Project Space Videos
June 22–August 7, 2011
The campaign signs all around the city read: “Portland Buy Local”. As the city strives to remain independent, and hold-off an onslaught of national retailers, the works by Bismuth/Arcangel and Eide Einarsson utilize a cynical humor that will truly resonate within a community that places tremendous value on authentic social life.
Pierre Bismuth & Cory Arcangel
Untitled, 2008
In 'Untitled', Pierre Bismuth's strategy of short-circuiting cultural products and Cory Arcangel's interest in low-end technology come together. The two wryly sabotage Guy Debord's now classic indictment of late capitalism, the film La société du spectacle, by simulating a constant weakness of the video projector, the instruction 'Change Bulb' appearing over the images throughout the film.
Courtesy of Bugada & Cargnel
Gardar Eide Einarsson
“South of Heaven” documents a riot at the opening of a new IKEA warehouse outside Oslo, Norway in 1998. Using footage from the state Norwegian TV channel’s (NRK) daily news broadcast the video shows the traditional social democratic idea of “the people” as a rational, homogenous group, with shared values and team spirit, breaking down in favor of a less predictable and much more chaotic (and indeed perhaps more promising and radically democratic) mash of conflicting and oppositional desires and strategies. All of this happens in the shadow of the parallel national and corporate strategies of Norway and IKEA, complete with uniformed representatives of these respective hegemonies attempting to (re) impose order.
Courtesy of STANDARD (Oslo)
Images: Anthony Campuzano: War Path War (Philadelphia), 2008 Courtesy the artist and Fleisher/Ollman Gallery