Omer Fast The Tunnel. Introduction

Transcription

1 Omer Fast The Tunnel Omer Fast, Still from 5000 Feet is the Best. Introduction Omer Fast is an international contemporary artist based in Berlin. He was born in 1972 in Jerusalem, Israel, and spent his childhood and most of his adult life between Israel and America. His art work has been shown around the world, including the 2011 Venice Biennale. He works with the medium of film, and uses a mixture of real footage and scripted acting. He always starts his films with real events as told to him by real people, 'I find people who want to talk, and I listen to them, and then I do my work. (Barbara Pollack, Art News, Feb 2011) He then goes on to add new parts to the story from his own imagination and from other varied sources. His works take as their subject matter politics, war, identity and language, but they are artworks, not documentaries. The process of making the works uses other peoples stories as a starting point what comes next is very much about the artist himself. The idea of a person playing different roles, which runs through his works may come from his childhood experiences of living in different countries and using different languages. Omer Fast says "I grew up with two identities and two languages that I had to speak fluently, and so what is always connected to my work is this notion of being perceived as authentic, and how much that is a performance.

2 The Artworks you will see... Omer Fast Five Thousand Feet is the Best, 2011 Digital film, Colour, Sound 30 minutes Co-commission by The Model, Dublin Contemporary 2011, the Hermes Foundation and the Kadist Foundation. Five Thousand Feet is the Best is a newly-produced film project and installation made for The Model. The film is based on two meetings by the artist with an American 'Predator' drone plane operator. On camera, the drone operator agreed to discuss the technical aspects of his job and his daily routine. Off camera and off the record, he briefly described incidents in which the unmanned plane fired at both militants and civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan - and the psychological difficulties he experienced as a result - before breaking the interview off. Instead of looking for news items that link to the stories he has heard, Omer Fasts invents new parts to the story. The film is based an actor playing the part of the drone operator, sitting in a hotel doing an interview. The interview is repeatedly interrupted by the actor talking about different things. These involve trips around Las Vegas. Told in quick flashbacks, the stories form a circular plot that nevertheless returns to the voice and blurred face of the drone pilot - and to his unfinished story. In the atrium are smaller works based on the same ideas made by the artist to be housed within the everydayness of this public space. Omer Fast Nostalgia, 2009 Video installation in three parts Nostalgia I, single channel HD video, colour, sound, 4 35 Nostalgia II, Two channel HD Video (synchronized), colour, sound, 9 49 Nostalgia III, Super 16 Film transferred to HD Video, colour, sound, 'Nostalgia' is a three-part film installation designed to be viewed in sequence. Its starting point was a conversation between the Artist and an asylum seeker in London. In Part One a man who appears to be an ex-soldier describes how to build a trap designed to trap animals, but also lethal to humans. Part Two is a conversation between an asylum seeker and an interviewer, which brings our attention to the way that many asylum seekers have to explain what has happened to them and why they want to leave their own country. In Part Three people trying to escape a country using a secret tunnel are pursued and captured. One is offered the chance to stay if he tells all to the authorities, and we are left wondering of the offer is taken up.

3 Themes: What the Exhibition is about... There are two main ideas to introduce students to before getting to grips with the exhibition: Art and Politics and Video Installation Art. Much of the work made by this contemporary artist is political. Many artists use their art to explore ideas about power, religion, history and conflict (a good example of a subject that has all these themes would be the Post 9/11 Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). For artists such as Omer Fast, the personal and the political merge into one another. There is a big difference between viewing video projections in an art gallery than going to your local cinema (for example you don't sit down with popcorn and watch the adverts). Lens-based artists often use this format which creates a different effect to viewing a film projected onto the big screen. As a viewer, what are your thoughts on these differences? Artists such as Omer Fast design the shape and size of the rooms as well as the shape, sequence and size of the projections to create particular feelings, emotions and thoughts. Like all artists, Omer Fast adapts the layout of the gallery to create a complete experience for the visitor. Looking at video art is a different type of engagement to viewing a traditional hang or painting exhibition. It might be interesting to used the following themes as a starting point for discussion: Fact and Fiction. Omer Fast s work mixes real documentary footage with footage of actors playing roles. In 5000 Feet is the Best a real interview with a U.S. Drone pilot is mixed with stories told in flashback by an actor following a script devised by the artist. Question for students; Think of other examples of artworks, films or television programmes where fact and fiction are merged? For example, TV programmes such as Jersey Shore and The Only Way is Essex, make you wonder what is real and what is staged. Power, and how the West relates to the rest of the world. Since 9/11 The United States and their Allies have been involved in two major wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have also waged a wider 'War on terror'. Many people have questioned their motives and methods. Question for students; What sort of relationship does the West have with the rest of the world? This could be discussed in the context of war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Ethics in War. Being able to fly a plane around by remote control in a country thousands of miles away and drop bombs on people and then hop in your car and go home for your tea is a new aspect of warfare. The pilots of the unmanned drones currently used in Afghanistan and Pakistan are doing something never done before. Sitting in front of screens, they work in trailers for 8 or 11 hour shifts concentrating on operating the drone planes. Although they fight from a desk in an office, they are in contact with U.S. soldiers on the ground.they develop a strong bond with the soldiers and feel responsible for them. The new types of stresses and trauma these pilots face is something particular to the de-personalized way they are fighting, but their suffering could be described as universal to combatants in all wars.

