John Bock
Lusstorte, 2008. Video - installation. 50’50”
John Bock’ s work characterizes for its unconventional and chaotic spirit. He is considered one of the most influential artists of his generation. Bock’s work has a performance and theatrical format which translate into vide, cinema, installation and objects in which nothing is what it seems, which makes the classification into traditional disciplines difficult.
John Bock is an eccentric artist who, through his vocabulary and the elements which he uses for his performances, sculptures and films, reflecting upon contemporary society and carrying the audience to an almost incomprehensible universe.
One can spot in his work influences of Paul McCarthy’s performances or Viennese Actionism and avant-garde art from the 20th Century, creating a peculiar universe where he uses certain objects and formats in which he gives particular meanings in his own encodings.
His objects and sculptures seem to be tools for his performances. Bock is the main performer in his audiovisual plays, being also the director, actor and set designer.
The works presented by Bock at Proa are recent projects that the artist produced exclusively in audiovisual format and are exhibited as a video installation in the exhibition room and the auditorium.
In the video installation Lusstorte (Enjoyable cake, 2008), Bock conducts a 50 minutes performance in which he is the only protagonist in a cake-shaped chaotic and false surrounding. In the film Im Schatten der Made (Made in the shade of, 2010), the artist unravels his ample creative repertoire, filled with references to German Expressionism and Absurd Theater. In Palms he develops his preoccupations, perhaps more concrete and narrative, stepping away from the surreal to devote to traditional script, constructed with some personal hints.
John Bock has a talent for creating complete works, erasing the frontier between the means he uses, uniting performance to cinema; cinema to sculpture and sculpture to installation in an intense way, emphasizing humor, drama and sarcasm.
-
John Bock (1965, Gribbohm, Germany). Lives and works in Berlin. He works with the following galleries: Anton Kern, New York, Klosterfelde, Berlin and Sadie Coles HQ, London. He exhibited in institutions such as MoMA and New Museum of Art in New York, Kunst-Werke in Berlin, Kunsthalle in Basilea, Secession in Viena, Trussardi Foundation in Milan, ICA in London and CAC in Málaga. John Bock’ s videos and installations were exhibited in some of the most prestigious events in art as the Venice Biennial, Manifesta 5, Yokohama Triennial, Documenta 11 at Kassel. Amongst his awards are the Ars Viva 99/00, the Alfred Krupp von Bohlen award for catalogues and the Halbach Foundation award.
Links
http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/bock.html
http://www.klosterfelde.de/sites/artists/bock/ar_f.htm
http://www.cmoa.org/international/the_exhibition/artist.asp?bock
http://www.regenprojects.com/artists/john-bock/