TACITA DEAN

acca education

CONTENTS

PAGE 1 Introduction

PAGE 2Tacita Dean

PAGE 3Broad Ideas & Themes in Tacita Dean’s work

PAGE 4Materials & Techniques: Film

PAGE 5Analogue photography/digital photography

PAGE 6A Brief History of Film

PAGE 7Photogravure

PAGE 8Curatorial Approaches

PAGE 9Curatorial Approaches

PAGE 10Installation Shots: Merce Cunningham

PAGE 11Installation Shots: The Dolmens

PAGE 12Installation Shots: Die Regimentstochter, 2005

PAGE13Starting points for student work

PAGE 14Ideas of Representation, Illusion & Invention

PAGE 15Analysis of Die Regimentstochter, 2005

acca education

Tacita DeanPalast, 200410 mins 30 secs16mm colouroptical sound

PAGE 16Analysis of Palast, 2004

PAGE 17Contemporary & Historical Art References to Tacita Dean

PAGE 18Ideas, Issues and Arguments

PAGE 19Art Issues: A Beuys Dilemma

PAGE 20Commentaries

PAGE 21Glossary of Film Terms

PAGE 22Tacita Dean - List of Works

PAGE 23Further Research

01acca education

TACITA DEAN 6 June 2009 - 2 August 2009

This education resource has been developed to support middle to senior secondary students and teachers in this new survey exhibition of new and recent projects by British contemporary artist Tacita Dean at ACCA.

The resource contains information that is relevant to the Discipline and Interdisciplinary Essential Learning Standards and VCE Art and Studio Art curriculum outcomes.

Students and teachers who are interested in analogue forms of photography, print, drawing and film and who are responding to ideas about landscape, portraiture, narrative and abstraction will find the exhibition and education resource extremely useful.

The education kit can be used prior to or following a visit to ACCA. The aims for this education resource include:

>To develop an understanding of analogue art forms used in contemporary art

>To introduce students to Tacita Dean’s art practice

>To highlight the similarities and differences between analogue and digital materials and techniques

>To support students with interpreting the work of Tacita Dean

Further informationThe Tacita Dean catalogue is now available for sale from ACCA’s bookshop or can be ordered online at www.accaonline.org.au

All images Courtesy the artist, Frith Street Gallery, London and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York.

Tacita DeanOrange (detail), 2009white paint on albumen print42 x 36.5 x 4 cm (framed)

Front cover: Tacita Dean

Bottle Tree, 2009poster paint on silver albumen print

36.3 x 35 x 4cm (framed)

02

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Tacita Dean is renowned for her 16mm film installations as well as for other works closely related to film, including photogravures, drawings on alabaster, overpainted photographs, sound recordings on magnetic tape, installation works and objects trouvés (found objects). Central themes of her work include time, perception, the nature of seeing and obsolescence.

Born in 1965 in Canterbury, England, Tacita Dean moved to Berlin in 2000 where she continues to live today. Her film installation, Merce Cunningham performs STILLNESS… (six performances; six films) was first presented at Dia:Beacon, New York (2008). Recent solo exhibitions include: Still Life, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan (2009), In My Manor, Villa Oppenheim, Berlin (2008), and Analogue, Schaulager, Basel (2006). Dean has also had many notable solo exhibitions at De Pont, Tilburg, Netherlands (2004), Musée d’art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2003), Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona and Tate Britain, London (2001). Dean won the Hugo Boss award in 2007 and will be awarded the Kurt-Schwitters-Preis, Lower Saxony, Germany at the end of 2009.

This is Dean’s second solo exhibition here in Australia. An exhibition of Dean’s earlier works were shown during the Melbourne International Arts Festival in 2001. Under/Above surveyed Tacita Dean’s earlier works including, Delft Hydraulics, 1996, Disappearance at Sea, 1996, Trying to find Spiral Jetty, 1997, Bubble House, 1999 and Sound Mirrors, 1999, Banewl, 1999, Teignmouth Electron, 2000, Totality, 2000, and Fernsehturm, 2001. The exhibition Under/Above, at SPAN Galleries was curated by Juliana Engberg.

Source:http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/tacitadean/biog.htm

acca education

Tacita Deanphotograph courtesy of Mathew Hale

acca education 03

IDEAS AND THEMES

“Everything that excites me no longer functions in its own time. I court anachronism – things that were once futuristic but are now out of date.” Tacita Dean, 2005

There are numerous common themes and ideas in the work of Tacita Dean. Broadly, these include:

• Berlin, Germany• Past, present and future• Obsolescence, decline, life and death• Time, space, light, sound and movement• Discovery and chance• Analogue

The city of Berlin in which Tacita Dean lives is a constant source of inspiration to her and reflected in films such as Palast, 2004, and Noir et Blanc, 2006, as well as wall based works such as Die Regimentstochter, 2005.

Die Regimentstochter is a series of 36-framed opera programmes, dating from 1934–1942, which Dean found in a Berlin flea market. The programmes, found bundled together, were considered to be a rare find for Dean. The previous owner had carefully cut out the branding of Nazi dominance, the swastika, from each of the front covers. This action, leaving a ‘window’ into the next page of the programme, created a mysterious narrative in relation to the previous owner’s intent and pocession. The work also reflects Dean’s interest in found or obsolete objects.

Dean is also interested in the use of analogue mediums, such as film, which is fast becoming obsolete. Completely committed to her practice as a film artist, Dean is constantly reminded that her art is a dying medium. Kodak, a film created by Dean in 2006, during the last days of colour 16mm film production at the Kodak Film Factory in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, beautifully documents colour film production as a dying art. In this work, Dean’s record of the disappearing processes of film production, provides us with the opportunity for reflection and contemplation, on the future of film, which is quickly being dominated by digital technologies.

