https://www.megert.de

--- 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.    

In her video Franziska Megert shows the pianist Eckhard Sobiech, playing Bach and Rachmaninoff (J.S Bach: Prelude in a Minor from the Well-Temepered Clavier, S. Rachmaninoff: Prelude op.32, Nr 12, g sharp Minor). Both composers had contrary aspirations for their work, Bach composed his Prelude for beginners while the pieces by Rachmaninoff were meant only for professional pianists. This juxtaposition is mirrored in the video by Franziska Megert: Each piece was filmed twice, once in regular black-and-white, a second time in inverted values. "Piano Solo for Video" is composed of both those footages overlapping. The result is a gray image, subtle differences show the silhuette of the musician and his piano. At the moments of highest contrast single black or white shapes emerge. Thus the rhythmic motions of the film seems to become analogous with the keys of a piano. The piano solo is transposed, as the title mentions, into a video composition. In the words of Franziska Megert: „The intraindividual difference – made visible through the pianist’s dexterity (concetration) and the movement of his body (emotion) – observed during the playing of two pieces with varying difficulty is the topic of PIANO SOLO FOR VIDEO.“

The intesity of the video rises and falls with the Crescendo of the pieces. Franziska Megert plays the music of the camera.

Tyrone Richards