Noor Nuyten
The palm at the end of the mind

Upcoming - 55th Venice Biennale:

León & Cociña, ‘Los Andes’, 1 June – 24 November, Latin-American Pavilion, Arsenale, Isolotto, Venice

The most recent video of the Chilean artist duo León and Cociña, entitled ‘Los Andes’ (2013), will premiere at the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale, where it is selected to be presented at the Latin-American Pavilion.

In ‘Los Andes’, a restless primal spirit takes possession of a worn-out office room. The contrast between the stuffy office and the epiphany is striking: drawings appear on the walls, plant-like forms sprout from the computer and overgrow the desktop. As it finds its way trough the office space, the mysterious entity transforms into the limbs of a giant and dissolves again. Meanwhile, a mesmerizing Spanish voice lisps prophecies about ancient spirits and the beginning of a new era. In tape, paint, plastic foil and papier mâché the foundations of a new religion arise from ancient myths.

With their experimental films, León and Cociña create a new interpretation of the religious symbolism and magical rituals that are deeply rooted in the traditional culture of Latin America. The narrative plays a key role. The surrealistic, esoteric films of Chilean underground filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky but also the aesthetics of children’s fairy tales are sources of inspiration for the duo. For the production of their films they combine different techniques such as photography, drawing, sculpture, dance and performance.

Marinus Boezem at Fondazione Prada, ‘When Attitudes Become Form: Bern 1969/Venice 2013’, 1 June – 24 November, Ca’ Corner della Regina Venice

Alongside the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale the Fondazione Prada will present an exhibition entitled ‘When Attitudes Become Form: Bern 1969/Venice 2013’ curated by Germano Celant in dialogue with Thomas Demand and Rem Koolhaas.

In a surprising and novel remaking, the project reconstructs ‘Live in Your Head. When Attitudes Become Form’, an exhibition conceived and organised by Harald Szeemann at the Bern Kunsthalle in 1969, which went down in history for the curator’s radical approach to exhibition practice, conceived as a linguistic medium.
It has been decided to graft the exhibition in its totality onto the environmental structure of Ca’ Corner della Regina, thereby inserting – on a full-size scale – the modern rooms of the Kunsthalle into the ancient frescoed and decorated halls of the Venetian palazzo.

When Attitudes Become Form, Bern 1969/Venice 2013 with works from ao Carl Andre, Joseph Beuys, Marinus Boezem, Hanne Darboven, Yves Klein, Jannis Kounellis, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, Walter De Maria, Bruce Nauman, Fred Sandback, Richard Serra, Lawrence Weiner and Gilberto Zorio.

From Marinus Boezem the 2 versions of the original 1968 works ‘Window’ will be on show just like they where shown, hung next to each other in ‘When Attitudes Become Form’.