Welcome to MANHATTAN MARXISM - a project by Rainer Ganahl
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MANHATTAN MARXISM part one : MIddelburg Vleeshal , July - August 2014 about the locaton: In the 17th century, the DUTCH GOLDEN AGE, MIDDELBURG was a very rich town and next to Amsterdam the most important center in the Netherlands, hence it was a little Manhattan of today. Also, in that Dutch century, Manhattan itself was mostly founded and dominated by Dutch merchants and its oversea companies and hence called New Amsterdam, the center of New Netherlands. Needless to say, Middelburg made it's money with oversea trade and the help of the DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY, the most powerful of the time. and was a major player in the 17th century slave trade. DE VLEESHAL - meat hall - is the today a contemporary KUNSTHALLE or City Museum for temporary exhibitiion. This former market place is part of the CITY HALL building and stylistically often mistaken for some former church. The proximity between a market place for meat and the center of political power can only be explained by the importance meat had and can give a hint why today art and not food or tuilips are on display. With the advent of the the global economic crisis (2007/08 ff ) originating in Manhattan with the spectacular colaps and bancruptcy of a one of the biggest world wide operating finaical power houses - Lehman Brothers, founded in 1850 - I started to be interested in working with foods inclding pig heads hence was albe to return some meat to De Vleeshal, the former meat hall.
Manhattan Marxism, 2014 opening installation view
i present the works clockwise:
installation view, left side
The condition of the working class in England - Little Ireland. In memory of Mary Burns, 2011 For this video, I am riding in circles on a bike in exactly the spot where LIttle Ireland was located, the most famous and most miserable living quaters for predominantly Irish workers during the industrial revolution. While riding a circles a young "fierce woman" is reading from Engels's book these parts dealing with Little Ireland. On wikipedia this paragraph to Mary Bruns can currently be found: "In Manchester Engels met Mary Burns, a fierce young working woman with radical opinions with whom he began a relationship that lasted until her death in 1862.[10][11] The two never married, as both were against the institution of marriage which Engels saw as unnatural and unjust.[12] Burns guided Engels through Manchester and Salford, showing him the worst districts for his research." Today, we see a parking lot, an old mill /factory of the times and new complexes of luxurious living still in development since the recent economic crisis slowed down gentrification.
installation view installation view - left side with videos and GIORGIO MORANDI / pig head works
STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, GIORGIO MORANDI, NATURA MORTA / TESTA DI MAIALE / PIG HEAD, 1955 / 2012 oil painting, pig head, wooden base, aluminum foil, pig head (a pig head may be present but doesn't have to be present for obvious reasons) For this work which is in relationship to my Painting a pig head in front of a Giorgio Morandi works I ordered a copy of a painting by the Italian master in order to have a pig head meditating it. The Italian (and French) natura morta / nature morte can be really reanimated if there is a real dead animal head standing and watching at a painting. The pig head spectacle is not only to be understood as a commentary on the injustice of our economic and social systems but also a play with the Italian expression “testa di maiale” which signifies not only a pig head but also a person with despicable qualities. the curator, Lorenzo Benedetti and me--- (photo Lorenzo Bruni )
PAINTING A PIG HEAD IN FRONT OF A GIORGIO MORANDI, Bologna 2012 video, 20 min In this video, you see me doing exactly what the title claims: Painting a pig head in front of a Giorgio Morandi though I have never painted nor attended any painting classes. I just bought some oil paint, some pig head and put myself in front of an original Morandi painting galleria d'Arte Maggiore, Bologna with a sales price of 1 200 000 Euro. Giorgio Morandi (1890 - 1964) spent his entire life in Bologna and made apart of some landscape paintings exclusively very reduced still life paintings containing bottles and other simple containers in a very uni-colored haze. Given his biography, he participated in WWI and lived through WWII, saw most of his life poverty and gave expression to it. The paintings and the video are part of works that dealt with the financial term Credit Crunch that started in 2008 with the near collapse of the entire world financial system. It also points to the contrasts our value and financial systems allows if one thinks about the incredible amount of money the authentic Morandi painting I was able to borrow costs.
