Kunsthuis SYB

The “smartlap’’ (sing along song) is a message of hope, desire, unrequited love and loss, packaged in a universal language that everyone understands. The meaningless emptiness, as a result of this universal language, is often accompanied by a beautiful landscape, folklore, flapping flags, a person stood in front of a backdrop facing the camera, a theatrical performance and cheap production.

The film and text based artist, Kathrin Maria Wolkowicz and the performance artist, Gerwin Luijendijk will dissect the ‘’smartlap’’ with analytical precision. Lyrics, video clips, photo shoots and the image of the ‘’smartlap’, will be unraveled. The separated characteristics will make way for new productions. Kunsthuis SYB will play the temporary role of music and film studio alongside the idyllic countryside backdrop of Beetsterzwaag.

In the meantime, the artists will go in pursuit of the answers to their questions: What happens when sound is separated from image? In how far does music play a role in generating meaning? What does it mean to perform in front of the camera? And how do backgrounds influence performance?

In the last weeks of December, the results of this investigation on the ‘’smartlap’’ will be presented in a window presentation in Kunsthuis SYB.
Video artist, performer and sculptor, Gerwin Luijendijk  (Zaandam, 1980) graduated from the Piet Zwart institute in Rotterdam last year. In his installation the spectator and the video monitor become objects in one installation or his body becomes a thing in between things in a sculptural composition. In the installation Rai Uno ’83, presented during It Hits My Hair in Wolfsart Project space in Rotterdam, he reconstructed, although with a twist, the background of the 80’s video clip of the Italian disco king, Grand Miller. In another work he reenacted Grand Millers performance, but, reduced in this case, the background details to a minimum.

Kathrin Maria Wolkowicz (Berlijn, 1981) graduated from the Piet Zwart Institute this year. Wolkowicz usually Works with film and text in installations and books. In her books and installations she investigates how man reads and spends time with text. She is particularly interested in how the physical relationship between the spectator and the art work contributes to the interpretation of the work.

Residency:
November 11 to December 13

Opening times:
Saturday and Sunday from 1300 to 1700 hrs

Conclusive presentation with drinks:
Sunday, December 13 at 1600 hrs

Window presentation:
December 14 to January 3

SYB maintains an open process by opening its doors to the public every weekend during the residency.

This project is financed by the Mondriaan Foundation, the province Friesland and the Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture.