Moderna Museet hosts create short films inspired by Walid Raad
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Sunday, December 8, 2024


Moderna Museet hosts create short films inspired by Walid Raad
Film still from Moderna Museet host Huda Mounahi's video short Storefronts 2020.



STOCKHOLM.- The exhibition by Walid Raad: Let’s be honest, the weather helped opened on 15 February, and had barely been open for five weeks when Moderna Museet closed temporarily due to the covid-19 pandemic. The hosts who would have been greeting and talking to visitors to the exhibition – and who had been specially trained for this in workshops with Walid Raad himself – suddenly had none of the tasks they had been preparing for.

Eventually, however, they began to feel a connection with the situations in which Walid Raad’s art had emerged. The result can now be viewed on Moderna Museets YouTube channel, in six short videos, created by seven of the Museum hosts.

- In hindsight, we saw how the corona virus and its consequences – including the closure of Walid Raad’s exhibition – put us in a situation where we actually experienced aspects of what he speaks of through his art, says Fredrik Liew, curator of the exhibition.

Walid Raad’s artistic practice centres on the influence of violence on people and their senses, cultures and objects. He tells of strange things that have happened to works of art in vulnerable situations. Raad shows that the simplified logics and structures we are accustomed to are inadequate in times of crisis. In fact, the world is far more complicated, and this is clearly revealed under these conditions. Even if we do our best to try to survive according to the old pattern, it is no longer possible.

For someone who has not experienced life at war, as Walid Raad did during the civil war in Lebanon, parts of his artistic practice may seem rather strange. Almost like ghost stories or modern myths. “Surely, that can’t be true?” But spring 2020, when our everyday life and surroundings suddenly didn’t work the way we’re used to, might have made us a bit more open. It is mainly issues such as these that prompted the short videos created by the Moderna Museet hosts.

At two workshops, thoughts, ideas and observations were formulated, giving perspectives on the Museum and the exhibition in the current conditions. These thoughts were then transformed into short videos where each participant authored a video each. The project was led by Ulf Eriksson, curator of learning, assisted by Kristoffer Svenberg, artist and freelance art educator, who served as the process manager. - The masterclasses Walid Raad held especially for the hosts opened many exciting new windows into his artistic practice. This is evident not least in the wide stylistic range of the hosts’ multifaceted video stories, says Ulf Eriksson.

One of the videos shows the host Huda Mounahi on her way to work at the Museum, passing a row of shops that have all gone bust due to the pandemic. Their windows have notices about sales. The protective shutters are rolled down. She sees a pattern – the pictures in Walid Raad’s exhibition of closed shop fronts. All crises seem to have something in common. In another video, the host Mark Bengtson Skypes his sister Lilly in New Jersey. They share memories of their father’s native Lebanon, which Lilly visited for the first time in 1971, before the war broke out. A country Mark did not visit until 2004.

After having seen the films, Walid Raad sent the following message to the hosts: "A few weeks ago, on my last visit to Stockholm, I left thinking I would be back soon and that I would see you, the museum, the exhibition, the works, and the city again. These few weeks seem so long ago. The urgencies of the pandemic, economic collapses, black lives matter, climate change, wars and protests from Honk Kong to Yemen to Lebanon to Minneapolis do overwhelm. They certainly overwhelmed my body, mind, and emotions. An exhibition sometimes feels like a pebble thrown in a pond. The artist rarely knows whether, where and how it will ripple. Your videos brought me back to Stockholm and Beirut for a few minutes, and allowed me to ride your waves down streets, spaces, sounds, images, and colors I missed. For this, I am grateful"

The videos are available on Moderna Museet’s YouTube channel, and on 16 June, the Museum will reopen and visitors are welcome once more to see the exhibition Walid Raad: Let’s be honest, the weather helped.










Today's News

June 14, 2020

Museums are finally taking a stand. But can they find their footing?

Doge's Palace reopens as tourists flock back to Venice

Exhibition at Gagosian explores three divergent approaches to sculptural process

Art world wunderkind arrested months after fleeing the U.S.

Hockney unlocked: Escape to the Yorkshire countryside with Britain's greatest painter

Neuer Berliner Kunstverein opens a solo exhibition of works by Monika Baer

UK PM defends history in statue row, as fears grow over protests

Exiled fallen oligarch thorn in flesh of Bulgarian authorities

New auction record for Richmond Barthé at $629k in African-American Fine Art at Swann

Exhibition at Fondation CAB offers perspectives on Minimal art

What we look like

What does it mean to tear down a statue?

Oklahoma Contemporary wins $25,000 NEA grant for Ed Ruscha exhibition

NGV launches video series inspiring floral arrangements drawn from works in the collection

Robert Northern aka Brother Ah, jazz explorer, dies at 86

Quinn's June 27 auction welcomes summer with Fine & Decorative Arts Auction

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth announces Modern Billings with Mark Bradford

Toppled, beheaded, daubed: five controversial statues

Delroy Lindo on 'Da 5 Bloods' and playing a Trump supporter

Moderna Museet hosts create short films inspired by Walid Raad

Exhibition brings Hong Kong's successful participation in the 58th Venice Biennale to local audienc

A streetwear designer who graduated from 'yeezy university'

A model for the 'dance world we want'

Pax Romana to host sale featuring ancient jewelry, weaponry and coins

9 Tips for Turning Your Essay Into a Masterpiece

The British Museum: Introduction, history, and interesting facts for your trips

How to get the best traveling experience when visiting London

Poker Absolutely The Greatest Card Game

Poker Downloads On A Mac




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful