kunst.hand.werk.
choreographische installation
100° festival sophiensæle

the counter.


In contrast to the videos in the first version of "kunst.hand.werk." in the Academy of the Arts Berlin, the Sophiensæle videos are far more determined by the location: "the counter". In the background you can see the movement of clients who are trading money for goods. The necessary abstraction to perceive the activity as removed is achieved in the video editing by letting the sound and image run backwards. This allows the movements to appear oddly accented.


art doesn`t come out of nowhere.


In "kunst.hand.werk." we invite the public to become a co-producer of our work. In giving a sum of money – the amount is freely determined – the co-producer receives three items after signing the co-production contract:

1: an individually developed hand choreography performed live that is visible for all on a monitor;
2: a limited edition card with a trace/imprint of this choreography;
3: the presentation of the choreography on the internet listed under the edition number and the name of the contracting co-producer.

It is only through the direct (financial) involvement of the public that this work of art can be realized in its entirety.

"kunst.hand.werk." focuses on the economic foundations of our work. It is an attempt to make the work situation of "free and independent" artists productive for the creative art process.

The money transfer - a necessary movement in the exchange of money for art - is the motivation and creative impetus for a hand choreography. By breaking down the causal chain in the theater context (pay money > receive ticket > see performance), the cash hand-over and the card already constitutes the art action. The simple consumer is simultaneously the public co-producer. He or she receives, in exchange for money and release of his or her name, not just an almost private but ephemeral performance, but also an object and the publicity for his contract and participation. In the media realization - via video on location, on the limited-edition card and as an internet video - the choreographic action leaves traces and thus turns an object into a commodity. This occurs beyond the fleeting nature of the live performance.

The movement resulting from monetary exchange - a daily fact of life - is the first movement of a dance event. It becomes choreography through the contextual framework of the installation and the video.