The sense of stillness in many of Dean’s films, suspend the viewer in a kind of timelessness, or a sense of temporality with limited or no action, which dramatically contrasts with our often frenetic lives. The stillness commands us to slow our minds and to take the time to contemplate what is being presented before us; elusive, like time, real and yet ungraspable.

In 2008, Dean worked with legendary choreographer, Merce Cunningham to create the film, STILLNESS (in three movements) to John Cage’s 1952 composition, 4’33’’. The work is presented at ACCA as six films, projected simultaneously on a range of screens of different scales in the space. The work depicts Merce Cunningham, maintaining three distinct seated poses in silence, prompted by studio assistant, Trevor Carlson. In this work, the subtlety of the movements, coupled with the drawing of breath and the fall of light and shadow, demonstrate the beauty and significance of the subject and the medium.

Tacita DeanDie Regimentstochter 2005

36 framed opera programmes32 x 41 x 3 cm each

Tacita DeanMerce Cunningham performs STILLNESS…(in three

movements) to John Cage’s 4’33” with Trevor Carlson, New York City, 28 April 2007six performances; six films) 2008

6 x 5 mins16mm colouroptical sound

acca education 04

MATERIALS & TECHNIQUES: FILM

Tacita Dean’s preferred medium is film in analogue format. Here, Dean expresses her thoughts on analogue and digital film and photography;

“Analogue includes a representation of an object resembling the original; not a transcription or a translation but an equivalent in a parallel form: continuously variable, measurable and material. Analogue implies a continuous signal – a continuum and a line, whereas digital constitutes what is broken up, or rather, broken down, into millions of numbers. I should not eschew the digital world because it is, of course, the great enabler of immediacy, reproduction and convenience and has radicalised our times, indescribably. But for me, it just does not have the means to create poetry; it neither breathes nor wobbles, but tidies up our society, correcting it and then leaves no trace. I wonder if this is because it is not born of the physical world, but is impenetrable and intangible. It is too far from drawing, where photography and film have their roots: the imprint of light on emulsion, the alchemy of circumstance and chemistry, marks upon their support.” Tacita Dean

In Tacita Dean’s films, the works are often concerned with a story or a narrative and unfold in a linear way, from the beginning though to a middle and to the end, as in a story. The narrative is often concerned with history or a significant point in time or a day-to-day activity. Her films reference other forms, such as drawing and painting, occupying a place between fact and fiction – existing in the imagination as much as anywhere else. Her films are also haunted by architectural relics or outmoded expired beliefs, which at the time appeared to promise everything.

In her films, Dean often utilises an anamorphic lens, which literally stretches or expands the view. These lenses can also be fitted to a projector to stretch or reduce the image. When an anamorphic lens is used, the picture is optically squeezed in to the horizontal dimension to cover the entire film frame, resulting in a better picture quality. When projecting the film, the projector must be fitted with a complementary lens of the same anamorphic power, to stretch the image horizontally back to its original proportions.

As with many filmmakers, Dean films ‘mute’ i.e. films without sound. The sound is then edited in later. Dean often uses sounds, such as a dog barking, a motorcycle or the sound of cicadas to signify a particular time of day such as dusk or early evening. The sounds, or constructions also punctuate the work with a sense of place and/or atmosphere.

Tacita DeanDarmstädter Werkblock 2007

15 mins16mm colouroptical sound

ANALOGUE

In analogue photography, a photographic image is captured or read as levels of light and dark, on celluloid film, which has been previously treated with light-sensitive chemicals.

Photographic analogue film is commonly sold as rolls of 12, 24 or 36 images, to directly load into the camera. Originally film needed to be loaded into the camera in the dark, before it was encased in metal canisters.

After taking photographs, the photographer has the choice of sending the completed roll of film to a laboratory to be processed. Commercial photographic laboratories return the original celluloid film strip or ‘negatives’ with the developed photographs. Film can also be processed by the photographer, pending having the appropriate equipment and materials.

Photographs or photographic images are affected by a number of elements, apart from the subject, which include the type of film, the type of camera, the lens, the film speed, the aperture settings or f stops (gauges the amount of light into the lens), exposure times and the photographic paper quality e.g. matte or gloss etc.

When film is processed, the negative images captured on celluloid strip, or the ‘negative’, allows the ‘positive’ image on photographic paper to be created. Developing film negatives requires chemicals, a tank for holding the film and a dark space or a special development bag. After the negatives have been treated or developed, the photographs can be created.

Photographs are processed with the aid of an ‘enlarger’, a number of chemical baths, photographic paper and a darkened space or darkroom with a safelight. The enlarger, has a zoom lens to enlarge or reduce the negative images. The photographs are created one at a time, by positioning a negative in the enlarger in the dark and then exposing

the image onto the chemically treated, light-sensitive paper for a number of seconds. The black and grey areas of the negative block the amount of light exposed onto the paper (as in silk screen printing). The image, which appears as a ‘positive’ on the paper is then immersed in a chemical bath, for a period of time, to expose and reveal the image. The image appears gradually and continues until it is stopped by immersion in a ‘stop bath’ chemical solution. The photographic image is then washed and hung to dry.

Film processing can also create surprises, unknown to the photographer or filmmaker. Apart from the range of conditions that may have existed when the photographs were taken or the filming was done, the end result is not altogether predictable. The final image is dependant on chance and skill, as much as the light, the type and quality of the film, exposure time, time in the chemical bath, the quality of the photographic paper and the chemicals etc etc.

