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Espacio Minimo: ERWIN OLAF Dusk & Dawn - 22 Oct 2009 to 5 Dec 2009 Current Exhibition |
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Erwin Olaf, The Mother (Dawn series)
Photograph on Baryta paper 121 x 230 cm - 74 x 141 cm, 2009 |
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ERWIN OLAF Dusk & Dawn 22nd October to 5th December, 2009 Private View: Thursday, 22nd October, at 20:00 ERWIN OLAF�s fourth exhibition at Espacio Minimo Gallery will bring together his two latest series, Dusk and Dawn, shown side-by-side for the first time, their titles combining to create that of the show. If in his earlier works such as Royal Blood, Mature, or fashion victims his objects were clear� violence, sexuality, ageing - in his recent trilogy Rain, Hope and Grief OLAF�s motivations have been more cryptic and enigmatic. Dusk was created for the exhibition Amsterdam / New York Perspectives: Dutch Photography in New York held at the Museum of the City of New York. It emerged, on the one hand, from the way in which he has always been impressed by the diversity of the city�s inhabitants, their different origins and colour of their skin, and on the other hand, from the interest that his Blacks series awakened in the afro-american community after it was recently shown in North Carolina, inducing him to incorporate some of its spirit into his new work. Ultimately the inspiration arose from a book published by MOMA titled The Hampton Album 44 Photographs that included the photographs that Frances B. Johnston had taken at the Hampton Institute around 1900. The images captured by this pioneer in photography, which intrigued and captivated Olaf for their superb quality, depicted afro-americans in a previously unseen way: men and women portrayed with dignity in middle class homes and in classroom scenes where the teachers, for the most part, were white men and women. Elements in these images, such as the clothes, religion, and the atmosphere provide the starting point upon which to recreate the feel of 1900 and to create dark and seemingly empty images, with no predetermined content, but which are the beginning of the most disquieting and suggestive narrative. The result is six photographs � two scenes, two portraits, and two decorative elements � and a video made using the same set and two of the characters in the photographs. Through the use of sound and movement Olaf is able to enter this universe of restrained emotions. Dawn emerges as a reflection of Dusk. The same approach, the same situations, similar characters, but their opposites. The same era but in a different place. Now, instead of rich Afro-America New Yorkers, what is evoked is an early twentieth century Russian dacha, completely white and Caucasian. A strange dialogue operates between these two series which, conceived of as a unit, are shown here for the first time as one single installation. ERWIN OLAF (Hilversum, Holanda, 1959), lives and works in �msterdam. He has shown individually in, amongst others, Fodor Museum in �msterdam (1990), Stedelijk Museum in �msterdam (1992), Frankfurter Kunst Verein in Frankfurt (1993), Kunsthal in Rotterdam (1993) Fotofestival in Naarden (1995), Ludwig Museum Cologne (1998), Museum of Modern Art in Hasselt (2001), Museo D�Arte Provincia di Nuoro (2002), Museum Sztuki in Lodz (2003), Groninger Museum in Groninger (2003), Galleria D�Arte Moderna in Bologna (2005), Museum of Modern Art in Mosow (2005), Australian Centre of Photography in Sidney (2005), The Hague Museum of Photography in The Hague (2008), South Eastern Centre for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem (2008), Photo Museum Antwerp in Antwerp (2009)� and important collectives. Olaf�s work has been included in some of the world�s most distinguished public and private collections and museums. ERWIN OLAF Dusk & Dawn 22nd October to 5th December, 2009 Private View: Thursday, 22nd October, at 20:00 En la cuarta exposici�n individual de ERWIN OLAF en la galer�a Espacio M�nimo se muestran, por primera vez juntas, las dos �ltimas series del artista que dan t�tulo a la exposici�n, Dusk & Dawn. Si en series anteriores como Royal Blood , Mature o Fashion Victims su planteamiento inicial era claro �la violencia, la sexualidad o el envejecimiento-, desde la trilog�a Rain, Hope y Grief, las motivaciones de OLAF se hacen m�s cr�pticas y enigm�ticas. Dusk (Anochecer) fue creada para la exposici�n �msterdam / New York Perspectives: Dutch Photography in New York en el Museo de la Ciudad de New York, partiendo, por un lado, de la impresi�n que siempre le caus� la diversidad de sus habitantes, de distintas procedencias y colores de piel, y por otro, del inter�s que despert� en los afro-americanos la inclusi�n de su serie Blacks en una exposici�n realizada recientemente en North Carolina que le indujo a incorporar parte de aquel esp�ritu en su nuevo trabajo. Finalmente encontr� la inspiraci�n en un libro publicado por el MOMA titulado The Hampton Album 44 Photographs que inclu�a las fotograf�as realizadas alrededor de 1900 por Frances B. Jonhson en el Hapmton Institute. Las im�genes realizadas por la pionera fot�grafa que le intrigaron y le subyugaron por su gran calidad, mostraban a los afro-americanos de una forma in�dita hasta ese momento: hombres y mujeres retratados con dignidad en hogares de clase media y en situaciones escolares en las que los profesores, en la mayor�a de ellas, eran hombres y mujeres de raza blanca. Im�genes en las que en elementos como la ropa, la religi�n, y el ambiente encuentra el punto de partida sobre el que recrear la atm�sfera de 1900 y mostrar una historia en im�genes oscuras y aparentemente vac�as, sin un contenido predeterminado, pero que son el inicio de la m�s inquietante y sugestiva narraci�n. El resultado son seis fotograf�as �dos escenas, dos retratos y dos elementos decorativos- y un v�deo rodado en el mismo escenario y con dos de los personajes de las fotos en el que, a trav�s de la inclusi�n del sonido y el movimiento, incide en ese universo de contenida emoci�n. Dawn (Amanecer) nace como un reflejo de Dusk. Igual esquema, id�nticas situaciones, semejantes personajes, pero al contrario. La misma �poca en otro sitio. La evocaci�n ahora, frente a ese New York de afro-americanos ricos, de una dacha rusa a principios del siglo pasado totalmente blanca y caucasiana. Un extra�o di�logo entre dos series concebidas como una unidad que se muestran por primera vez, como instalaci�n �nica, en esta exposici�n. |
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