It flickers – or rather it has flickered. The era of cathode-ray tube technology is over, as is the reign of linear television. Here in the program, we are in the last phase of the former leading medium.
Browsing through old and new catalogs of the Kassel Dokfest reveals that short film programs that focus on the reflection of media are an integral part of the festival. Another continuity is represented by the filmmakers and artists whose recurring presence has shaped the Dokfest over decades. In the anniversary program IT FLICKERS we encounter both, the medial reflection and the names of those who pursued it in a defining way and in some cases still do (Thorsten Wagner, curator of the program).
The anniversary program will be followed by a
discussion with invited guests.
The conversation will be held in German.
A short essay after eleven years of Videogenossenschaft Basel. The great revolution of the first self-produced video images has quickly become obsolete and has given rise to ever more beautiful and better images...… >>>
This work was visionary a good 30 years ago and focused on the important questions related to image, attribution and media. “A young man tries in vain to enter into a dialog with his female reflection on the television screen. After a brief flirt based on the German version of the 1950 Western romance, “Broken Arrow”, his desirable alter ego vanishes again. A satire about the paradoxical fascination contemporary culture cultivates for images and a hyped sense of self, Bjørn Melhus’ early video THE MAGIC GLASS hints at how media ‘mirrors’ our phantasies, replacing human interaction with virtual reality.” (Transmediale, 2019)
Since 1990, films and installation works by Bjørn Melhus have been part of the Kassel Dokfest. As a professor for “Virtual Realities” at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, he has also interested countless students in the festival since 2002. In 2018 he was presented with the Honorary Award of the Kassel Dokfest.
REKLAME is a collection of dogfilm spots developed for a television magazine. Between 20 seconds and 1.30 minutes long, they were linked to reports of the magazine or were developed as free satires on commercials and visual advertising strategies.… >>>
The video was created as a live performance in the framework of Documenta IX. A boxing match between a human and a video camera is staged with a large fire show. An unequal fight since the winner was already determined beforehand. Not even a referee was present to ensure fair conditions.… >>>
Exhaled cigarette smoke becomes a synonym for the fleetingness of the video image. The smokers captured in close-ups, meanwhile, seem to be stuck in the apparatus. They are in conflict with themselves, while their desires and fears are reflected in the smoke.
Picture: © Charli Pape 2023
… >>>14 days in the life of our “neighbors” between “Lindenstraße” and “Dallas”, “young and passionate”, “rich and beautiful”, Babs and Boris…… >>>
TOD DEM FERNSEHEN is a digital essay that looks at the development of free television stations and arts channels in the United States. Public access was the keyword there, pushing non-commercial television that would allow everyone to produce and broadcast on a local level.… >>>
OFF shows the image we see when we turn off the TV. We are allowed to experience this fleeting moment several hundred times. In between, TV images could flicker, but they don't, until the tube finally sinks silently into black.
Picture: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023
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