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May 13, 2013

Shanzhai Biennial: Dark Optimism

The Genre-Splicing Artist Trio Subverts Notions of Authenticity and Design at MoMA PS1’s Summer Festival

Chinese model Wu Ting Ting lip syncs to an opaque cover of Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” while wearing a sequined gown emblazoned with a deliberately misspelled shampoo logo in this new video from Shanzhai Biennial. The New York-based artist trio, comprised of Cyril Duval, Babak Radboy and stylist Avena Gallagher, has described itself as a “multinational brand posing as an art-project posing as an multinational brand posing as a biennial.” Taking inspiration from China’s infamous and rich culture of “Shanzhai” imitation goods—faking products from supermarket stock to high-end luxury items—the project seeks to liberate branding from the obligation to make a sale. “Selling things is always a drag on the aura of a brand,” says Radboy, who also works as Creative Director of Bidoun magazine. For ProBio, a group show curated by Josh Kline as a part of this summer’s large-scale Expo 1: New York at MoMa PS1 that is dedicated to the theme of “dark optimism”, he and Duval, who has exhibited internationally under the moniker Item Idem, reached out to Helen Feng of the Beijing musical act Nova Heart (the “Debbie Harry” of China, as she’s been called) for the Chinese rendition of O’Connor’s 90s classic, which they adapted from an amateur online production. “The relevance of the song is right there in the title,” says Radboy. “We were searching desperately for a version in Mandarin and finally found a recording on an obscure and outdated Chinese social networking site by a pretty busted looking queen in his 40s—so there are four levels of separation there.” The result couldn’t be truer to the illogical form embodied in Shanzhai products. “It’s a very Shanzhai production!,” says Duval.

ProBio, part of EXPO 1: New York, is on view at MoMA PS1 through September 2, 2013.

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Spotlight

GIF it Up: The Year of the Animated Still

A Wall of Digital Art Showcases Award-Winning Ventures into the Ever Booming File Format

A grid of GIFs provides a perpetual-motion montage for today’s Art Basel Miami Beach exclusive, specially curated by NOWNESS from responses to an open call from virtual auction house Paddle8 and microblogging giant Tumblr. The images are among a selection that will be displayed at Moving the Still, an exhibition taking place this week in the Floridian paradise, devoted to fresh examples of the digital art form and the first effort of its kind. This follows Oxford Dictionaries USA’s recent decision to name “GIF” their Word of the Year, and for many observers 2012 has seen the quirky, now 25-year-old file type transform itself from the preserve of dancing baby animations into a nuanced, serious creative tool. “GIFs are now becoming huge because this is officially the Share Generation,” says Moving the Still’s Chief Council Member and The New York Times’ T Magazine columnist Johnny Misheff. The open call's 3,500 submissions were whittled down by luminary judges including Roselee Goldberg, Michael Stipe and Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Misheff predicts a healthy future for the cross-disciplinary GIF, chiming with our quest for ever-faster returns: “They have got to be amazing in the first 1.5 seconds, or people are going to keep moving on to the next thing.”

Our selection of GIF masters from the open call:

Top row (from left): “Tape Loop” by Cristine Brache; “Too Much Noise by Promoz Zorko; “Untitled” by Monté Patterson

Second row: “Moving a Picture” by DoBeDo; “Gushers” by Brantley Now & Eddie The Wheel; “Ferris Wheel” by Gretta Louw

Final row: “Jessica” by Francesca Tallone; “Karaoke Glitch” by Nellie Van Dyke; “O” by Philip W Patton

To view the artworks chosen by Selection Council members as well as the online Moving the Still exhibition, click here. Access a vast selection of GIFs submitted via the open call here. The exhibition is open for viewing December 5 - 8, 12pm - 7pm daily at 318 NW 23rd Street, near the Rubell Collection and Wynwood Walls.

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Spotlight

Electric Signature

Neon Rainbows Evoke the Iconic Geometry of Tod’s Signature Collection

A pulsing grid of fluorescent lighting replaces imprinted leather in fashion filmmaker Bart Hess’s new short for Italian luxury leather label Tod’s. Taking the brand’s iconic circles-and-diamonds pattern as inspiration, the maverick Dutch director created a futuristic neon cityscape to explore the interplay of light on material. “I wanted to see the pattern reflected in all kinds of materials, because it can tell you a lot about surface and quality,” explains Hess. Shooting in Eindhoven’s cutting-edge Temporary Arts Centre, Hess crafted an installation of 81 light tubes to illuminate the exclusive next-season pieces by the cult leather maker. “In the film we show the light cycle of a day, from sunrise to sunset. At the moment when the girl decides to go to the pool a blackout takes place,” he elaborates. “When the lights turn back on there has been an upgrade and now everything is in multicolor. The city comes alive.” Best known for the otherworldly slime outfits he created for Lady Gaga, Hess has made sculptural costumes for the likes of American Vogue and AnOther Magazine, Parisian art center Palais de Tokyo, and photographer Nick Knight, as well as collaborating on textiles with fashion designers such as Walter Van Beirendonck, Iris van Herpen, and Ann-Sofie Back.

STATS FROM ON SET

Location
Temporary Art Centre in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Shoot duration
Two days.

Cast
Seventeen people: director, model, cinematographer, four people for hair and makeup, two people for styling, and eight set assistants.

Pool water temperature
Approximately 68°F.

Time spent in water by model
Twenty minutes.

Number of plugs that overheated
Five.

Number of mirrors on set
Eighteen.

Total area of mirror surface
581.3 square feet.

Number of light tubes used
Eighty-one.

Length of each tube
23.6 inches.

Total length of light tubes
159.3 feet.