DIGITAL

A digital image is not created on any type of tangible surface. A digitally created photograph is a record of light impulses on a memory disc, similar to a memory stick or a computer. Digital imagery is what may be called ‘discontinuous’ i.e. created as pixels and each picture is separate, but the number of pixels per square centimetres is so great that the human eye cannot separate them without enlargement. The image reads as a matrix of rows and columns, not unlike a computer. At the point where the lines intersect, they are called pixels. Pixels carry information about brightness and colour and can be seen more easily when the image is enlarged. These files then operate like all computer files, which can be digitally enhanced, copied and stored on a computer.

Digital or video technology, captured with a digital or video camera allows for a moving image to be projected by way of stored information in a digital memory format or a DVD.

Digital moving image files or video can be viewed on televisions computers, billboards, mobile phones or other electronic devices. Film can also be recorded onto DVD, via a digital camera and then shown in the same way.

acca education 05

Tacita DeanKodak 2006

44 mins16mm colour and b/w

optical sound

Tacita DeanFound Obsolescence, 2006found exposed 16mm Kodak negative17 x 61 x 4cm

ANALOGUE MOVING IMAGERY OR MOTION PICTURES

As with still photography, analogue film negative is developed with chemicals in a film laboratory.

Moving image analogue film is viewed by way of a film projector. The projector has 2 wheels, onto which 2 film reels are placed - one empty and one holding the film. The film is fed from one reel, across to the other, through a range of sprockets, and across a light beam and lens.

While the projector is operating, and the film is travelling from reel to reel, a shutter gives the illusion of one full frame being replaced exactly on top of another. A rotating petal or gated cylindrical shutter interrupts the emitted light during the time the film is advanced to the next frame. While every second of film has 24 frames (i.e. 24 of the small square sprockets that run along the bottom edge of the film, represent 24 frames of picture and one second in time), the viewer doesn’t see this transition, thus tricking the brain into believing a moving image is on the screen. Both home movies and those shown in cinemas were viewed this way prior to digital imagery becoming prominent.

Gauges or width of the film changed over time, which reduced the cost and ease of filming. Common gauges for film or film widths include 8 mm, 16mm and 35 mm. While Tacita Dean began filming with ‘Straight 8’ or 8mm film, her preferred size is 16mm.

While magnetic tape, along the edge of the film records the sound, many filmmakers film ‘mute’ (with no sound) and then add the sound later.

Film is edited by way of a manual process of splicing or cutting on a particular editing machine. When the film is edited, shots or sequences of film are physically cut out from the film and then joined back together again, using a special type of tape. The editor’s role is very important in relation to the end result of the film.

An EIKI film projector in the exhibition, TACITA DEAN at ACCA

acca education 06

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FILM

1826 First permanent photographs created 1839 The photographic process of gathering and fixing light impressions was published by Frenchmen Daguerre and Arago.1850 William Henry Fox Talbot invents the negative/ positive photographic process and the precursor to photogravure.1878 George Eastman first demonstrates the great convenience of gelatin dry plates1880 Eastman (Kodak) is established, roll film is invented and the first box cameras are sold cheaply for amateur use.1888 The Kodak camera was placed on the market and the birth of snapshot photography was born, with the slogan, “You press the button - we do the rest.” 1907 Autochrome - the colour photo process, introduces RGB colours.1910 First acetate film sold and offered in 22mm, instead of glass plates.1917-19 Nikon, Pentax and Olympus are established.1923 16mm ‘safety’ film introduced by Eastman Kodak which became a standard for the home movie-maker. 1929 Kodak introduced its first motion picture film designed especially for making the then-new sound motion pictures.1932 Kodak creates the first 8mm amateur motion-picture film, cameras and projectors - now known as “Regular 8” or “Straight 8”.1946 Kodak introduces Ektachrome, the first colour film which the photographer can develop.1948 Nikon’s first 35mm camera and Polaroid cameras are introduced.1963 Kodak creates its first cheap and simple ‘instamatic’ Camera. The American army develops cameras with photocells for use in spy planes. 1979 Digital camera with 10,000 pixels for scientific metering; the Fairchild All-Sky Camera.1965 Kodak’s introduction of Super 8 film, with same film width as Regular 8, but smaller perforations. Super 8 film cartridges available for easier loading into the camera. 1975/76 The introduction of the Beta VCR and VHS in 1976, which created a revolution in home movies. People still hindered by large and cumbersome movie cameras or camcorders.1977 onwards – digital cameras increase in popularity, reduce in size and decrease in cost. 1986 The first cameras with auto focus 1987 Kodak presents a 1.4 mega pixels CCD chip for use in cameras.1990 Digital image products arrive on the market: Kodak introduces Photo CD system and Adobe Photoshop 1.0.1992 Kodak introduces DCS 200, which is a digital SLR camera with 1.5 mega pixels.1995 Kodak introduces model DCS 460 with a record high image sensor of 6 mega pixels. Price circa $40,000.1996-97 The first generally accessible digital cameras are launched onto the market.1998-2003 Digital camera technologies increase rapidly2004 Cameras with 4, 5 and 6 mega pixels are developed and sold cheaply in a range of outlets.From 2006 Kodak announced it would phase out the production of analogue film with increased use of digital cameras and other electronic formats in the marketplace.

Photogravure

Photogravure is an intaglio (carved or hollowed-out) method of printing, using an etched copperplate.

From the 1850s, with commercial photographers and artists exploring light-sensitive materials and printmaking, photogravure was discovered. Because of its high quality and richness, and its ability to register a wide variety of tones, it was originally used for photo-reproduction of paintings and fine art prints. In1878 it was officially discovered as a technique by the Czech painter, Karel Klíc.

To create a photogravure, several distinct stages are employed. Firstly, a pure copper plate is coated with an acid resist of rosin or asphaltum and heated; which is an identical process to aquatint printmaking. A positive transparency of the image or ‘positive’ is exposed to ultraviolet light (UV) over gelatin-coated paper. The negative areas in gelatin, exposed to light, ‘harden’, while the non-hardened gelatin areas are washed away. The hardened gelatin on the plate then acts as the ‘resist’.

The plate is then placed in a succession of etching (Ferric Chloride) acid baths, which etch or eat into the areas, not blocked by the resist, creating minute recesses of varying depths in the surface of the plate. The deeper the recess, the darker the tones in the final print.

To print, the plate is coated with stiff ink, which is worked into the recessed ‘etched’ areas. The surface of the plate is then wiped back, leaving ink only in the hollowed-out recesses. The plate is then placed on the printing press. Dampened paper is placed over the plate and blankets are then placed over the paper. The plate is passed through the press rollers, under extreme pressure. The ink is forced and drawn out from the recesses in the plate onto the paper, creating the photogravure.

acca education 07

Tacita DeanT & I, 2006gravure in 25 partsHahnemuhle Butten 350gr. paper

CURATORIAL APPROACHES - TACITA DEAN

For curators and artists, it is a challenge and inspiration to plan an exhibition within ACCA’s grand exhibition spaces, which contain no right angles. From this perspective, it is important for each exhibition space to be planned to indicate the position of works of art and where new wall sections may be built, together with changed entry and exit points. In the exhibition layout (see illustration) for Tacita Dean’s work, accurate measurements and positioning of wall sections within the Gallery spaces have been planned well in advance. The position of the film projectors and the direction of the projections have to also be planned and indicated, to ensure each of the works is ideally positioned in relationship to the other.

As Tacita Dean’s work includes film projectors and still images, the spaces need to not only accommodate the work but also allow visitors to move easily throughout the dimily lit space.

Importantly, from a curatorial perspective, the placement of the work is also to ensure, as the visitor moves through each of the galleries, that the works connect in a particular way. For example, the placement of T & I and Diamond Ring, in relation to Michael Hamburger and Prisoner Pair or even Kodak, Found Obsolesence and Noir et Blanc.

ACCA IS NOT A MUSEUM

ACCA’s annual exhibition program is driven by the Artistic Director and the curatorial team, presenting the work of a broad range of Australian and international contemporary artists.

ACCA is not a museum. It does not have a permanent collection, unlike most public art galleries, rather it follows the European tradition of the Kunsthalle, (Kunsthalle is a German word, meaning exhibition hall). This important element sets ACCA apart from other Australian galleries.

ACCA’s focus is on the commissioning of new works of art, which are created specially for ACCA’s large exhibition spaces, as well as the presentation of major survey exhibitions. Many of the artworks commissioned by ACCA, are consequently placed in important public and private art collections.

The Artistic Director and members of the curatorial team travel on a regular basis within Australia and across the globe to select the artists, years in advance.

The exhibition program at ACCA provides a comprehensive range of visual art practices and media, which includes sculpture, painting, works on paper, photography, installation, film, video and multi-media.

PLANNING

Prior to the development of an exhibition and presenting new works of art, there is ongoing discussion between the artist and the Curator. From the artist’s perspective, this may relate to the ideas in a new work, materials, scale of the work and the way in which the work will be displayed.

ACCA’s Curatorial team have to consider:

• The exhibition installation/deinstallation timeline• The layout or plan for the display of the work• Building requirements and alterations• Size and designated amount of space for each of the works

Gallery plan for Tacita Dean’s installation at ACCA

acca education 08

continued on page 09.

• Supports and furniture for the work• Lighting• Technical equipment and special requirements• Technical and specialist staff • Wall colour, labels, signage• Visitor orientation and safety

PREVENTATIVE CONSERVATION

As with other galleries, ACCA has to comply with International Museum Standards and ensure adequate staff and systems are in place in relation to the safe handling, storage, display and security of the work. The Gallery ensures it maintains stable temperature; humidity and lighting levels and fumigations are carried out on a regular basis to control pest infestations.

As ACCA does not hold a permanent collection, staffing and infrastructure is not required within a separate Collections Management department.

DISPLAY AND INTERPRETATION

Works displayed at ACCA may be on the floor or directly on the gallery wall, without protective mounts, frames or glass. Displaying work in this way will be a conscious decision by the curatorial team, in consultation with the artist. This allows for an immediacy and approachability to the work, as opposed to placing works behind barriers or glass; whilst it may be protective, this can also distance the viewer.

ACCA's lighting system is state of the art. Multiple tracks on the ceiling support a range of individual lights, which allow for greater flexibility depending on the specific requirements of the work and each exhibition.

Many galleries use didactic texts or wall panels to provide

information about the artist and their work. ACCA prefers to use limited text panels or didactic texts, preferring visitors to make their own response to the work.

ACCA displays works of art with a label which includes the artist’s name, title of the work, date, medium and dimensions of the work.

INSTALLATION & DEINSTALLATION

One of the differences between ACCA and other galleries, is the extent to which the 4 main spaces are converted for each exhibition. Between exhibitions, the Gallery is closed to the public for installation (installing the exhibition) and deinstallation (removing the exhibition) for approximately 2–3 weeks, to allow for major building works to take place. Often, ACCA’s 4 spaces are dramatically converted to create and build a range of new spaces. This will depend on the overall exhibition plan, particular requirements for each of the works and visitor orientation.

A range of staff, as well as the artist and the curator, assistants to the exhibiting artist/s, tradespeople and members of ACCA’s installation team are involved in this process. This will also often include builders and plasterers to create whole new rooms or wall sections; technicians to install special equipment and the installation team to assist with construction and painting.

acca education 09

Tacita DeanPrisoner Pair, 200811 mins 16mm colourmute

10acca education

INSTALLATION SHOTS: Merce Cunningham performs STILLNESS…(in three movements) to John Cage’s 4’33” with Trevor Carlson, New York City, 28 April 2007six performances; six films) 2008

Installation view of the ‘Merce Cunningham’ space.

Final installation view of the screens and film projectors for the ‘Merce Cunningham’ space.

Installation view of the built screens and early positioning and testing of Eike film projectors for the ‘Merce Cunningham’ work in Gallery 1.

INSTALLATION SHOTS: Hünengrab II (floating) 2009, Riesenbett II (floating) 2009, Großsteingrab (floating) 2009, T & I, 2006 and Diamond Ring, 2002.

11acca education

View into Gallery 1 shows a temporary built flat and angled wall section at the end, which separates this area from the ‘Merce Cunningham’ space and provides a rseparate room for the Eike film projector, for the work, Diamond Ring. Small examples of Tacita Dean’s work have also been placed on the walls to denote the position of these works.

Preparation and installation of Tacita Dean’s work in Gallery 1

Final installation of Tacita Dean’s work in Gallery 1

acca education 12

INSTALLATION SHOTS: DIE REGIMENTSTOCHTER, 2005

A crate carrying Tacita Dean’s works, Die Regimentstochter.

These timber crates, carrying the work from Berlin, have been checked through Customs and Quarantine to check for any infestations in the timber crates.

Copies of one work from Die Regimentstochter, placed in the space to gauge the position of the works.

Die Regimentstochter, in position. Bubble wrap is placed over the works, for protection, while further work is carried out.

13acca education

STARTING POINTS FOR STUDENT WORK Document obsolescence through photography and film.

>Reflect on Tacita Dean’s interest in obsolescence and decay with particular reference to Palast. >Select a location somewhere in the city and through photography or film, document the idea of ‘obsolescence’ in that area. You may want to photograph a decaying building, rubbish, a dead bird, old cars or anything you consider to be decaying or obsolete. >Think of a narrative about your final work. This could be a fictional story about why your subject is in a state of decay, what it will be replaced by or an imaginative story inspired by your visual subject.

Create a collage inspired by Die Regimentstochter.

>Create a collage using newspaper images and text, based on the opera programmes, Die Regimentstochter. You may want to think about a narrative, idea or issue that you would like to express in your collage.>In a similar style to the opera programs, attach a sheet of paper to the front of your collage and cut out a small section. Before cutting, consider exposing an area with text or imagery, which will provide a hint or reveal an aspect of your idea.

Write an imaginative story to explain the mystery inherent in Die Regimentstochter.

>The opera and theatre programmes inspired many questions for Tacita Dean and continues to intrigue the viewer. Consider the original branding of these programs with the nazi swastikas on the front covers. Why has the swastika been removed from every one? What does Die Regimentstochter mean? What type of person do you think may have owned the programs and what interests do you think they may have had? Why do you think the programs were discarded? What do you think this could suggest in terms of the political situation of the city at the time?

Explore ‘stillness’ through photography, film or video.

Take a series of photographs or short films, inspired by the sense of ‘stillness’ in Tacita Dean’s works. >Photograph or film a scene from the natural or urban landscape that inspires contemplation or meditation. For example, you may like to capture the ocean, a flower in your garden, a water droplet on the ground or reflections in a glass window.>Create a work which has a sense of stillness and/or speed from within the natural or the urban landscape. Hold one scene or viewpoint for a long period of time and experiment with a range of edits or cuts that shift or alter the feeling of the work. Explore and examine the range of techniques that you have exercised and the way in which different viewers respond to your work.

Tacita DeanDie Regimentstochter, 200536 framed opera programmes32 x 41 x 3 cm each

12

14acca education

IDEAS OF REPRESENTATION, ILLUSION & INVENTION

“The painted dolmen, as an example, float in this newly created space, their rock texture emphasised like a planet’s surface. They assume a kind of monumentality and presence not possible in the reproduction facsimile that was their original photographic site. However, in this dislodgment their ‘realness’ becomes subject to the condition of ontological interrogation. As Magritte might have written: ‘this is not a stone’. Nevertheless, they have an uncanny three-dimensionality and amazing eternal, prehistoric weight.” Juliana Engberg, Commissioning Curator of Tacita Dean, 2009

FLOATING OBJECTS - LINKS TO SURREALISM

Salvador Dali’s work contained many finely painted floating objects that emphasised the surreal nature of his work. Like Dali, Tacita Dean has used the strategy of floating objects in her painted dolmen series. Historically, the dolmen are tomb like structures, that date back to the Neolithic period. Dean has mounted photographic prints of the stones onto large sheets of paper and painted blackboard paint onto the surface of the print to remove the background. As a result, the painted dolmen float and appear as if they are hovering within the Gallery space.