4 Question for students; The activity raises many moral dilemmas, what do you think they are? Post-Colonialism Post-Colonialism refers to how a country and its people are dealing with identity and social conditions in the years after its colonisers have left. In the art work Nostalgia Omer Fast refers to a story from a Nigerian wishing to move to Britain. Britain colonised Nigeria and many other parts of Africa and this legacy continues to be very difficult and complex. Question for students; Can you think of other Post-Colonial countries? What difficulties might people face when leaving Post-Colonial countries to go and live and work in the former Colonial powers? How the exhibition is put together... How are the works are displayed? Artwork is displayed in the Atrium area, and in four gallery spaces (See diagram). In the Atrium there are two projections in unusual places. Omer uses two tables to create a projection using a 35mm slide projector. In the corner at the foot of the stairs he creates a back projection, by placing a projector in the corridor outside the atrium, which projects images against a piece of semi-transparent material placed on the window. In the East Gallery (see plan), you can see the piece 5000 Feet is the Best. It is displayed on a large, purpose built, free standing screen in an entirely blacked out room. The walls are painted black, windows are covered over and there is virtually no light allowed in. The walls of the gallery have sound panels specially-made screens which improve the quality of the films' sound. The room is self contained, you enter and exit through the same door. In Galleries B, C and D you can see the three part film work Nostalgia. In Gallery B it is displayed on a single large flatscreen mounted on to the wall. In Gallery C there are two flat screens mounted on vertical supports connected to the ceiling. The screens appear to float and face each other enhancing the sense that the actors are involved in a conversation. In Gallery D The film is projected against the whole of the end wall. This gallery is linked to the other by a dark corridor. It is a bit of an adventure going from one room to the next. In all the rooms there are didactic texts. These are panels on the wall with information such as Name of the Artist, Title of the Work, Date, Medium and where the artwork comes from/who owns it. There are also text panels on the walls that explain the thinking behind the artworks. What is an installation? An installation is where an artwork and its surroundings work together to create the experience for the viewer. Rather than the idea of the artwork being an object that operates on its own, the idea of an installation is to create an environment that evokes feelings and thoughts.

5 What is a curator? A curator is someone who brings together ideas, artists and artworks and presents them to the public in new ways. In the case of this exhibition the artists and curator have worked together to design the layout of the rooms in the gallery, so as to create a unique experience for visitors. How do you move through the galleries? The exhibition is designed to lead you through three spaces where you will view three installations. The two small projections in the Atrium space relate to the film installation 5000 Feet Is the Best. The overall title of the exhibition, The Tunnel, partly refers to the experience the artist hopes visitors will have as they move from room to room through the exhibition. Is it a group show or a single artist on exhibition? It is the work of one artist, Omer Fast. It is worth noting that when making his films he relies on a wide range of other people; the interviewees, the actors, camera, crew, set designers etc. Care of a Collection The only physical objects that Omer Fast will have delivered to the Gallery will be the films themselves. The rest of the exhibition set up will have been designed specifically for the display at the model. The rooms will have the same heating/lighting and temperature controls as usual and windows blacked out for video installations. Activities: Workshop 1 Fact vs. Fiction Students can create their own mixture of documentary and fiction by using newspaper cuttings as starting points for invented narratives students can write a script and then record themselves. An audio recording can be made on a computer, using a video camera and on most phones. How is fact and fiction merged in everyday life, a device Omer Fast employs in his work. You can reference popular TV programmes such as Big Brother, Jersey Shore, Made in Chelsea etc. The idea of experiences being highly mediated informs a lot of theory and practice in contemporary art. Workshop 2 Role of Politics in Art. Look at examples of art from the past and present that explore political themes, i.e. paintings such as La Guernica by the Spanish art Picasso, The Disasters of War by Spanish artist Francisco Goya, the mercenary series by American artist Leon Golub and Personnes by German artist Christian Boltanski. Other British artists of interest are Gilbert and George, the Chapman Brothers and Jeremy Deller. Written and developed by artist Andrew Parsons, in consultation with The Model. Andrew Parsons is an artist and facilitator of the Young Model programme.