• Corpus ID: 194771555

Lutz Bacher: P.S. 1 contemporary art center, New York

@article{Kotz2009LutzBP,
  title={Lutz Bacher: P.S. 1 contemporary art center, New York},
  author={Liz Kotz},
  journal={Artforum International},
  year={2009},
  volume={48},
  pages={224-225}
}

• L. Kotz
• Published 1 December 2009
• Art
• Artforum International

December 2009 XLVIH, No. 4 Pg 224-225 these birds are happily working for horseshif. Lutz Bacher RS. 1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER, NEW YORK Liz Kotz TUCKED AWAY IN A SIDE GALLERY of l’.5. l (:l)tI[CH'IpDl'.l|'_\' Art Center, the nine panels of l.iitI l’i;Ielier‘s ohseiire hiit esseiitial e.'irl_\ work The l L'L' lI.1rt'I'_\' ()Sll'illtl llllt‘7l'IL'll’. l'~)T’(a. eoiistitiited the core of her llI'\[Hl|l.\Ct|tI1ft'(l‘ltsp(’C- tive. Intended as a puhlieation maqiiette, the original piisteup {owiied la)‘ the Metropolitan I\lu!~L‘LllI‘l of :\rtl I) cotiiposed of eighteen S“: x l l q bl'lL'L'lg(1l paper eollaged with xeroxed photos and texts. typed text on iioteliook pages, handwriting. .iiId tape; In the version exhibited here. these pages were tepmdtieed as pliotostats oti nine 20 x 24 q panels. The look I5 stark and fr.igtiient;ir_\'. Amid the liigli-contra.st snapshots of f.ii;es. texts cut in. stutter. and break up. The t_i'peI.l Q&.v\ selfaiiterview is os‘tensIl\l)' about lee llarvey ()S\\‘.Il1.l and wlietlier his widely varyirig appearaiice in different photographs iiidicates stihterfiige or COVCF-lip. But neither the questions nor the “.1tiswetsq are partieiil.irly eoiiceriietl with 0.s\\'.ild. .l\S.lg5lll.Il|I)t15, or even that type of .-\iiierieaii conspir.iey—theory iiiythulogy. lt1glL'.I\l. the coiiversatioiial l’).1L’l(-Jlkl-ltirlll rIJlt'lIl1JlL‘g on photography‘ and history and the inipo,ssiliilit_I‘ of finding truth In an lfl12lg(q—0l'|n a text, as the work is also about l'L'glgIlllg the traii.spareiic_v of the “artist iiiterviewq foriii-at: “W'ht-re It first was interesting to me was . . 1 let me start 220 ARTFORUM again . . . I had a iiewspaper pliotograph of .i iii.iii‘s taee— some other iiiaii iioi ()swaltl—;iiid under this ni.iii‘s plL‘llIl‘L' is the caption ‘escaped psychop.Itli.' q :\nd further in: “It should he tli.it more pictures would tell you more hut what happens is they tell you less and less.q lt is ll1l.\ precarious joining of image and text that .'ll‘|l- inates iiiaiiy of llaelierk .sign.ItIire works based on foiind word -and picture eoiiihiiiatioiis, troin the qjokesq series. l‘)S7—8h‘. featuring l97()s polittcians and e lehrities’ with iiiisty .Itid apposite one-liners; _I.1t'/tit‘ 9 Me, I989, ;I first-persoii plioto-text Il.lrt‘;llI\'L‘ iliat as.sunies the voice of papara1.'.I.ii Ron (ialella: and the “l’l;i_\'ho_\’sq \‘CflC§. l‘}9l—94. drawings and paintings based on Aiitoiiio Varg;is‘.s sensuous pllIlIp\: to more recent pieces, includ- ing lliwi lloa, l()()6—20()7. linsed oii found pictures l\)' .IIi .trti.tteiir photograplier and Vieiiiaiii War soldier, as well as tIl:ll1} spe -eh-based I ideos tli.it were not in this exliihitioii. ;\Ieeewaril_\- presenting one specific cut through the artist's prtitligioiis output, the retrospective spanned video |ll\l.lll.1ll(iIl\. paiiitiiigs, drawitigs, photo- graphs, and somewliat In.serIitahle ohieets. made lK‘t\\‘t‘t:n l976 aiid .’