> Using the formal and symbolic framework, compare Dali’s The Madonna of Port Lligat,1949 with Dean’s series of painted dolmens.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES - Removing and eliminating the background

1. Collect a series of different images that have a central, dominant object in the foreground, such as a tree or a stone.2. Eliminate the background by painting over the top of it or masking device, extract the dominant object and place it on a solid background.

> What happens to the object when it is extracted from it’s background?> Explain how elements of the image appear surreal.

Tacita DeanRiesenbett II (floating), 2009blackboard paint, fibre-based print mounted on paper220 x 440cm

ANALYSIS OF DIE REGIMENTSTOCHTER, 2005

Discuss

> Select one of the works from Tacita Dean’s Die Regimentstochter, series and discuss the formal elements including; line, texture, color, tone, composition and symmetry.> What do you think of these found objects as works of art? How do they compare to Marcel Duchamp’s ‘ready-mades’?> What do you think about the removal of the swastika from each of the front covers? What does it reveal or hide about the original owner? > What do you think the political and historical background to these objects may be?> What do these works reveal about the culture of Berlin at the time they were made?

Formal Analysis > Describe the paper and the combination of textures and colours and what this may reveal about these objects.> Explore and analyse the focal point in each of the works.> Analyse the cut-out section of the covers and the way in which this creates a sense of intrigue.> Analyse the photographic images and the text on the covers of the programmes and what this reveals.

Historical/Political Analysis > The opera and theatre programmes, discovered by Tacita Dean at a Flea market in Berlin, reveal much about the social and political history of the city and the world. Explore and discuss.

acca education 15

Tacita DeanDie Regimentstochter, 200536 framed opera programmes32 x 41 x 3cm each

ANALYSIS

PALAST, 2004

Formal Analysis

Palast, 2004 depicts the now demolished, decaying ‘Palast der Republik’ or GDR (German Democratic Republic) building with Berlin’s urban landscape reflected on the external bronze mirrored façade.

>Describe the architectural style of the GDR building. >Describe the contrast between the architectural style of the GDR building and the building reflected in the windows. >Describe the changing effects and colours in the work as the sun sets, combined with the view of the building.>Describe the textures in the work as a result of Dean’s use of 16mm film as a medium. >Describe the key elements in the work, such as line, tone, shape and form.>Describe particular sounds in the work, which are from the urban environment.

Historical/Political Analysis

Dean’s filming of the Palast der Republik building in Berlin is layered with political symbolism and reveals much about the political and social history of Berlin.

>Dean is interested in architecture and the way it reveals traces of the political and social history of a city. Discuss. >Research and discuss the political situation in Berlin, pre- and post-WWII. >What was the purpose and political significance of the Palast der Republik or former GDR building?>Research the site, prior to the building of the Palast der Republik and the current site. Investigate why the removal of the building has caused so much discussion and debate in the community. > What is your opinion of the removal of a significant building in relation to the urban landscape and the social and political history of a city, such as Berlin?>Discuss the issues and ideas of Tacita Dean’s work in relation to decay, erasure and obsolescence and the Palast der Republik building.

Before and after photographs of the Palast der Republik

acca education 16

Tacita DeanPalast 2004

10 mins 30 secs16mm colouroptical sound

Compare J.M.W. Turner’s painting Shade and Darkness - the Evening of the Deluge, 1843 to Tacita Dean’s Diamond Ring, 2002.

Turner painted his landscape almost 200 years before Dean filmed her eclipse. Consider the contrasting ways in which artists from different eras, working with different materials and techniques have captured the mystery and the sublime in nature. Can you think of other artists who have explored similar themes in depictions of landscapes?

J.M.W. Turner Shade and Darkness - the Evening of the Deluge, 1843 oil on canvas

Tacita DeanDiamond Ring, 20026 mins16mm colourmute

TACITA DEAN & J. M. W. TURNER

Imants Tillers Mount Analogue, 1985oil stick and synthetic polymer paint 279 x 571 cmCourtesy of the National Gallery of Australia

Tacita DeanT & I, 2006gravure in 25 partsHahnemühle Bütten 350gr. paper

Compare the formal qualities of Tacita Dean’s T & I to Imants Tillers’ Mount Analogue.

17acca education

TACITA DEAN & IMANTS TILLERS

CONTEMPORARY & HISTORICAL ART REFERENCES TO TACITA DEAN

acca education 18

IDEAS, ISSUES AND ARGUMENTS IN TACITA DEAN’S ART

>Use a range of resources to critically evaluate a range of ideas, issues and/or arguments expressed about Die Regimentstochter, 2005, and Kodak, 2006.

Political IdeasTacita Dean’s work, Die Regimentstochter (36 opera programs from 1934-42), which she found in a Berlin flea market, all printed with the nazi swastika, reflect the political and social issues during the period of Nazi occupation in Europe during the 1930s and 40s. During this time in Europe, many products and buildings were aggressively branded with the Nazi emblem, a symbol which reinforced the dominance of the Nazi party.

Explore this period in German history and the meaning behind the German Democratic Republic and the way in which this period had a large impact on social history in Germany and on world politics.

Preservation of German Music and CultureThe opera programs are an intriguing record of a period in time and German history and raise a range of questions.

The fact that the opera programs were discovered by Dean, all bundled together, may imply that the original owner was an avid opera goer. The careful removal of the swastika, from each of the opera programs may also imply the intention of the owner to conserve the programs and perhaps reveal that the owner’s desire to protect something of German culture.

