john bock, one of the most interesting characters of today’s german art scene, on show at the milan central station ....................................................
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in the royal room of the central station / platform 21, milan nov 09 - dec 05, 2004 organized by fondazione nicola trussardi http://www.fondazionenicolatrussardi.com this is john bock’s first solo show in an italian institution. animated by a kaleidoscopic profusion of objects, materials, fabrics and bizarre coloured prosthetics, john bock’s films and videos take their first inspiration from reality, altering it through magnification or deformation. the elements and ideas composing our daily life become an endless parade of clowns, puppets, circus animals and acrobats. - half mad scientist, half buster keaton - john bock, the philosopher of chaos, has built through his installations, performances and videos a playful world, where everything seems to be at the same time connected and dispersed - a universe founded on a dramatically personal (dis)order. he exhibited a series of videos and film installations that both condense and enlarge his performance pieces into an endless tour de force of narratives and permanent digressions. --- ‘meechfieber’ is an uncanny fable on the german countryside depicted as an imaginary alien planet. set in the rural atmosphere of gribbohm farm, where bock was born and raised, ‘meechfieber’ is a grotesque movie in which two farm workers tend to hypertrophic machines, bric-a-brac spaceships and animals in costumes playing a bizarre series of roles. featuring two professional actors, anne tismer and lars rudolph, ‘meechfieber’ is bock’s first real movie: a slapstick comedy and imaginary trip inside john bock's displaced and surreal personal micro-world (it is a co-production between the fondazione nicicola trussardi and the carnegie international 2004-05 in pittsburgh). --- inspired by? ‘yes, my interest were in conceptual art first, donald judd, etc. but then, yes, oskar schwemmer and the bauhaus theatre, happenings, yves klein’s performances, viennese activists, fluxus,...’ john bock said. --- see the clip john bock on his film ‘meechfieber’ --- along with the screening of ‘meechfieber’, bock has decided to present a personal selection of his video works. see the clip in ‘gast’ a hare scuttles around a sitting room between furniture, carpet, armchairs and carrots --- see the clip in ‘boxer’ two clowns wrestle in an improvised ring wearing masks, colourful costumes, and edible limbs --- see the clip in ‘alice cooper’ the artist, disguised as a rock star, dances as if in a crowded gig --- see the clip john bock on alice cooper --- john bock was born in gribbohm in 1965. he studied in hamburg, he lives and works in berlin. he has had solo exhibitions in a number of international institutions including MoMA, new york, usa; kunstwerke, berlin, germany; kunsthalle basel, switzerland; secession, wien, austria; institute of contemporary art, london. john Bock's installations, videos and performances have been exhibited in some of the most prestigious group exhibitions and biennials worldwide including two editions of the venice biennale; italy manifesta 5, san sebastian, spain; yokohama triennial, japan; and documenta 11, kassel, germany. --- ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? -------	--- platform 2, central station, milan john bock still from the video ‘meechfieber’ still from the video ‘meechfieber’ still from the video ‘meechfieber’ movies in the milan central station keyboard player and movies in the milan central station john bock and massimiliano gioni, curator (fondazione nicola trussard)