They pop up in the news from time to time.
The “controversial exhibit”. At one or another museum. It might revolve around sex or race or religion or politics. But one thing we can be certain of: Some will embrace it enthusiasticaly while others will protest it even more enthusiastically.
Consider: sleek-mag.com/2017/05/09/con … -artworks/
Call it say the “Piss Christ Syndrome”.
This exhibition however would seem to be somewhat more ambiguous. It revolves basically around human psychological reactions to particular contexts in which, among other things, trust and compassion are explored. Different people react to them in different ways. Then we react to their reactions. In other words: What would we do? And [of course]: Is there a way in which a decent, civilized human being would be expected to react
As one reviewer put it, the film runs the gamut from “the inherent narcissism of the most ordinary of people, to the shallowness of popular culture, to the complex behaviors and interactions between people of disparate backgrounds.”
Or, as the director informs us:
These people that in the beginning were sitting in tuxedos and eating their nice, fancy dinner, I wanted them to be uncivilized animals in the end, I think that the most uncivilized thing about our time is the collective rage against individuals that are acting uncivilized. Isn’t that the scary thing about us?
So, in conjunction with all this, where does “art” end and “real life” begin?
Then this part:
Christian: If you place an object in a museum does that make this object a piece of art?
On the other hand, this film may well run about 45 minutes [if not an hour] too long. Or is that all part of the art?
IMDb
[b]Terry Notary portrays the ape-man “Oleg” in the film. The Russian artist Oleg Kulik was invited to the international group exhibition “Interpol” at Färgfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden. At the opening, the vernissage, Kulik performed like a dog. He glittered, jumped up, rolled and even bit the VIP crowd in their legs. Kulik said he acted as a representative of the browbeaten Russian people, who now attacked and bit back. The crowd became so scared and enraged that they called for the police. In “The Square” there is a similar, charged and offensive scene, but here the performance artist acts like an ape.
The preliminary study of “The Square” was “Rutan” (The Square), an exhibition at Vandalorum in Värnamo, Sweden, in spring 2015, where director Ruben Östlund and film producer Kalle Boman wanted to examine the trust we feel towards each other. Pictures from the exhibition are included in the film.
In the film there is an ape seemingly busy creating art. This refers to an old practical joke. An alleged self-taught French avant-garde artist, Pierre Brassau, appeared at an art exhibition in Gothenburg in 1964. A series of art connoisseurs were tricked by this intentional experiment. It was the chimpanzee Peter from Borås Zoo that had created the “spontanist painting”, and the brain behind it was a gallerist and a journalist who were reported to be a police officer for fraud. [/b]
trivia at IMDb: imdb.com/title/tt4995790/tr … tt_trv_trv
at wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Square_(2017_film
trailer: youtu.be/V74sHdm76WU
The Square [2017]
Written and directed by Ruben Östlund
[b]Anne [interviewing Christian]: My first question is a broad one. What are the challenges in running a museum like this?
Christian: I hate to say it but it’s probably money. Raising sufficient funds. We’re a museum of modern and contemporary art. So we need to present art that is absolutely the art of today, the future, art that is absolutely cutting edge, and that’s expensive. And the competition is fierce, because you’ve got buyers and collectors from all over the world with so much money you can’t believe it. They spend more in an afternoon than we spend in a year. Whereas if we buy that piece of art we will be able to present it here. To a large audience. To all of Stockholm and Sweden. So I think it is the obligation of us to get into that competition.
…
Anne: I wanted to ask you something that I read on your website that I didn’t understand. And I was hoping you could help me to understand it. Do you mind if I read this to you?
Christian: Plerase do.
Anne: May 30-31. “Exhibition/Non-exhibition. An evening conversation that explores the dynamics of the ‘exhibitable’ and the construction of ‘public-ness’ in the spirit of Robert Smithson’s Site/Non-site. From non-site to site, from non-exhibition to exhibition, what is the topos of exhibition/non-exhibition in the crowded moments of mega exhibition.” I’m clearly not as scholarly as you are. I was just hoping you could…
Christian [after a long pause]: Well, this was a couple of evenings in May when we discussed…when…when…I mean, um, If you place an object in a museum does that make this object a piece of art? For instance, if we took your bag and placed it here, would that make it art?
Anne [hesitantly]: Hm. Okay…
…
From a plaque placed in the square: “The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within its boundaries, we aII share equaI rights and obIigations.”
…
Journalist [to Christian]: For every new project, we need to assess how newsworthy it is. What makes this exhibition stand out? Does it invoIve any controversy? Can we tie it to trends or current events? If not, you’re stuck with the biIIboards. That makes it hard to generate any internationaI attention. Then you’II onIy reach the usuaI ‘‘cuIture vuItures’’. To get journaIists to write about it, you need some controversy. OnIy this project doesn’t reaIIy have much of an edge. As a journaIist, I want to create my own standpoint. Like most peopIe, I want to express an opinion that isn’t just consensus.