Four Economic Thinkers: Marx, Mao, Lenin, dickhead, 2011
DER SCHWEINEHIRT / The Swineherd, 2012 Black and white, ffilm 16mm, 9:50 min For this film, shot with black and white 16 mm film, I had to climb up into the Italian alps, the dolomites to find these naturally held pigs still in possession of all their dangerous teeth. My boots had steel protection and I was told not to fall which scared me even more. In the very proximity of this many century old mountain farm which was never consumed by fire and hence was stunningly beautiful and rare, the Otzi was found, more than 5 000 years old Iceman, also called Homo tyrolensis in good old latin who lived around 3 300 BCE. P ortugal PS: Warning ! PIGS (also PIIGS) is a pejorative acronym used to refer to the economies of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain with similar economic environments. Some news and economic organizations have limited or banned the use of the term because of criticism regarding perceived offensive connotations.
Bicycling from Karl-Marx-Allee through the Brandenburger Gate - Meditating Berlin 1989, 2007 video, 13 min. Since 2002 I have been using the bicycle to make art. In most cases I just bicycle against the traffic without holding the handlebar. I do this to protest against cars and cars and cars. The Karl-Marx-Allee was located in the Soviet controlled sector of East Berlin which was the capital of the GRD, a repressive state which claimed to based on the principle of Karl Marx classless society.
Marx against the grain, against rules and laws, against the flow and walls,towards the WEST.
Karl Marx, Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Oekonomie, Erster Band, Buch 1, Der Produktionsprozess des Kapitals, 2009 video , 4 min As I have done with Sigmund Freud, Lenin and Handke (his goal keeper book), I I'm kicking the book of Karl Marx to its full destruction. I don't do that out of hatred for the authors but out of a reminder that books were destroyed in the past (particular those of the firsts 3 authors). I do that also because it is quite an intense act of expression that transcends reading. The relationship between violence, destruction and (re)creation is quite challenging and provokes interesting questions that go beyond my pure will to "just make art." Interesting knods for associations and feed backs open up and reinscribe this act of planned destruction with the very content of the book:with Marx's Capital it is the question of commodity, (Ware), of commodification and Mehrwert (surplus value). Interesting enough, the book analysing the very nature of commodity, commodification, production and circulation offers itself best to this transformative destruction and rebirth into a piece of art - a sublime object of desire, reflection and (hopefully) value.
Reading Karl Marx in a stretch-iimo during the Armory Art Fair in New York, 2009 Video, approx. 30 minutes , Invited to do some project during the Armory Art Fair, I decided to make a Karl Marx reading in a stretch-limo commonly associated with the world of glamour and wealth. But the reality is quite different since most riders are relatively lower middle class youngsters from the suburbs who want to party and larger groups during the weekends and convince themselves to have the life they would like to have. Also, the reality of the drivers is in most cases not very glamorous. This was the beginning of using readings also in less traditional settings which I first planed for Mexico city, thought I was not able to finally do it. Two years ago, I was reading Marx in a small rowing boat.
Four economic thinkers, Marx, Lenin, Mao, Dickhead, 2012 carved wood and vegetalbes and fruits with inscriptions 130 cm long, 57 wide x 52 cm high
120 cm long, 57 wide, 52 cm high
appr. 137 cm long x 57 cm wide x 57 cm wide
more on the FOUR ECONOMIC THINKERS HERE
Reading Karl Marx, 1999 ff Organizing group readings and discussions is an integral part of my art practice since 1992. I love to read and discuss with people interested to do so. It is a series of ongoing projects with changing books, contexts and titles. These reading seminars can take place with and without institutional contexts. All these reading sessions are recorded on video and photos are taken – by me, by others and sometimes with a tripod and a timer. In 1999, I initiated an ongoing Reading Karl Marx series of which we see here images taken in Innsbruck 1999, Frankfurt 2000, New York 2000 and London 2001. see: www.ganahlmarx.info
Holzwege, Die Religion ist das Opium des Volkes, Karl Marx / Religion is the Opium of the People, Karl Marx, 2009
KOPF AUS GLAS' / SKETCH FOR 'A HEAD OF GLASS' , 2011 installation view with SPANISH HARLEM WORKS /manhattan, New York
Haunted Hauses - Vacant Buildings on Third Avenue Between 99th and 120th Street 16 mm, color film What is special about this mile on Third Avenue in Spanish Harlem, Manhattan, New York is that many buildings are only occupied on street level leaving the rest of the often residential structures unoccupied, boarded or even bricked up. A New York Times article about this area quotes some housing advocates calling these vacant buildings throughout Spanish Harlem simply “Haunted Houses.” Hence, I decided to film with 16 mm film these two blocks with a minimum of stops in a 90 degree angle traveling. Due to the fact that the camera couldn’t take the entire front in one I doubled it up with a second camera and a parallel view.
