Austrian Pavillion
Künstler/in
Philipp Fleischmann
(geb. 1985 in Hollabrunn, Niederösterreich)
Date2019
ClassificationsVideo
Medium35 mm Farbfilm, ohne Ton
Dimensions4 min 8 sec
Credit LineArtothek des Bundes
Object number28432
DescriptionUnlike so many of the experimental filmmakers who have come out of Austria in recent years, Philipp Fleischmann is not primarily concerned with cinematic perception, the ontological basis for the movies, or problems of signification. Granted, his films tangentially touch on these matters, but Fleischmann is much more of a conceptualist of institutions. He has more in common with artists like Hans Haacke, Daniel Buren, and especially Michael Asher. His films, while not cameraless by the traditional definition, are raw inscriptions of light that are also inscriptions of power structures, particularly those surrounding the cultural sphere.The latest in a series that examines official spaces of Austrian cultural import, Austrian Pavilion is precisely what it says it is — a film exposed in the Austrian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. The building by Josef Hoffmann is organized according to basic symmetries, and an attempt to harmonize the interior and exterior spaces. Fleischmann's film uses a time-based flicker to combine two spaces in one, as what appears to be a pinhole apparatus describes the pavilion in a 360º vertical tilt around the space, ceiling to floor. Through the flicker, trees "penetrate" the architecture, and light and dark exchange places.
Fleischmann has stated that he sees the film as an unofficial contribution to the pavilion's history. What would experimental film contribute to that history if it had its place among its annals? The answer he provides, at least tentatively, is that experimental film could document its own process of entering the space, of being seen and seeing, and calling attention to the space that confers cultural legitimacy upon those objects that enter its hallowed halls.
Text: Michael Sicinski
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Helga Philipp