WALDEN AFFAIRS
Presents
'The Listening Act'
Curated by Stine Hebert
With:
Nanna Debois Buhl (DK)
&
Marc Ganzglass (US)
&
Ursula Nistrup (Dk)
March 7 - March 27 2010
Opening: Saturday, March 6 at 7 pm in Zuidwal 52
Open: Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 pm,
and by appointment
The Listening Act investigates the relationship between listening and speaking with inspiration from Roland Barthes’ essay "Listening" from 1976. Barthes differentiates between hearing - a physiological phenomenon - and listening, which he points out as a psychological act. Listening demands engagement and is hereby defined as a performative gesture, which leads Barthes to argue that listening speaks. The participatory character of listening makes it into an act of speaking, as both parties of a conversation are active to the same extent in communicating on a committed level. This notion identifies the outset of the curatorial project.
Can listening, besides being a distinct element that tells human from animal, also be seen as a relevant analogy in relation to how an artistic project is conceptualized and conveyed? The exhibition explores the intimacy, power play and utopia of fulfilling the listening act in its purest form. Projects created by three visual artists, who share a sensibility towards the auditory sphere in their practice, will question and pursue this investigation.
On occasion of the exhibition the publication The Listening Act is launched. The book contains contributions by the participating artists, an independent writer, and the curator and is published by Space Poetry.
The exhibition is supported by the Danish Arts Council Committee for International Visual Art.
Websites:
Nanna Debois Buhl
Marc Ganzglass
Ursula Nistrup
