Patrycja German
12 Jan - 02 Mar 2014
PATRYCJA GERMAN
Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
12 January — 2 March 2014
In her exhibition at Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, artist Patrycja German (born 1979 in Wroclaw, Poland, lives in Berlin) presents a choreography that unfolds within the white cube. Here, the viewer finds a setting activated at two times. In particular, the emphasis on the “before” and “after” of the performance in the exhibition space, calls into question the “exhibition” format relative to the medium of performance.
During her exhibition at NAK, the artist presents performances from the ongoing series of performances Lustgewinnung / Leidvermeidung and No Guts, No Glory. Similar to an experimental setup, Patrycja German transforms the exhibition space into a kind of lab-like white cube: while Lustgewinnung / Leidvermeidung and No Guts, No Glory generate transcription notes of her personal impressions, the artist sits across from these in the exhibition space, wearing a dress sprayed with pheromones. Afterwards, the notes remain with the entire performance setting (tables, chairs, as well as the pheromone-sprayed dress) in the exhibition space. Alternating between stage prop and artifact, the complex setting of the performances exists prior to the actual performance and also remains in the exhibition space afterwards. These relicts also make it possible to reconstruct what transpires even after the performance. Thus, the issue of medial representation is not answered with the aid of the ostensibly objective representational techniques of photography or video recordings, but is replaced by subjective moments of observation.
In addressing the question how a performance—as a time-based event—can be narrated, Patrycja German approaches this from two temporality-bound perspectives, which she gives a new status. As a result, this thwarts the standard structural flow of an exhibition and calls into question our internalized expectations. The setting forms a projection surface for the viewer, compelling him or her to draw on the imagination.
At the same time, Patrycja German’s performances illustrate the conditions of protagonist and audience. Here, in the interplay between art’s three fundamental elements: artist—viewer—artwork, the viewer plays an essential role. On the one hand, Lustgewinnung / Leidvermeidung and No Guts, No Glory pose questions concerning yearning and human emotion—pheromones, as synthetic messenger chemicals, appear to fulfill a long held desire of man: they make, so goes the assumption, the wearer irresistible. On the other hand, they pose questions concerning passive observation and active interaction or confrontation: can messenger chemicals influence the visitor during the performance? Doesn’t the visitor also have an effect on the artist through his or her presence and gender?
Patrycja German is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, most recently the Berlin Senate work grant, the Schindler residency grant in Los Angeles and the HAP Grieshaber Preis, both in 2010, and the Saar-Ferngas-Preis für Junge Kunst in 2008.
Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
12 January — 2 March 2014
In her exhibition at Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, artist Patrycja German (born 1979 in Wroclaw, Poland, lives in Berlin) presents a choreography that unfolds within the white cube. Here, the viewer finds a setting activated at two times. In particular, the emphasis on the “before” and “after” of the performance in the exhibition space, calls into question the “exhibition” format relative to the medium of performance.
During her exhibition at NAK, the artist presents performances from the ongoing series of performances Lustgewinnung / Leidvermeidung and No Guts, No Glory. Similar to an experimental setup, Patrycja German transforms the exhibition space into a kind of lab-like white cube: while Lustgewinnung / Leidvermeidung and No Guts, No Glory generate transcription notes of her personal impressions, the artist sits across from these in the exhibition space, wearing a dress sprayed with pheromones. Afterwards, the notes remain with the entire performance setting (tables, chairs, as well as the pheromone-sprayed dress) in the exhibition space. Alternating between stage prop and artifact, the complex setting of the performances exists prior to the actual performance and also remains in the exhibition space afterwards. These relicts also make it possible to reconstruct what transpires even after the performance. Thus, the issue of medial representation is not answered with the aid of the ostensibly objective representational techniques of photography or video recordings, but is replaced by subjective moments of observation.
In addressing the question how a performance—as a time-based event—can be narrated, Patrycja German approaches this from two temporality-bound perspectives, which she gives a new status. As a result, this thwarts the standard structural flow of an exhibition and calls into question our internalized expectations. The setting forms a projection surface for the viewer, compelling him or her to draw on the imagination.
At the same time, Patrycja German’s performances illustrate the conditions of protagonist and audience. Here, in the interplay between art’s three fundamental elements: artist—viewer—artwork, the viewer plays an essential role. On the one hand, Lustgewinnung / Leidvermeidung and No Guts, No Glory pose questions concerning yearning and human emotion—pheromones, as synthetic messenger chemicals, appear to fulfill a long held desire of man: they make, so goes the assumption, the wearer irresistible. On the other hand, they pose questions concerning passive observation and active interaction or confrontation: can messenger chemicals influence the visitor during the performance? Doesn’t the visitor also have an effect on the artist through his or her presence and gender?
Patrycja German is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, most recently the Berlin Senate work grant, the Schindler residency grant in Los Angeles and the HAP Grieshaber Preis, both in 2010, and the Saar-Ferngas-Preis für Junge Kunst in 2008.