…
Christian: The exhibition’s strength Iies in its simpIicity. That’s what we shouId communicate.
Journalist: DefiniteIy, just Iet me read this. ‘‘The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within its boundaries, we aII share equaI rights and obIigations.’’ No one wouId disagree with that. So why shouId I, as a journaIist, care?
…
Christian: We wiII be presenting the Argentinean artist and socioIogist LoIa Arias. LoIa’s art is inspired by NicoIas Bourriaud, and his thoughts on reIationaI aesthetics. In short, reIationaI aesthetics expIores how we reIate to each other in a sociaI context.
…
Christian [addressing an audience at the museum]: I’m asking you to imagine that you are standing in a pubIic pIace in town. Such as OdenpIan, or any other Iarge city pIaza. Are you there now? Okay. It’s an ordinary day and Iots of peopIe are in motion. You Iook down and see that you are standing inside a square a cIearIy defined 4 x 4 metre square. That’s what ‘‘The Square’’ is on a physicaI pIane. It’s Iike an empty frame waiting for its contents. LoIa Arias compares ‘‘The Square’’ to a pedestrian crossing. A pedestrian crossing Drivers are to Iook out for pedestrians. In a simiIar way, there is a contract impIied by ‘‘The Square’’, to Iook out for each other. We heIp each other. If you enter this space and ask for heIp, anyone passing by is obIigated to heIp you. ‘‘I’m hungry. Can you heIp me with a meaI?’’ ‘‘Can you teach me how to swim?’’ ‘‘My father just died and I have no one to taIk to. CouId you spare me 30 minutes of your time?’’ Some of you may be thinking that this sounds naive. Maybe even utopian…
…
Woman [voiceover]: Do you want to save a human Iife? Do you want to save a human Iife? Do you want to save a human Iife?
…
Julian [being interviewed at a museum – discussing “art”]: My starting point was my immediate surroundings and uses ordinary everyday objects to explore the meaning of on’e human response to art. By that I mean they are framed instances that would shed a light on everyday objects which might normally not be noticed in their original context.
…
Anne [claps]: Cunt! Shh…cunt!
Christian [incredulous]: Excuse me?
Anne: Cunt.
Christian: Did you say “cunt”?
Anne [claps]: Shh…cunt!
Christian: Okay…
…
Anne: Did you come?
Christian: Yeah. Oh yeah.[/b]
Cue the used condom connundrum.
[b]Marketing rep: This project raises many interesting, topicaI and humanitarian issues. But the chaIIenge here is to cut through the media cIutter. Your competition isn’t other museums, it’s disasters, terrorism, and controversiaI moves by far-right poIiticians. Keep that at the back of your mind, stay caIm, and DanieI wiII teII you about our idea.
…
Daniel: Moving media, that’s what we recommend. When making fiIms today, you need to be aware that peopIe have a very short attention span. If the viewer isn’t hooked in two seconds, they’II move on. In 10 to 15 seconds, tops, we aIso have to create something so powerfuI or interesting that peopIe want to share it on Facebook, sociaI media, to the press, thereby creating a viraI effect. We conducted market research on what’s shared the most on sociaI media. It’s generaIIy vuInerabIe groups. PeopIe post about women, the disabIed, the raciaIized, LGBTQ peopIe… You can make that Iist Ionger, but there is one group that affects peopIe: beggars. So we’d Iike to use a beggar in this cIip, but aIso turn it up a notch by making the beggar a chiId. In addition to this, the beggar wiII have fair hair…We open on the PaIace courtyard. The Square is visibIe. So, there’s product pIacement from frame one. Towards this artwork is daybreak and the Square, is shimmering with its promise of trust, caring, moraI courage and aII that good stuff. Then we see a IittIe girI approaching the Square. She’s shivering. She’s aII aIone. She’s crying. She’s wrapped in a dirty bIanket and you sense that she’s homeIess. These are powerfuI images so we’ve hooked the viewer. The girI keeps on waIking. PowerfuI images, you wonder where it’s aII heading. She’s crying as she moves aIong. She enters the Square and there, it’s time for the unexpected. The totaI opposite of everything the Square stands for. The surprise effect wiII generate the attention we need, creating the perfect pIatform to express your message. AII those vaIues and issues your exhibition wouId Iike to raise.[/b]
You won’t believe the video they come up with.
[b]Anne: I think you are so interesting. I think I am finally starting to figure you out.
Christian: Yeah? Okay, let’s hear it.
Anne: I think you’re interested in using your position, which is a position of power, to attract women and to make conquests. That’s what I think. That’s what I think. Sorry.
…
Christian: Why is it so hard for you to admit that power is a turn-on? Admit it.
Anne: But it’s not true for me.
Christian: It’s not true for you, okay. I’ll admit to something else as well. I’m really proud that I conquered you.
Anne: Proud of having me?
Christian: Yeah. You’re quite a catch.
…
Christian: WeIcome! I’m deIighted to see such a crowd. Here are sets for our new exhibition, one that is very promising indeed. To enter, you have to decide whether you trust other peopIe, or that you don’t, you mistrust them.[/b]
Right, like it’s always either one or the other.
[b]Christian [to his daughters]: When your grandpa was a boy, about 6 years oId, and he was about to go out and pIay his parents made him a tag and wrote his name and address on it. They hung it around his neck and sent him off to pIay aII by himseIf in the middIe of Copenhagen. Imagine if I had done that to you when you were six. That never wouId have happened. Attitudes change…Back then, peopIe trusted other grownups, to heIp their chiIdren if they had probIems or had Iost their way. But nowadays, you tend to regard other aduIts as potentiaI threats.
…
Pauline [on phone]: Hello, l’m Pauline from YouTube Sweden. Congratulations to 300k.
Christian: Excuse me?
Pauline: Congratulations to 300,000 clicks.
Christian: 300,000 views?
Pauline: That’s right. Your video has seen a lot of traffic in just a few hours.
Christian: ReaIIy? WeII, that’s nice. I presume you’re referring to our artist taIk.
Pauline: No, it’s ‘‘Blonde Child Beggar Gets Blown lnto Pieces’’. The reason l’m calling is to ask if you are interested in any ads, thereby sharing partner revenue.
Christian: I need to get my head around this. We have a cIip-on YouTube that features kids being bIown up?
Pauline: l haven’t seen the clip myself. l don’t work with content.
…
Man [reacting to the video on cell phone clip]: …they have produced this video with taxpayers’ money…And the other thing they do, that they are clueless about, is to attack one of Sweden’s most vulnerable groups, the beggars. People who sit day and night outside shops. A video like this is pissing them straight in the face. What’s really sick is that my 6-year-old daughter sees body parts flying…
…
Woman [at a gathering of well to do patrons of the arts]: What’s happening?
Woman: This will be exciting!
Voice [over a PA system]: Welcome to the jungle. Soon you will be confronted by a wild animal. As you know, the hunting instinct is triggered by weakness. If you show fear the animal will sense it. If you try to escape, the animal will hunt you down. But if you remain perfectly still, without moving a muscle, the animal might not notice you, and you can hide in the herd, safe in the knowledge that someone else will be the prey.[/b]
Cue Oleg.
[b]Christian [making a video on his phone for the young boy who had been called a thief by him. Sort of.]: You can probabIy see who this is. We just met on my stairweII. I tried to caII, but I couIdn’t get through. So now I’m making this video instead. Because you’re absoIuteIy right. I apoIogize for the rotten thing I did. I accused you of being a thief. PIease show this to your parents, so they’II know you are not a thief. The note said you stoIe my phone and my waIIet, but that wasn’t true. I want to emphasize that this is simpIy not true. So, I’d Iike to apoIogize. It was a bad thing to do. It was so seIfish of me. CareIess and prejudiced and I’m… Looking back, I shouId have gone into your buiIding, knocked on the doors and asked a simpIe question. But that never occurred to me, because… WeII, honestIy, I was too afraid. Afraid of the peopIe who Iive… Afraid of the peopIe I picture Iiving in a buiIding Iike yours. Those negative expectations say something about me. They say something about our society, because I’m sure I’m not the onIy one who’s prejudiced… You have preconceptions about us too, probabIy because our Iives are so different. So suddenIy, it comes down to poIitics and the distribution of assets. Because these probIems can’t be soIved by individuaIs aIone. Society needs to Iend a hand too. It’s not enough that I admit I was wrong and apoIogize to you in a video. There are bigger, structuraI probIems invoIved that society needs to deaI with. I actuaIIy know one of the 291 peopIe who own more than 50% of the worId’s weaIth. A guy Iike that couId fix aII this in an instant.
…
Man [in the audience after Christian announces his resignation over the youtube video]: You started out by saying that you and the museum board agreed that you shouId resign.
Christian: Yes, that was our decision. This is not the image we wish to project.
Man: So you’ve reached the Iimit for how much freedom of speech you can handIe? You’ve hit the ceiIing in terms of communication? Do you personaIIy beIieve that you crossed a Iine? Christian: I beIieve that freedom of speech comes with certain responsibiIities. You must consider what you express.
Man: But is it up to you to Iimit free speech? Isn’t such seIf-censorship cause for concern? You’re in a powerfuI position.
Christian: The decision was not aII mine.
Man: But you took part in this decision. You have cIearIy expressed that this cIip was so distastefuI that you feeI obIigated to resign.
Christian: I made a mistake, the cIip was pubIished without my approvaI.
Man: So that’s where you draw the Iine? A fictionaI girI gets…
Christian: No, it isn’t. Like I said, this has nothing to do with my own opinions.
Man: You’re putting a cap on free speech!
Christian: These are not my personaI opinions. We’re taIking about the museum and my professionaI roIe. What is it you don’t understand about that?
Man: This is a highIy aIarming future you’re creating for our society. Quite frankIy, it sucks![/b]