Longitudes
Longitudes cuts across Latitudes’ projects and research with news, updates, and reportage.
Publication "A Chronology of Energy- and Art-Related Developments (2013, ongoing)" edited by Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller
Wed, Jul 17 2013
Photo: Edizioni Periferia.
Last week we received a copy of the wonderful publication by Zürich-based artists Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller, with whom we have collaborated twice in the past, on the Portscapes commission series in 2009 (see photos of project here and a 'making of' video here) and on their solo exhibition 'United Alternative Energies' in 2011 in Kunsthal Århus, Denmark.
Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller maintain the thesis that throughout history, culture and energy have been reciprocal entities: technological change determines cultural achievements and vice versa.
Title page with contributors names. This and the following photos: Latitudes.
Their publication "A Chronology of Energy-Related Developments (2013, ongoing)" is based on the appendix of the six-volume "Encyclopedia of Energy" (2004). Its 64-page appendix sums up historical events of relevance to energy since the existence of Earth. In collaboration with 32 art historians (including Steven Jacobs, Andreas Vogel, Dorothee Messmer), curators (including Fiona Parry, Pedro de Llano and ourselves) and cultural theorists (including Yvonne Volkart, Anke Hoffmann, Rolf-Peter Sieferle) and concluding with an epilogue by Bice Curiger, former Kunsthaus Zürich's curator, the artists have supplemented the appendix (white pages) with «art-related» entries (yellow pages) in words and pictures.
Endpapers of the publication based on the appendix of the six-volume "Encyclopedia of Energy" (2004).
Latitudes contributed six entries, those of 1901 (Giacomo Balla's "Street Light"), 1956 (Atsuko Tanaka's "Electric Dress"), two entries for 1972 (Victor Grippo's "Energy of a Potato" and Gustav Metzger's "Project for Stockholm (phase 1)", ca. 1987 (Fischli & Weiss's "The Way Things Go") and 2003 (Simon Starling's "Tabernas Desert Run").
The book was made possible by a Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim-Stiftung 2012 grant.
Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller
182 pages, 20 x 27 cm, in two colours, linen binding
Edizioni Periferia
ISBN: 978-3-906016-24-5
CHF 38 / EUR 30
Purchase here.
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All photos: Latitudes (except when noted otherwise in the photo caption)
All photos: Latitudes (except when noted otherwise in the photo caption)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
DVD/Book of 'A Road Not Taken', a film by Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller
Tue, Jun 14 2011
We received the beautiful DVD/Book of 'A Road not Taken', the film by Swiss artists Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller – see trailer here – narrating the story of President Jimmy Carter's solar panels installed on the roof of the the White House in 1979. Latitudes collaborated with the duo during Portscapes, Rotterdam (2009) and most recently in February this year, curated their solo exhibition 'United Alternative Energies' in Arhus, Denmark – see images.
"This symbolic installation was taken down in 1986 during the Reagan presidency. In 1991, Unity College, an environmentally-minded centre of learning in Maine acquired the panels and later installed them on their cafeteria roof. In 'A Road not Taken', the artists travel back in time and, following the route the solar panels took, interview those involved in the decisions regarding these panels as well as those involved in the oil crisis of the time. They also look closely at the way this initial installation presaged our own era." (from the website http://www.roadnottaken.info)
The documentary just won the Golden Sun Award Best Documentary at The International Environmental Film Festival (FICMA), Barcelona. Congratulations Roman and Christina!The DVD/Book is now available worldwide through their web and other bookstores. Some data:
UPC: 6 34479 99963 5
ISBN: 978-3-033-02868-5
Genre: Documentary
DVD Region Code: No Zone
Running Time: 66 min.
Rating: no rating
Package Type: Hardcover book in slim DVD case size (192 x 135 x 10 mm, 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.4 “), cellophane wrapped
Pages: 64
Number of discs: 1 DVD-5
Directors: Christina Hemauer | Roman Keller
Original Language: English
Closed Captioned: yes
Subtitles: German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and English
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Audio Format: Dolby stereo
Bonus: 24 min.
All photos of the pages: Latitudes | www.lttds.org
Installation views of 'Christina Hemauer | Roman Keller: United Alternative Energies', Århus Art Building, Århus, Denmark, until 3 April 2011
Sun, Jan 23 2011
Above and below: Installation view. Photo: Jens Møller Sørensen. Courtesy the artists.
—> Slideshow of the exhibition.
Hemauer | Keller has investigated the concept of energy for several years. One of their main areas of interest is the history of oil and its competing alternatives, notably solar energy. Often involving historical research, remembrance, performance and film, their projects focus in particular on the politics of oil, energy crises, and the pursuit of new technology. (+ info...)