_l)Ulg'. Over and over. these protects explore how the most liasic ctilttirttl processes go a\\'r_\’ is differ ent semiotic elenieiits. rather than creating .iIi anchored. integrated Inessage, iiisteatl interrupt and eoiiiplieate one aiiotlier. iiiess each other up. In The Lee HII7I'(‘)' Osizu-ild lIll¢’Vl’Il’ll', m;iterial.s are cut apart. iiiisaligiied, overlaid. liroken by gutters. and surrounded hy large black .sw-.iths. .ill ohseiiriiig fC.!\l;Il‘llll}‘ and evideiieitig a pIItik-faiizine- like fascination with negation, image degradatioii, and copier dirt. The effect is totally t‘l1L‘5lllL‘flZIng, like .1 strange lluid where \‘.l|'Inu'.~ raiidoiii stuff enierges from and submerge; hack into a liazy. cloudy su.spen.sion. Reflecting on their l1lL‘tl|ul'l1l7t‘,l1lt)fL' gpeeifically. the striictiiral relation hetween their stiliieet iiiatter and their niaterials, B-.ieher‘s works are not simpl_\' about the trans- iiiissioii of a iiies.s:ige or even the tl()I5C and disruption .iloiig the way; they reveal new rhythms or coliereiices within recording and H.1n\'I1il\'Sl\’C niedia. Over time. Baclier has translated such di.~:coveries iiito myriad other m.\lC|’l.tlg. Haiviiig started working with \‘ltlL'U in perforniances and in pieces using found or appropriated footage. In the early ‘9()s she hegaii shoot- ing video—|ots and lots of video. \fter all, a cariicra is iust another way of collecting stuff. -xaiiiitiiiig it, seeing \\'li.It'g there. This I-xliihitioii focused on -.1 series of video ptt)|cCtS made between 1997' and 200.‘): ()lyni/mid. I997, with its hreakdown froin fascist moiiiiiiient into alistrae- tion; (.'lo.\'eiI Circuit, l‘)’~)7—l()()(). a condensed silent por- trait of Baeher's late dealer Pat Hearii made hy digitally aiiiiiiating video stills; the elegant Blue /liii,-el.\', I998. .i two-channel projection of military planes, shot from a San Frzitieisco rooftop; .’\li1Itl)tI!!tI. l‘)‘)9—Z()l)l. with its rereeorded and gliteliy aerial footage of New York (}ity; and the epic. elegiae Crimson L5‘ Clover (()l'L?l' -:3‘ ()i'l'r), 100 3. shot at CBGB during .1 sound check for the memo- rial service of (Iolin de Land (who was also B.ielier's dealer). ln (friiiismi ci‘ (lloiter. l’i;iclier's restless caiiiera scans the stage. focusing on details that are periodi-zzilly ohliterated hi‘ glare and L'\'C|1(ll3ll_\' hxatiiig on a glowing line. simply light reflected off an amp. as the l]:lpl'l;l‘l.£ll’Lll_V' rehearsed song (performed by 2\ngelhlood) starts and restarts and seems to last forever, constantly interrupted lay technical adjustnients. Protected onto :1 white seriiii with two speakers facing out, the thirty-minute tape is a single camera roll, a tour de force of composed accident and .s_\'tie.stliesia whose uiimannered and fluid heatity is the result of i'ear.s of frequent shooting. l’ ‘en without the haekstory, it is a deeply roniaiitic and ecstatic work. Orgaiiized by euratorial adviser |.ia (iaiigitaiio, the exhibition at RS. 1 was delilierately nonsequential. defy- ing the (UtT1p2lTI|‘11Cl1l’.1l|7.CCl layout of the second-floor galleries. Sound hled from room to room, and asseiiihled works could he approached singularly or as part of a