Artistic interest in the philosophically negated belief in miracles
Film series, compiled by Jutta Koether
„This film series is designed to showcase a special notion of ‘art film’ and apply the topic of film and métissage to the film itself. The selected films are not merely based on a single idea, but are a fabric of cinematic ideas and genres—indeed, the films are themselves nearly unclassifiable artefacts. These ‘blended existences’—mixtures in which one can find overlapping Pornocult/Underground/Horror/ DocuDrama/Drugculture/CrimeStories, and so on—address their own hybrid nature in very different ways.
Métissage is interpreted here as the ‘cultures between cultures’ which result in this context—the feelings of destabilization and the dissolution of affiliations. It is the blurring and new formation of an art form as a world between worlds, in which loss can also be experienced as liberating. There are expressions of forms of non-insight that come precisely from these intermediate worlds. There is fractured occultism. There is a potential for aggression inherent in some of the films. Or cult structures. These films inhabit an area beyond such categories as ‘feature’ or ‘auteur’ film, yet in some cases, they are marked and enriched by practical experience. In any case, the most personal subject matter intermingles with the extremely general.
Something that causes the Aufhebung (denial) of self. To not become part of the dissolution—not to inhabit the space inbetween or to consider oneself to be the other niche, but to put oneself on the line precisely there—that is the ‘Aufhebung der Aufhebung’ (denial of denial). In other words: ‘Fresh Aufhebung’—a process, an artistic interest in the philosophically negated belief in miracles. Something is communicated unintentionally in the works of this series. Psychoaesthetic effects become clear in the process. There is a mixing of effects. The film series becomes a living stage on which ‘not being denied’ is presented, and self-hybridization—a productive negation of one’s own nature and genre—is performed in very different ways.
I consider such events to be a reinforcement of the practical-political mysteries of artistic work, as rituals from which artistic action can arise. Each film is its own existence on probation; each has its own unique elements of tragedy and parody, and its own vivid, momentary revelations of the inexplorable.“ (Jutta Koether)
The artist Jutta Koether lives and works in New York and Cologne.
Colloque de Chiens
Hypothèse du tableau volé, Raúl Ruiz, F 1978, 88 min.
Ruiz’s film began as a documentary about the writer and painter Pierre Klossowski, but quickly turned into a fascinating feature film essay. In the film, an art collector conducts a tour of his fantastic collection of “living pictures.” One mysterious picture is missing. This is considered one of the most significant French films of the 1970s.
Performance, Donald Cammel, Nicholas Roeg, GB 1970, 105 min.
The story of a wanted gangster who hides out with the rock star Turner (Mick Jagger) and loses himself in Turner’s hedonistic world of bisexuality and transcendence. He eventually seems to exchange personalities with the musician.
The Man We Want to Hang, Kenneth Anger, USA 2002, Short film
Paganini, Klaus Kinski, I 1989, 82 min.
A portrait of the legendary “Devil’s violinist” from Italy, Nicolo Paganini (Klaus Kinski), who drove audiences wild with his virtuoso performances. The framework of the film is a spectacular concert during which Paganini simultaneously experiences the past and the future.
Trouble Every Day, Claire Denis, F/GER/JAPAN 2001, 97 min.
Claire Denis’s horror thriller of love and desire displays bloody, sadistic tendencies. The film stood apart when it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. There and elsewhere, “Trouble Every Day” has distinguished itself from the “normal” by making normality itself its subject in a realistic, fantastic, and thus extraordinarily self-reflexive fashion.
Dead Man, Jim Jarmusch, USA 1995, 116 min.
This film combines aspects of the western with film noir. In expressive black-and-white images, the viewer witnesses a man’s transformation from clumsy bookkeeper (Johnny Depp) to western hero.
Woton’s Wake, Brian de Palma, USA 1962
The Responsive Eye, Brian de Palma, USA 1966
Dionysus in 69, Brian de Palma, USA 1970
Medea, Lars von Trier, DK 1979, 77 min.
Lars von Trier based his television adaptation on an unfilmed screenplay by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. It is an atmospheric and powerfully visual version of the classic Greek tragedy, in which Medea seeks bloody revenge for betrayal by her husband Jason.
Andy Warhol TV Show, USA 1979
