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Indepth Arts News:
"Aernout Mik: Dispersions"
2004-07-01 until 2004-09-12
Haus der Kunst
Munich, ,
DE Germany
Aernout Mik was born in Groningen in 1962 and lives and works in Amsterdam. Since 1987 his video
works have been seen in numerous solo and group exhibitions, initially in the Netherlands, later also
internationally, for example at the Biennales of Sao Paulo (1991), Venice (1997 and 2001), Melbourne
(1999), and Berlin (2001). In spring 2002 the Fundació Miró in Barcelona presented a major
solo exhibition by the artist.
n summer 2004 the Haus der Kunst will mount the first comprehensive solo exhibition in Germany of
the highly regarded Dutch artist. He has been invited to present both old and more recent video installations
over an area of 900 square metres. The centrepiece will be a video work conceived especially
for the Haus der Kunst and produced in co-operation with the Museum Ludwig.
Aernout Mik’s grotesque, amusing, and at the same time serious films deal with the behaviour of
people in a group, with their actions and reactions, although the reasons for their behaviour usually
remain unclear. His figures move, apparently aimlessly, through the specially constructed rooms,
perform certain actions with total concentration or interact with other people. While at first the actions
appear logical and comprehensible, their meaninglessness quickly becomes apparent. This impression
is reinforced by various tics on the part of the protagonists. The silence of Mik’s work emphasises
their strange, unknown character, but at the same time allows them to integrate better into the
space provided. Of central importance for the artist are the architectural surroundings, which his
works react to, or which he interferes with by adding extra architectural elements. The production of
his works transforms the exhibition rooms into experience rooms; the visitors become part of his
study, the exhibition area becomes a laboratory.
The point of departure for his new installation is the former ‘Hall of Honour’ (‘Ehrenhalle’) in the Haus
der Kunst. Against the background of a critical restoration Mik comes to terms with this place, spatially
as well. He will transcend the existing limits, and his installation will encroach on the foyer, integrating
it and making visible the original proportions of the hall, which have been altered by various
phases of reconstruction since 1952.
IMAGE
Aernout Mik
16.10.27.04 video still1,
dispersion room
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