ultra-marin

The synchronized dances performed by the water ballet are graceful and elegant. In Diane Dodson’s video we see them from beneath the surface of the water, because, as she noted: “No one sees what's happening underwater.” Strong bodies, faces distorted by effort. The wheel formation is deformed. The title “ultramarine” refers, among other things, to lapis lazuli and the ideal images that are associated with it. This brightest and most precious of blue pigments was in great demand in Europe during the Middle Ages and literally shipped from “beyond the sea” (Lat. ultramarinus). The video shows that there was no contradiction between the longing for wide horizons and faraway places, or between the ideal and harsh realities—they belonged together. The artist pursued this idea in her design of a store window at GLOBUS‐Basel: the mannequins are all dressed in blue, uniform‐like, lightly grouped around the video. Their backs are turned to the spectator. Figures shown from the back were a popular motif in Romantic painting, they stood as representatives of the spectator in the picture and invited an empathic response. Here, the group shown from the back leaves the spectator out. Conventions of seduction—in aesthetics or advertising—are also broken by the artist’s staging: the mannequins are not there to incite us to buy, but are looking at something else. This turning away could excite our curiosity or evoke associations with current events at sea.

Andrea Domesle    (translation: Jean-Marie Clarke)

--- Präsentationshinweise  DE:

Der  Videoparcour fand vom 20.05 bis zum 21.06. 2015  zwischen 9 bis 24 Uhr statt. videocity.bs hat neue Wege des  Miteinanders von Kultur und Geschäftswelt erschlossen. 16 Geschäfte und kulturelle Institutionen öffnen für 27  Videokünstler*innen  ihre Schaufenster, Hallen  oder elektronischen Werbetafeln. Sie bilden einen Parcours zwischen Messeplatz, Marktplatz,  Aeschenvorstadt  und St. Jakobsstadion. Die Videos lassen den Alltag in neuem Licht erscheinen und umgekehrt der Alltag die Videos. videovity.bs wird einen Monat lang  zum immateriellen Bestandteil der Stadt und regt zu unerwarteten  Begegnungen an.

Es gab dabei folgende Stadtionen:  Congress Center Basel/eBoard, Kulturbüro Basel, Elektrohaus Boner, Basler Lädeli, GLOBUS, Banque CIC (Suisse) AG, Claudia Güdel, Confiserie Bachmann, Nationale Suisse, Der Teufelhof Basel, Stadtcasino,  Theater Basel, Basler Kantonalbank, Kunsthaus  Baselland, und St. Jakobsturm

Die teilnehmenden Künstler*innen waren: Dominik Stauch, Pipilotti Rist, Ursula Palla, Yves Netzhammer, Franziska Megert, Christian Jankowski, Tom Huber, Michael Spahr, HEAD, Mathis Vass, Jeannette Ehlers, Diana Dodson, Hildegard Spielhofer, Thomas Kneubühler, Manuel Szabo.  

--- Presentation notes EN: 

The Videoparcour took place from 20.05 to 21.06.2015 between 9 a.m. and midnight. videocity.bs has opened up new ways of interaction between culture and the business world. 16 shops and cultural institutions open their shop windows, halls or electronic billboards for 27 video artists. They form a parcour between Messeplatz, Marktplatz, Aeschenvorstadt and St. Jakobsstadion. The videos present everyday life in a new light and vice versa. For one month videocity.bs becomes an immaterial part of the city and encourages unexpected encounters.

The following institutions were part in the project:  Congress Center Basel/eBoard, Kulturbüro Basel, Elektrohaus Boner, Basler Lädeli, GLOBUS, Banque CIC (Suisse) AG, Claudia Güdel, Confiserie Bachmann, Nationale Suisse, Der Teufelhof Basel, Stadtcasino, Theater Basel, Basler Kantonalbank, Kunsthaus Baselland, St. Jakobsturm. 

The participating artists were: Dominik Stauch, Pipilotti Rist, Ursula Palla, Yves Netzhammer, Franziska Megert, Christian Jankowski, Tom Huber, Michael Spahr, HEAD, Mathis Vass, Jeannette Ehlers, Diana Dodson, Hildegard Spielhofer, Thomas Kneubühler, Manuel Szabo.    

www.ovra-archives.com/Dodson_Diana