Dani Gal
16 Sep - 16 Oct 2010
DANI GAL
"Dumitrescu’s Dream"
September 16 - October 16, 2010
Andrea: “For the trip we needed aspecial camera that was developed inthe 50s. It was made at that time so thatpeople who didn’t know the technologyand felt threatened by it wouldn’t befrightened. Back then, ethnographerstravelled to regions that were stillrelatively untouched. They filmed tribesor families – especially in the jungle orthe deserts of Africa – that were so cutoff from civilization that had never seen acamera before. Still, they were suspiciousand didn’t want the lens pointed at them,they didn’t want to be seen by the glasseye that stole their soul and trapped it ina box like a dream-catcher. They didn’tnecessarily run away, they escaped bystanding still, freezing in place. Wherethe camera was pointed, life froze, andnot only on the surface of the celluloid.The construction was not very difficult.The point was not to conceal the actualfilming or the photographing, but whowas being filmed or photographed. Asecond mirror was simply put into thelens, redirecting the picture as it fell intothe side opening between the focusrings. This allowed one to observe andphotograph from around the corner, soto speak.”
–
Eleanor: “When we arrived in Bucharest,we immediately got into trouble. Thecameraman, a Romanian, was there,the documentary filmmaker, his Dutchassistant and the musician. He wasnice. A few days later we were all notonly invited to his Dacha, but alsoaccompanied him through variousmuseums and parks. The visit to thethe burning factory chimneys had beenput into storage. Light art was installedthere, experimental films from the 70s,concept: the new interpretation ofEastern European cultural history, art andmusic, has still barely begun. Much hasbeen lost.”
–
Roberto: “Three abstract photographshung near the videos. They showedglass raining down with pieces of glasssuspended in the air. These were novideo stills. The photographer took themwhile the film of the same scene wasbeing shot. They were totally abstract,just glass and light.”open-air museum was especiallymemorable. Without asking, he reachedfor instruments, blew into a kind ofAlpine horn and tuned a cello in orderto show us a new composition, talkingand arguing the whole time. But here,at the edge of the airfield, he silentlyprovoked the police with an inflammatorygesture. And because he simply tookoff in his small Fiat, they arrested thecameraman. He had to be bailed out bythe team from Berlin, especially becauseof the equipment that was in the trunk ofhis car. It was almost a complete failurebefore it even began.”
–
Otto: “I liked driving all over the place,visiting museums and flea markets. I wentto Wroclav, to the Curonian Spit, to Tallin,Brno. I looked at modern architecture andwent to museums. Abandoned nuclearpower plants, old piano factories, markethalls that were set up in former zeppelinfactories, former border stations thathad been turned into pounds where oldwatch dogs lived out their final years, acollection made by a child psychologistwith thousands of devils, marionettes,devils made of straw, others made out ofjewels or fabric, ivory or enamel. Therewere postcards for sale there and small,hand-made dolls. Across the streetwas the large modernist building thathoused the museum. Only after the ironcurtain fell, fractured, and split apart,could there begin to be art shown therethat did justice to the building’s clear,simple and glamorous formal language.Socialist realism, with its crude peasantfaces, border guards in the snow and the burning factory chimneys had been put into storage. Light art was installed there, experimental films from the 70s, concept: the new interpretation of Eastern European cultural history, art and music, has still barely begun. Much has been lost.”
–
Roberto: “Three abstract photographs hung near the videos. They showed glass raining down with pieces of glass suspended in the air. These were no video stills. The photographer took them while the film of the same scene was being shot. They were totally abstract, just glass and light.”
"Dumitrescu’s Dream"
September 16 - October 16, 2010
Andrea: “For the trip we needed aspecial camera that was developed inthe 50s. It was made at that time so thatpeople who didn’t know the technologyand felt threatened by it wouldn’t befrightened. Back then, ethnographerstravelled to regions that were stillrelatively untouched. They filmed tribesor families – especially in the jungle orthe deserts of Africa – that were so cutoff from civilization that had never seen acamera before. Still, they were suspiciousand didn’t want the lens pointed at them,they didn’t want to be seen by the glasseye that stole their soul and trapped it ina box like a dream-catcher. They didn’tnecessarily run away, they escaped bystanding still, freezing in place. Wherethe camera was pointed, life froze, andnot only on the surface of the celluloid.The construction was not very difficult.The point was not to conceal the actualfilming or the photographing, but whowas being filmed or photographed. Asecond mirror was simply put into thelens, redirecting the picture as it fell intothe side opening between the focusrings. This allowed one to observe andphotograph from around the corner, soto speak.”
–
Eleanor: “When we arrived in Bucharest,we immediately got into trouble. Thecameraman, a Romanian, was there,the documentary filmmaker, his Dutchassistant and the musician. He wasnice. A few days later we were all notonly invited to his Dacha, but alsoaccompanied him through variousmuseums and parks. The visit to thethe burning factory chimneys had beenput into storage. Light art was installedthere, experimental films from the 70s,concept: the new interpretation ofEastern European cultural history, art andmusic, has still barely begun. Much hasbeen lost.”
–
Roberto: “Three abstract photographshung near the videos. They showedglass raining down with pieces of glasssuspended in the air. These were novideo stills. The photographer took themwhile the film of the same scene wasbeing shot. They were totally abstract,just glass and light.”open-air museum was especiallymemorable. Without asking, he reachedfor instruments, blew into a kind ofAlpine horn and tuned a cello in orderto show us a new composition, talkingand arguing the whole time. But here,at the edge of the airfield, he silentlyprovoked the police with an inflammatorygesture. And because he simply tookoff in his small Fiat, they arrested thecameraman. He had to be bailed out bythe team from Berlin, especially becauseof the equipment that was in the trunk ofhis car. It was almost a complete failurebefore it even began.”
–
Otto: “I liked driving all over the place,visiting museums and flea markets. I wentto Wroclav, to the Curonian Spit, to Tallin,Brno. I looked at modern architecture andwent to museums. Abandoned nuclearpower plants, old piano factories, markethalls that were set up in former zeppelinfactories, former border stations thathad been turned into pounds where oldwatch dogs lived out their final years, acollection made by a child psychologistwith thousands of devils, marionettes,devils made of straw, others made out ofjewels or fabric, ivory or enamel. Therewere postcards for sale there and small,hand-made dolls. Across the streetwas the large modernist building thathoused the museum. Only after the ironcurtain fell, fractured, and split apart,could there begin to be art shown therethat did justice to the building’s clear,simple and glamorous formal language.Socialist realism, with its crude peasantfaces, border guards in the snow and the burning factory chimneys had been put into storage. Light art was installed there, experimental films from the 70s, concept: the new interpretation of Eastern European cultural history, art and music, has still barely begun. Much has been lost.”
–
Roberto: “Three abstract photographs hung near the videos. They showed glass raining down with pieces of glass suspended in the air. These were no video stills. The photographer took them while the film of the same scene was being shot. They were totally abstract, just glass and light.”