A 36 full-colour page booklet can be purchased from the Århus Art Building for 35 DKK (aprox. €4,70). Exhibition remains on view until 3 April 2011.
Photos and texts accompanying images: Latitudes | www.lttds.org
Friday 21 January opening: 'Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller: United Alternative Energies', Aarhus Art Building, Århus, Denmark
Wed, Jan 19 2011
The exhibition 'Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller: United Alternative Energies' will open on Friday 21 January from 5pm and remain on view until 3 April 2011.Opening programme:
17.45h Performance 'Postpetrolism was heralded here on 21 January 2011' (2006–ongoing)
18.30h Performance 'Postpetrolistic Internationale' (2009–ongoing)
Saturday 22 January, 11am: Panel discussion with Hemauer | Keller and the other exhibiting artist Søren Dahlgaard.
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The exhibition ‘Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller: United Alternative Energies’ is the most expansive presentation of the work of the Swiss duo to date, featuring ten works, four of which are new productions.
Hemauer | Keller investigate energy – as an allegorical concept, an invisible force, and a defining theme of geopolitics and modernity. One of the main focuses of their practice is the history of oil and the fate and future of its competing alternatives, notably solar power.
Hemauer | Keller make use of a range of strategies – re-enactment and performance, as well as documentary video, sculpture and text. Their work often provides an opportunity to revitalize key historical moments. For example, the 66 minute documentary essay ‘A Road Not Taken’ (2010) examines former US President Jimmy Carter’s early and ultimately futile efforts to raise awareness about oil dependency, as symbolized by the installation, in 1979, of solar panels on the roof of the West Wing of the White House.
Also featured in this exhibition is No.1 Sun Engine (2008–9). In 1913, American inventor Frank Shuman inaugurated the first large-scale solar power generator near Cairo, Egypt. Although it was economically viable compared to coal power, the plant was only used for one year. In 2008 the artists reconstructed two segments of this pioneering facility and established an information kiosk where local residents and passers-by could discover and contribute to its story.
Globalising the Internationale (2006–ongoing) is a choral work which refers to the songs of socialism and the workers' movements – one of the most widespread social upheavals of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. With this project, the artists aim to use the collective force of the human voice to herald a new age of alternative energy beyond fossil fuels. (+ info...)
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Christina Hemauer (1973) and Roman Keller (1969) live and work in Zürich, Switzerland. Recent exhibitions and projects include: Globalising the Internationale, for Portscapes (2009) and Portscapes exhibition, at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2010); 11th Cairo International Biennale, El Cairo (2008–9), Nettoyage énergétique, Center Contemporary Art Fribourg (2007), A Manifestation, a Dedication and a Place to get the Word out, Swiss Art Awards, Basilea (2007); At this place, Postpetrolism was heralded on 27 April 2006, Kunsthof, Zurich (2006).
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition is one of the 5 proposals selected from over 600, received via Aarhus Art Building's open submission call, and launches the 2011 season 'IMAGINE – towards an eco-aesthetic'.
A 36-page full colour publication in English and Danish will be printed on the occasion of the exhibition. It includes an introductory essay by the curators on the artists' practice as well as short texts about each of the works included in the exhibition.
‘Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller: United Alternative Energies’ has been possible thanks to the generous support of The Danish Arts Council Committee for International Visual Art; Pro Helvetia and the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation.
PRESS IMAGES
Please contact Pernille Lyngsø, pl@aarhuskb.dk or phone +45 86 20 60 53.
Press photos can be downloaded at www.aarhuskunstbygning.dk
SAVE THE DATE: 'United Alternative Energies: Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller', Aarhus Art Building, Denmark. Opening: 21 January, 5pm
Thu, Dec 16 2010
Slides showing the installation of the solar panels on the roof of the White House in 1979 by US former president Jimmie Carter, subject of Hemauer/Keller film 'A Road Not Taken' (2010). Courtesy: the artists
'United Alternative Energies: Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller'
Curated by Latitudes
22 January 22 - 3 April 2011
Opening: 21 January 2011, 5pm
'United Alternative Energies: Christina Hemauer & Roman Keller' is one of 5 exhibition proposals selected from approximately 600 submissions received in response to the Aarhus Art Building's open call for their 2011 programme, entitled 'Imagine: Towards an Eco-Aesthetic'.
Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller have investigated the concept of energy for several years. One of their main areas of interest is the history of oil and its competing alternatives, notably solar energy. Often involving historical research, remembrance, performance and film, their projects focus in particular on the politics of oil, energy crises, and the pursuit of new technology.
The exhibition will be the most comprehensive presentation of the duo's work to date. A small catalogue will be published coinciding with the opening of the exhibition (+ info...)