MARX 99 CENTS The Distribution of Wealth Between Americans Before you can talk about the 1 percent, it’s important to put the figures into perspective by understanding exactly what that figure means. The average annual income of the top 1 percent of the population is $717,000, compared to the average income of the rest of the population, which is around $51,000. The real disparity between the classes isn’t in income, however, but in net value: The 1 percent are worth about $8.4 million, or 70 times the worth of the lower classes.
EL MUNDO - A CLASSICAL MUSIC CONCERT AT FORMER EAGLE THEATER, SPANISH HARLEM, NYC, 2013 Two screen video 55 min After moving to Spanish Harlem, Manhattan, New York in 1997, I have been shopping at EL MUNDO for ALL BRAND NAME toilet paper, laundry detergents, batteries, light bulbs, wrapping tapes and other stuff typically sold on Third Avenue between 103rd and 110th street. Third Avenue is defined by discount shops typical for low income areas now about to disappear in Manhattan. When the sign Closing in 14 days went up in January 2013, I acted quickly to put this dream of staging on opera into reality in order to restore the original glory of this place back to life for one night. With this little time to prepare in order to rent a grand piano, convince the shop keeper to rent the space and the tremendous help of my friends and in particular the violinist Rachel Kablakov as well as Matthew Higgs, I was able to stage it and mobile some interested people to squeeze into the shop after business hour just days before its final closing. The magical performance of the mostly Juilliard School of Music trained musicians at the coldest day of the year 2013 served me also as a film stage for this two screen video which was filmed with a variety of cameras, ad hoc film camera man and women, a 16 mm film crew as well as a sound professional for a subsequent vinyl production. This classical music performance, staged at the now-defunct El Mundo discount store, encapsulates the history of an East Harlem building as it passes through diverse incarnations that trace economic, demographic, and cultural shifts on both the local and global scene. Also, some of the opera pieces – the pop art of the days - bring us back to politics, to emerging working-class cultures in which slaves and exploited people play a role, mirroring the industrialization of Europe in the 19th century with the rather under-privileged context in which El Mundo was built and functioned in Spanish Harlem. here is A NEW YORK TIMES review
HERMES MARX silk screen over authentic Hermes fouldards, The synthetic silk scarves for 99 cents would not be even worn by people who belong to the economic group of the wealthiest 10 % thought they approve of Hermes whose 90x90 cm foulards cost nearly as much as real estate square foot. In the after match of the 2008 financial crisis this wealthy group got off to a much better start than those at the significantly larger opposite end of the financial spectrum. more on this work here
Hermes - Marx, LES ARMES DE PARIS / The weapons of Paris, 1950s/2014
Hermès Marx, CHEF INDIENS, 2014/2014
Hermes - Marx, CHEVAL TURQ / Turkish horse, 1960s/2014
Hermes - Marx, PLUMES DES L'OUEST / Feathers of the West, 1990s/2014
Hermès Marx, Soie indiens d'amérique Kachinas, 1973/2013
back to the entrance but to the right :
THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS IN ENGLAND Today, people who are even without work or were once defined as belonging to the working class – as everybody else - are spending a lot of their times on line and on eBay where massive amounts of second hand and even new objects are circulating and exchange hands. Penny pinching as well an economic races to the bottom can be observed without much effort. more on this works here THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: Vintage industrial factory cart, mill truck, table/prop, £355.00 plus shipping THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: Vintage Industrial TanSad Machinists Chair, £102.13 plus shipping
THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: Vintage Industrial TanSad Machinists Chair, £102.13 plus shipping THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: Vintage industrial factory cart, mill truck, table/prop, £355.00 plus shipping
THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: Vintage industrial factory cart, mill truck, table/prop, £355.00 plus shipping
THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: 2 ANTIQUE WOODEN & METAL WOOL INDUSTRIAL LOOMS/SPOOLS, £16.95 plus postage, 2011
THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: 1930's Mill Photo Industrial Steel Workers, US $ 9.95 plus postage and packaging. 2011
DIE LAGE DER ARBEITENDEN KLASSE IN ENGLAND - A COLLECTION OF THE GERMAN EDITION OF FRIEDRICH ENGELS’ THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS IN ENGLAND ACROSS 10 DECADES AS PURCHASED ONLINE FOR NOT MORE THAN 33 EUR A BOOK PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING COSTS. 1913 / 2011: Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England - Engels, 1913/ 2011
THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASS: SHOPPING ON EBAY.CO.UK: Complete set antique metal printer blocks Today, people who are even without work or were once defined as belonging to the working class – as everybody else - are spending a lot of their times on line and on eBay where massive amounts of second hand and even new objects are circulating and exchange hands. Penny pinching as well an economic races to the bottom can be observed without much effort.
