exhibition:_Darko_Fritz:_Archives_in_Progress_ (projects_1987_

Croatian Artist Association . Ring Gallery . Zagreb

exhibition:

Darko Fritz: Archives in Progress (projects 1987 - 2007)

9. - 21. 10 . 2007.

Opening Tuesday 9th 2007. 20 - 22 h.

The exhibition presents Darko Fritz's artistic projects created from
1987 to 2007. Some of them lasted for as long as five years.

The exhibition explores the possibilities of use of archival media
(audio-visual media) for art purposes and “pure information” as an
art form, so that in a gallery display it is conceived as a “film in
space”.

Twelve units, which are independent audio-visual displays, present
all together ten individual and two group art projects by Darko
Fritz. Through the presentation by means of audio-visual archives,
all in all more than two hundred art objects, gallery installations,
art installations in public space, contextual projects, video works,
photographs, Internet projects, and other art forms and formats are
shown.

Audio-visual displays on projects contain photo and video
documentation material collected since 1987, now adapted for gallery
set-up. Audio-visual displays use the video medium in the hybrid form
of documentary film (with a voice of professional narrator), art
documentation, film animation, and video art. The photo documentation
and video material originally stored in diverse video formats, some
of which are today difficult to access (for example U-matic video),
are digitalised and re-formatted.

Audio-visual displays enable the insight into the context of
particular projects, which is sometimes not discernible from a single
segment of a work. Particular project segments have been constructed
to function as separate works of art, e.g. one of the photographs
from the “End of the Message” series. The context of the work is
broadened with the insight into a series of photographs, and by
further insight into the story - which works had preceded this
segment before and followed it through the entire five-year project -
the context is uncovered, which is a work in itself. This kind of
context can be presented through different forms, like printed and
electronic publications, Internet documents or video. It is precisely
this kind of video work that this exhibition consists of. On the
other hand, many particular works had their material manifestation in
the passage of time, so that it is not possible to display them in
their original context again, as for example art works in flower
installation form in public areas of Amsterdam, Linz, Zadar, Zagreb
and Fuerteventura.

The exhibition will be accompanied with the catalogue and a DVD
edition by the end of 2007. The catalogue editors are Silva Kalcic
and Darko Fritz. Texts by: Goran Blagus, Natasa Ilic, Silva
Kalcic, Leonida Kovac, Eric Kluitenberg, Geert Lovink, Vesna
Madzorski, Zvonko Makovic i Inka Schube.


The exhibition presents the following projects:

The Imitation of Life Studio [1987 - 1990]
Cathedral [1988]
3 x Moscow Intershadow [1992]
Theatre Time [1994]
Keep the Frequency Clear [1994 - 1995]
Error Reports [1995 - 1997]
End of the Message [1995 - 2000]
XXX [body . technology . desire . porno] [1997 –>]
space=space [1998 - 2003.]
time=money=time= [2000 - 2001.]
Internet Error Messages [2001 –>]
Migrant Navigator [2001 –>]

Group projects:
The Imitation of Life Studio: Darko Fritz, Zeljko Serdarevic
Cathedral: Bakal, Fritz, Juzbasic, Marusic, Premec
space=space, 1999: Fritz, Arapovic
p.sound remix [part of the XXX project]: network art


January 2008 the exhibition will be on display at the Museum of
Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka.

Thanks to: Sarah Cook and The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art,
Gateshad.

More information on the work of Darko Fritz: http://darkofritz.net

Croatian Artist Association: http://www.hdlu.hr