Irreducible: Contemporary Short Form Video

CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts Presents "Irreducible: Contemporary Short Form Video," January 19–March 19, 2005 San Francisco, Calif., January 4, 2004—The CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts presents "Irreducible: Contemporary Short Form Video," an international survey featuring video work by artists from over 20 countries. "Irreducible" brings together recent works that are structured around a single situation, action or individual and often reinterpret the process-oriented concerns of performance and conceptual art from the 1970s, while exploring an expanded social and psychological landscape. The exhibition is on view January 19–March 19, 2005, in the CCA Wattis Institute's Logan Galleries located on the San Francisco campus of California College of the Arts. An opening reception will take place on Tuesday, January 18, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The exhibition and reception are both free and open to the public.

Featured artists in "Irreducible" include Dan Acostioaei (Romania) & Ann Wodinski (Belgium), Mauricio Alejo (Mexico), Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla (Puerto Rico), Jesper Alvaer (Norway), Yael Bartana (Israel), Mircea Cantor (Romania), Douglas Gordon (Scotland), David Hammons (USA), Kimsooja (Korea), Glenda Leon (Cuba), Mark Lewis (Canada), Mads Lynnerup (USA/Denmark), Euan Macdonald (USA/Canada), Aernout Mik (Holland), Will Rogan (USA), Aïda Ruilova (USA), Anri Sala (Albania), Song Dong (China), Su-Mei Tse (Luxembourg), Gillian Wearing (England), Wood & Harrison (England), David Zink Yi (Peru) and Artur Zmijewski (Poland). "While a number of videos in this show reflect on political and cultural situations in different parts of the world, what ultimately unites these diverse works is their ability to draw complex meanings from singular situations and actions. They make the case that even the simplest gestures and moments can generate an irreducible aesthetic experience," says CCA Wattis Institute Director Ralph Rugoff, who organized the exhibition.

Some of the work is staged or occurs in controlled studio situations. Devoid of sound, Aernout Mik's "Park" draws the viewer in much like a traditional painting, presenting a wooded park filled with people who remain disconnected from one another as they engage in both ordinary and mysterious activities.

Other works feature interventions in the flow of everyday life. Kimsooja's "A Homeless Woman (Cairo)," a mixture of video, performance and sculpture (involving the artist's own body), explores the uneasy relationship between the individual and mass society and the dislocation of being a foreigner engulfed by another culture. Lying on her side on a street in Cairo while surrounded by staring men and boys who respond to her presence in various ways, the artist becomes a female "other" par excellence, her unobtrusive yet bewildering behavior confounding the onlookers.

"Seen together, the diverse works in 'Irreducible' will offer an illuminating and provocative look at a vein of international video production that has become increasingly significant over the past decade," says Rugoff.

Generous lead support for "Irreducible" is provided by Ronald and Anita Wornick. Generous support for CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts programs provided by Phyllis C. Wattis and by Judy and Bill Timken. Additional support for CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts provided by Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.

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Irreducible: Contemporary Short Form Video

mit Dan Acostioaei & Ann Wodinski, Mauricio Alejo, Allora & Calzadilla, Jesper Alvaer, Yael Bartana, Mircea Cantor, Douglas Gordon, David Hammons, Kim Sooja, Glenda Leon, Mark Lewis, Mads Lynnerup, Euan Macdonald, Aernout Mik, Will Rogan, Aida Ruilova, Anri Sala, Song Dong, Su-Mei Tse, Gillian Wearing, John Wood / Paul Harrison, David Zink Yi, Artur Zmijewski