Guy Ben-Ner "Untitled: Ben-Ner Has a Conversation With Himself About How Art Can Serve Life"
Cooper Union (41 Cooper Square)
This event has ended.
Filmed and edited over the course of twelve months, Israeli artist Guy Ben-Ner will present an unusual “live film,” commissioned by Performa, that captures an ongoing phone conversation between the artist and himself as he flies to and fro between Berlin and Tel Aviv, the respective locations of his girlfriend and his family. Unlike a regular film, which is edited externally after all of the shooting is complete, Ben-Ner’s film never leaves the camera during a twelve-month period. The film always remains “live,” awaiting the next shot, which might take place in either Israel or Germany. Ben-Ner’s “storyboard” is life itself, and each scene occurs in real time, although with significant ellipses in between. Since the only editing is done entirely in-camera, the move from one shot to the next requires a real physical move: the camera traveling the full distance from Tel Aviv to Berlin and back as the dialogue progresses. Shot in Hebrew, and subtitled in English, the film presents a conversation in rhyme, which discusses how art can be at the service of life and the repercussions of such a unified relationship.
[Image: Guy Ben-Ner "Untitled" (2009) video stills]
Media
Schedule
from November 01, 2009 to November 22, 2009
Daily screenings at the Performa Hub at 7pm.