WORKING CLASS - A PORTABLE LIBRARY CONSISTING OF 24 BOOKS PURCHASED ON EBAY.CO.UK FOR 0.99 GBP PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING COSTS
JOHN LENNON WORKING CLASS HERO - A MUSIC LIBRARY CONSISTING OF 24 VINYLS PURCHASED ON EBAY.CO.UK FOR 0.99 GBP PLUS SHIPPING & HANDLING COSTS: John Lennon - Imagine/Working Class Hero 7"
Credit Crunch works
The Four Big Economic Thinkers, made as fruit or vegetable bowls somehow overlooked by these thinkers are contained with organic produces specific to them: Marx standing or lying in for capitalism was biting red apples, alluding to Apple Inc., for long stretches of time the most valuable company on the planet; Mao, associated with China’s nascent hyper capitalism under overall communist leadership – Marx’s dream come true – about to become the world’s biggest economy was watching over some world currencies issued in potatoes; Lenin overlooks oil producing pumpkins with inscriptions like oil, $, RMB, corruption, Crimea and Putin, the new big strong man of the East who thanks to high oil and gas prices would like to reinstall the Soviet empire again under but without any of the communist ideology since Yeltsin outlawed communism in Russia; A Do it yourself dickhead is filled with carrots due to market conditions - phallic corn used the last time is not yet growing but big carrots do. Neither the dickhead nor the carrots are in need of any explanation and it economic impact is obvious. see more here
Vesperbrettchen für Kreditkrisenfraß / Wooden boards for Credit Crunch meal , 2011 see more details of earlier presentations in Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen Vesperbrettchen für Kreditkrisenfraß / Wooden boards for Credit Crunch meal , 2011 see more details of earlier presentations in Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen
Karl Marx Tea Party / Proper Tea is Theft, 2010 Ceramic tea pot and various cups Based on Karl Marx's quote and conviction 'Proper Tea is Theft' playing with Proudhon's 'Property is Theft' I produced a series of tea parties and tea related works. The Tea Party is takes on the right wing movement currently shaking the American political landscape. I am clearly opposed to the Tea Party but I 'm in support of the Boston Tea Party that brought independence from colonial Great Britain.
Vesperbrettchen für Kreditkrisenfraß / Wooden boards for Credit Crunch meal, Mao, 2011 Tea pot, Mao / Tea Party / Proper Tea is Theft , 2010 ceramics
the Credit Crunch porcelain sculptures are products of Credit Crunch Meals I made before. more info here STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Dick, banana, raddish, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Wallstreet cheese, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Lenin Apple with fly, 2011 Vesperbrettchen /wooden board , Pussy, 2011 Vesperbrettchen /wooden board , Dick, 2011
STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, carrot fucking zucchini, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, tomato pussy , 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, dick with stings, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, small cucomber dick wiht testicals, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, small raddish dick , 2011 Vesperbrettchen /wooden board , We serve E Coli, Made Cow Deseasse, Green Salad, 2011
more on credit crunch STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Kraut €, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Benz / Lenin / Deutsche Bank Salami, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Marx Eggplant, 2011 STILL LIFE / CRUNCH LIFE, Lenin Cheese and cucomber, 2011
A spectre is haunting the World - the spectre of ..., 2012 H M, PRA A, ZA RA, ADID S, 2012 see more of these flaggs here
more to be posted soon
more details Reading Karl Marx... various reading seminars held since 1998 ff
Flags - A spectre ... flags, 2012
Karl Marx- part of credit crunch, 2011 ---- credit curnch
I hate Karl Marx, video 2010
www.ganahlmarx.com / neon 2001 this web site exists - the works comes with the web sites
Painting a pighead in front of Giorgio Morandi, Bologna 201 .
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