Christian Marclay, ‘Mixed Reviews (American Sign LAnguage)’ (2006)
This video takes writing about music as its theme, and depicts American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter Jonathan Kovacs signing a long, collaged text made by Marclay from reviews of musical performances and records.
Old Neapolitan gestures, from left to right: money, past times, affirmation, stupid, good, wait a moment, to walk backward, to steal, horns, to ask for.
From the book ‘Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture’ (1958) by Bruno Munari
‘To navigate, in a genuine way, in the unknown necessitates an attitude of daring, not one of recklessness (movements generated from the Magical Passes of Carlos Castaneda)’ (2009) by Joachim Koester
Through the choreography of drawings and bodily movements, Koester traces methods intended to access or express physical sensation beyond cognition. In an ambiguous dark space, a mime performs the exercises described by the infamous anthropologist Carlos Casteneda in his 1998 book Magical Passes. According to Casteneda, these were secret shamanic gestures meant to enhance one’s ability to navigate “the dark sea of awareness”.
At the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hannover. Fullscreen for slightly better view.
