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Leaving something open to evolution... | Jens Asthoff | |
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| ...continued from page 7 |
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terms: | |
Besides pushing obsessivity, the uncontrolled growth of NOFF #4 also bears a latent anarchic tinge of "anti-recycling", an incitement in the sense of "pleasure in exquisite wastefulness". Walde sums this up in an aside: "Originally I intended using the pile of curls [...] as a waste disposal, as whatever you put in the pile gets caught up in it and disappears. But NOFF #4 is a neverending production, realizing itself to new ideas and requirements." (20) |
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Wormcomplex | p.1, 2, 5 | |||||||||
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Tie or Untie | p.2, 5–7 | |||||||||
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The Key Spirit | p.2 | |||||||||
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Woobies | p.2 | |||||||||
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NOFF#1#2#3#4 |
p. 2, 6, 7 | |||||||||
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Handmates | p.4, 7 | Performative interaction is also realized in Walde's work as a formalized
exchange of gifts, for example in The Thin Red Line or The Tea Set (1996),
both of which can be viewed in the current show; The Thin Red Line is
created outside in the street. The person performing speaks to passersby
and asks them for a small object of their own choice. It should be an
object that the person is carrying on him/or her at the time, and which
they would part with for this somewhat diffuse purpose. Whatever the
token, the performer would weave it in to a red wool ball that is ever
growing in the course of the performance. Walde once called this a "collective fetish", and in fact this piece once again links various aspects of his work: "Obsession, ritual and enactment are inextricably mingled." (21) |
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Jelly Soap | p.4 | |||||||||
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Clips of Slips | p.4, 6 | |||||||||
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Der Regen hat eine angenehme Temperatur | |
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p.4 | ||||||||||
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Woobie #2 | p.5 | |||||||||
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NOFF #4 | p.5, 6–8 | |||||||||
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Enactments | p.6 | |||||||||
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Loosing Control | p.6 | |||||||||
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The Thin Red Line | p.6, 8 | The Tea Set is another example in which a work is formally composed in a communicative style through a staged exchange of gift. A tea-service is set on a square table with a white tablecloth. The room is immersed in blue light and the table is large enough to keep the set, at its centre, just out of the visitors' reach. Photocopies of a handwritten declaration by Walde are placed around the edge of the table. In the leaflet the artist invites the viewer to contact him to make a buying offer for the set. Not a monetary offer, however: "Well, it's an exchange. You give something and in return you can get the tea set." (22) Of the tea set one only learns it is a family heirloom rediscovered in the attic where it had lain unused for a hundred years, and a very old and very unpleasant story is connected to it. No further details are given. "Anyway, there is this awful story, a real drama attached to it. You don't really want to know it." (21) Knowing all this some people might feel uncomfortable about getting involved. Could this, however, be precisely its attraction? Or is it that long awaited opportunity for someone to be able finally to rid him or herself of a similarly unpleasant memory? By all accounts there have already been offers, but no barter has taken place so far. Communication about The Tea Set is done directly and confidentially, and naturally Walde would keep it secret. Thus one will not learn anything about motives. Only this much: As long as Walde exhibits the work he is still waiting for the right offer. (24) | ||||||||
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Can you give me something? | p.6 | |||||||||
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The Tea Set | p.8 | |||||||||
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(20) (21) (22) (23) (24) |
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authors: | |
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| Jens Asthoff |   |
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