The removal of the Nazi symbol may express the original owners silent protest to the atrocities being committed by the Nazi party at the time. It may also be a reaction to the fact that so many Jewish composers, actors, directors, writers and musicians, were fired from the film, music and the arts industry, including the composers and musicians who would otherwise have been involved in these operas. After the war it was illegal to display the swastika, so perhaps it was an act of diligence too.

The work also raises the question of the nationality of the original owner and the silent protest of a German opera fan in response to the treatment of Jewish people during this time. The symbolic removal of the nazi swastika perhaps expresses the original owner’s concern that German music and more broadly, culture, be separated and protected from affiliation with the Nazi party.

ObsolescenceTacita Dean’s work Kodak and also Palast, explore the idea of ‘obsolescence’.

The work Kodak, filmed in 16mm film, on location in the Kodak factory in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, explores the artist’s concern about the closing of the factory and the decline in demand and manufacturing of film, as a result of the increase in digital technologies. During Kodak we see worker manufacturing X-ray film.

The filming, which occurs within the Kodak factory, had already ceased manufacturing 16mm colour film weeks before, highlights a sense of redundancy or obsolescence, together with a sense of loss that is connected to the passage of time and to notions of technological advance and progress.

Here also, Dean explores the tangible beauty found in the light, movement and color of film, as she films X-ray film being manufactured, the workers in the factory and the deserted laboratories and debris from previous reel to reel film production.

As Dean’s preferred medium is 16mm film, her concerns are pertinent to the closure of the Kodak factory and the future of analogue film and her practice.

StillnessThere is a stillness and slowness to many of Dean’s films which allows the viewer to slow and contemplate what is before them.

In Dean’s work, Merce Cunningham performs STILLNESS…(in three movements) to John Cage’s 4’33” with Trevor Carlson, New York City, 28 April 2007, six performances; six films), 2008, featuring the renowned dancer, choreographer Merce Cunningham seated, holding three poses to John Cage’s 4’33”, the work explores the notion of both silence and stillness. As opposed to the fast-paced imagery, which we often expect to see in film, here, as with other works, Dean harnesses our attention, challenging our expectations as viewers. Using slow, steady frames, the work suspends our gaze on a scene or focuses on an image for a longer than usual period of time, slowing our thoughts, forcing us to concentrate and contemplate the subject.

In an era in which people’s lives are quite frenetic, the slowness of Dean’s work can be challenging for an audience, conditioned by modern technologies and media images. Importantly, Dean’s use of analogue film, as opposed to any type of digita formal, reflects her appreciation of the material processes involved in film making, to achieve the end product and the time necessary to do so.

Tacita DeanNoir et Blanc, 20064:30 mins16mm black & whiteoptical sound

ART ISSUES: A Beuys Dilemma

Block BeuysHessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany

“In September 2007 the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt closed for renovation. Amongst its eclectic archaeological, natural history and art collections are the seven rooms devoted to an installation by Joseph Beuys (1921 -1986) referred to, by the artist himself, as Block Beuys. The whole museum is being redeveloped, but it is a recent decision to remove the brown jute walls and the grey carpet of the Block Beuys rooms that has caused such consternation in so many quarters.

Every wall, corner or piece of floor has been considered by the artist and nothing is incidental – works lean, hang or are placed against the jute, often brown felt upon brown wall. It is a complete installation of works, compellingly intact, in most part because of the cohering effect and atmosphere of the jute walls and the carpet.

So this is the Hessisches Landesmuseum’s appalling dilemma. It is faced with a conservation crisis. Beuys’ work needs some restoration. The walls of the whole museum are damp and need attention. The jute is bare in places and has been patched at varying times and with varying hues of later generation jute. The carpet, which bears Beuys’ yellow line, is wearing out. All architectural and conservation opinion points to a major overhaul of Block Beuys.

The museum has a responsibility to protect the work’s legacy and feels compelled to act. They announced they would take down the jute, paint the walls with white Gargano lime and uncover the parquet floor, although the issue of the painted line on the carpet is still unresolved. Then it would bring back every piece of the newly restored Block Beuys and reposition it exactly as it was before.

The announcement has caused such upset and discussion in Germany that there is now going to be a symposium on its restoration.” Tacita Dean

Extract. First published in “Best of 2007”, Artforum December 2007

>Imagine you are a curator who has been selected to speak at the forthcoming symposium. Would you opt to restore Block Beuys or preserve it? Use extracts from the commentary Block Beuys Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany to help clarify a point of view.

Tacita DeanDarmstädter Werkblock 200715 mins16mm colouroptical sound

acca education 1918

acca education 20

COMMENTARIES

“Telephones are analogue; the hands of watches that turn with the rotation of the earth are analogue, writing is analogue, drawing is analogue.” Tacita Dean, 2005

“Everything that excites me no longer functions in its own time. I court anachronism - things that were once futuristic but are now out of date.” Tacita Dean, 2005

“In her films, Dean offers the viewer the opportunity to luxuriate in slowness, stillness and observation. There is no commotion. Time is there to ruminate. Running counter to the hectic pace of much contemporary visual communication, Dean’s film minutes seem to pay back time lost.” Juliana Engberg, 2009

“I don’t think that I am slowing down time but I am demanding people’s time.” Tacita Dean, 2005

“In a busy world, one of the reasons why art matters is its ability to stop the rush.”Jeanette Winterson, “Much Ado About Nothing”, The Guardian, Thursday 29 September, 2005

“There’s this assumption that we all have to go digital now…well, I don’t want to. Digital might be a very functional medium, but it doesn’t have any poetry.” Tacita Dean, 2009

Tacita Dean with Merce Cunningham, 2008, at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio, Bethune Street, New York City. Photographer: Michael Vahrenwald.

a framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small; a panoramic view of an exterior location photographed from a considerable distance, often as far as a half a kilometre away.

fadefade-in: a dark, white or colour screen that gradually brightens as a shot appears.fade-out: a shot gradually darkens as the screen goes black (or brightens to pure white or to a color)

film stockor simply film - the strip of material upon which a series of still photographs is registered; consists of a clear base coated on one side with light-sensitive emulsion.

focusthe degree to which light rays coming from the same part of an object through different parts of the lens reconverge at the same point on the film frame, creating sharp outlines and distinct textures.

framea single image on the strip of film. When a series of frames are projected onto a screen in quick succession (depending upon film format), an illusion of movement is created.the size and shape of the image on the screen when it is projected.the compositional unit of film design.

long shota framing in which the scale of the object shown is small; a standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen.

mise-en-sceneall the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed, that is, part of the cinematic process that take place on the set, as opposed to montage, which takes place afterward. It includes the settings and props, lighting, costumes and make-up, and figure behavior. Mise-en-scene tends to be very important to realists, montage to expressionists.

Source: Bordwell & Thompson, Film Art.

GLOSSARY OF FILM TERMS

ambient lightthe natural light surrounding the subject, usually understood to be soft.

anamorphic lensa lens for making widescreen films using regular Academy ratio frame size. The camera lens takes in a wide field of view and squeezes it onto the frame, and a similar projector lens unsqueezes in onto a wide theater screen. CinemaScope and Panavision are examples of anamorphic widescreeen processes.

aspect ratiothe relationship of the frame's width to its height.

camera anglethe position of the frame in relation to the subject it shows. A high angle is when camera is looking down, low angle when looking up.

camera movementonscreen impression that the framing is changing with respect to the scene being photographed. This is usually achieved by actual movement of camera but also by a zoom lens or special effects.

contrastin the cinematography, the difference between the brightest and the darkest areas within the frame.

cutin filmmaking, the joining of two strips of film together with a splice.in the finished film, an instantaneous change from one framing to another.

depth of fieldthe measurements of the closest and farthest planes in front of the camera lens between which everything will be in sharp focus. For example, a depth of field from 5 to 16 feet would mean everything closer than 5 feet and farther than 16 feet would be out of focus.

diegesisin a narrative film, the film's story. It includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen.

diegetic soundany voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film's world.

editingin filmmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes in the finished film, the set of techniques that governs the relationship among shots.

extreme close-upa framing in which the scale of objects is very large; most commonly, a small object or a part of the body - also called detail shotextreme long shot

acca education 21

TACITA DEAN - LIST OF WORKS

Films:

Diamond Ring, 20026 mins16mm colourmute

Palast, 200410 mins 30 secs16mm colourOptical sound

Kodak, 200644 mins16mm colour and b/wOptical sound

Noir et Blanc, 20064 mins 30 secs16mm black and whiteoptical sound

Michael Hamburger, 200728 mins16mm colour anamorphicoptical sound

Darmstädter Werkblock, 200715 mins16mm colouroptical sound

Prisoner Pair, 200811 mins 16mm colourmute

Merce Cunningham performs STILLNESS…(in three move-ments) to John Cage’s 4’33” with Trevor Carlson, New York City, 28 April 2007, six performances; six films) 20086 x 5 mins16mm colouroptical sound

Wall-based works:

Die Regimentstochter, 200536 framed opera programmes32 x 41 x 3 cm each

Found Obsolescence, 2006Found exposed 16mm Kodak negative17 x 61 x 4 cm

T & I, 2006Gravure in 25 partsHahnemühle Bütten 350gr. paper

Hünengrab II (floating) 2009blackboard paint, fibre-based print mounted on paper236 x 450 cm

Riesenbett II (floating) 2009blackboard paint, fibre-based print mounted on paper220 x 440 cm

Großsteingrab (floating) 2009blackboard paint, fibre-based print mounted on paper234 x 448 cm

King Karri, 2009white paint on albumen print39 x 33 x 4 cm (framed)

Abraham’s Oak, 2009white paint on albumen print 46 x 40,5 x 4 cm (framed)

Bottle Tree, 2009poster paint on silver gelatin print39,5 x 33 x 4 cm (framed)

Orange, 2009white paint on albumen print42 x 36, 5 x 4 cm (framed)

acca education 22

acca education 23

FURTHER RESEARCH

Websites:

http://www.tacitadean.net/http://www.frithstreetgallery.com/http://www.mariangoodman.com/http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/tacitadean/http://www.kultureflash.net/archive/171/priview.htmlhttp://www.tate.org.uk/onlineevents/webcasts/tacita_dean/http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/apr/03/art.jonathanjoneshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/apr/27/tacita-dean-jg-ballard-arthttp://www.jeanettewinterson.com/pages/journalism_01/journalism_01_itemasp?journalism_01ID=28http://www.bombsite.com/issues/95/articles/2801

Books:

Dean, T., et al, Tacita Dean, Museu d’Art, Contemporani de Barcelona, 2001Deuchar, C. et al, Tacita Dean – Recent films and other works, Tate Trustees,London, 2001Rainbird, S., et al, Tacita Dean – Berlin Works, Tate Trustees, St Ives, 2005Royoux, J. C., Tacita Dean, London, Phaidon Press Ltd, 2006Dean T., Engberg, J., Tacita Dean, ACCA, Melbourne 2009

Tacita DeanMichael Hamburger, 200728 mins16mm colour anamorphicoptical sound