As part of the public program for the exhibition ‘Red Celebration’ by Jae Pil Eun, Vleeshal is hosting a screening of two films by American-European conceptual artist Terry Fox.

Selected from the collection of LI-MA, ‘Wind, water, vuur, aarde’ (1972) and ‘Children’s Tapes’ (1974) will be screened at Cinema Middelburg. The program will be introduced by Vleeshal’s Head Curatorial Office Martha Jager and drinks will be served after. Tickets are €2,50 but seats are limited, so make sure to reserve yours by emailing to office@vleeshal.nl.

In the 1960s and ’70s, American-European artist Terry Fox (1934-2008) was part of the avant-garde that actively sought new forms of artistic expression. Employing an actionist and process-oriented approach to art making, Fox used his own body to explore aspects of human existence and endurance, often departing from his own experiences.

Working with performance, sound and video he drew attention to everyday phenomena and aspects of social existence in a way that is akin to Jae Pil Eun’s practice, which, by the means of similar artistic disciplines, comments on social structures and seeks to give voice and agency to the natural world.

Video for Fox initially provided a way to extend the life-span of performances, but he gradually grew more interested in the intimate experience that the medium allows for, as opposed to performances in front of a large audience. This led to ‘situations’ and ‘actions’ developed specifically for video of which ‘Winter, water, vuur, aarde’ and ‘Children’s Tapes’ are two examples.

‘Wind, water, vuur, aarde’ (1972, 30:56min) shows a table-top setting with a bowl of water, soil, and a burning candle which are activated, and brought into dialogue by the artist in various ways. Unfolding at a meditative pace, the video can be perceived as an ode to the elements.

Children’s Tapes (1974, 24:34min) was made by Fox as an alternative to television for his own son. Varying in length, the tapes show in close-up the handling of simple objects and how physical phenomena are subject to transformation processes. The intimate scale, magnified view, and suspenseful unfolding of minute events in real time, all serve to intensify the viewers' perceptions and expectations in these engaging mini-narratives.

Events

16 August

Movie screening Terry Fox

1 – 2:45 pm 

Cinema Middelburg