opening so memorable.
It’s a pleasure to be part of the 100 Years of Bauhaus anniversary with the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, its team and its alumni.
See more images and videos from the night on @gonzomechanicstudio’s instagram and how gonzomechanics is trying to save the world with more about our artists here.
The exhibition runs until 1 Feb.