as pdf - Candice Breitz

Working Class Hero / A Portrait
of John Lennon // Candice Breitz
e you feel small / By giving you no
is so big you feel nothing at all / A
be / A working class hero is somee and they hit you at school / They
despise a fool / Till you’re so fuckes / A workin g class hero is somes something to be // When they’ve
y odd years / Then they expect you
eally function you’re so full of fear
ng to be / A working class hero is
ed with religion and sex and TV /
nd classless and free / But you’re
can see / A working class hero is
hero is something to be // There’s
u still / But first you must learn how
to be like the folks on the hill / A
Working Class Hero / A Portrait
of John Lennon // Candice Breitz
Foreword / Christine Kintisch // Her striking video installations, which explore the workings of commercial pop culture within the global context, have within a few short years
made the young South African artist Candice Breitz a shooting star of the video art
scene. It is an honor for the BAWAG Foundation to have the opportunity to present this
renowned artist’s most recent work in Vienna. Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John
Lennon) was produced by White Cube, London, and realized in the context of an artistin-residence program at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead during
2006. The installation brings together twenty-five ardent John Lennon fans to re-perform
his first solo album John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (1970). // The Plastic Ono Band –
recorded parallel to Lennon undergoing Primal Therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov – probes
the trauma of Lennon’s childhood and is one of the most moving albums of the 20th
century. Following Lennon’s cue, twenty-five hardcore fans use their re-performance
of the album to vent their own pain, anger, and despair. In addition to eight fans from
the Newcastle area and five fans from Liverpool, the performers in Working Class Hero
include participants from Wales, Scotland, Japan, Italy, and the USA. The installation
has a looping duration of 39 minutes and 55 seconds. Breitz is obsessed with the repetition that characterizes the loop, the use of which enables her to evoke the endless
anxiety and constant churning of the psyche that is inherent to Working Class Hero. //
As in her previous portraits of Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna, Breitz explores the tension between global culture and its local manifestations. As the singing
fans interpret the album and weave it into their personal biographies, Working Class
Hero also starts to sketch an image of contemporary Great Britain. Breitz allows the
fans to narrate their own life stories and experiences through the music: in so doing,
she carefully keeps their dignity intact. I found it very moving to meet many of the fans
at the premiere of the installation in Gateshead. They came with their families and
friends and posed proudly to be photographed in front of their moving portraits. One
slightly disappointed fan explained that his performance had been excluded due to a
technical hitch. When I mentioned that the installation would soon travel to Vienna, he
wasted no time in excitedly sharing this news with the other fans. //
Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to Candice Breitz for dedicating her full
energy to the realization of this exhibition. I would also like to thank Jay Jopling and
White Cube, London, as well as Francesca Kaufmann, Milan, for supporting the exhibition. My thanks also to Peter Doroshenko at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art,
Raimar Stange for his catalogue essay, Gute Gestaltung for their design, and of course
to the team of the BAWAG Foundation. //
3
Vorwort / Christine Kintisch // Mit ihren eindrucksvollen Videoarbeiten, in denen sie die
Funktionsweise der kommerziellen Popkultur im globalen Zusammenhang untersucht,
avancierte die junge Südafrikanerin Candice Breitz in nur wenigen Jahren zum Shooting Star der Videokunstszene. Es ist eine Auszeichnung für die BAWAG Foundation,
das jüngste Projekt der renommierten Künstlerin in Wien vorstellen zu können. Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) wurde vom White Cube, London, produziert
und entstand 2006 im Rahmen eines Artist-in-Residence-Programms am BALTIC
Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. Die Installation versammelt 25 leidenschaftliche John-Lennon-Fans beim Nachsingen seines ersten Soloalbums John Lennon /
Plastic Ono Band (1970). // Das Album Plastic Ono Band – das entstand, während
sich Lennon bei Dr. Arthur Janov einer Urschrei-Therapie unterzog – befasst sich
mit den Traumata von Lennons Kindheit und ist eines der berührendsten Werke des
20. Jahrhunderts. Lennon brüllt seinen Schmerz, seine Wut und seine Verzweiflung
heraus, und die 25 Hardcore-Fans tun es ihrem Idol nach. Neben acht Teilnehmern
aus der Gegend um Newcastle und fünf Fans aus Liverpool umfasst die Gruppe der
Darsteller Leute aus Wales, Schottland, Japan, Italien und den USA. Das gesamte
Werk dauert 39 Minuten und 55 Sekunden und wird in einer Endlosschleife gezeigt.
Loops, endlose Wiederholungen sind Breitz’ Obsession. In Working Class Hero werden
die Traumata und Archetypen der Psyche in einem fort ausgespuckt und in einer Endlosschleife wiedergekäut. // Wie in den vorangegangenen Porträts von Bob Marley,
Michael Jackson und Madonna untersucht Breitz auch hier das Spannungsverhältnis
zwischen einer globalen Kultur und deren lokalen Ausprägungen. Da die singenden
Fans das Album interpretieren und mit ihren persönlichen Biografien verbinden, beleuchtet Working Class Hero auch ein Kapitel der jüngeren Geschichte Großbritanniens. Mit großem Einfühlungsvermögen gelingt es Candice Breitz dabei die Lebensgeschichten und persönlichen Erfahrungen der Fans zu erzählen, ohne ihnen ihre
Würde zu nehmen. Es hat mich sehr berührt, viele von ihnen bei der Vorstellung der
Installation in Gateshead zu treffen. Sie waren mit ihren Familien und Freunden gekommen und ließen sich stolz vor ihren Arbeiten fotografieren. Einer der Fans erzählte
mir etwas enttäuscht, dass seine Arbeit aufgrund einer technischen Panne bei der
Aufnahme nicht in der Ausstellung gezeigt werden konnte. Als ich ihm sagte, dass
Working Class Hero bald auch in Wien gezeigt werde, freute er sich merklich und
ging, um es gleich allen anderen zu erzählen. //
Dank Außerordentlich dankbar bin ich Candice Breitz, die sich mit ganzer Kraft der
Realisierung dieser Ausstellung gewidmet hat. Für die Unterstützung des Vorhabens
danken möchte ich auch Jay Jopling und dem White Cube, London, sowie Francesca
Kaufmann, Mailand. Mein Dank geht auch an Peter Doroshenko vom BALTIC Centre
for Contemporary Art, an Raimar Stange für seinen Katalogbeitrag, Gute Gestaltung,
Berlin für die Grafik und natürlich an das Team der BAWAG Foundation. //
5
Look At Me: Who Am I Supposed To Be? / Raimar Stange // I. Fans A YouTube user who
calls himself “Paul McCartney” has posted a homemade video tribute to John Lennon
on the World Wide Web. He regularly transmits similar tributes to his idols – including
his namesake Paul McCartney – under the programmatic YouTube slogan, “Broadcast Yourself™”. The identification with stardom begins here with a telling pseudonym,
and intensifies with every additional portrait that is posted to “Paul McCartney’s” YouTube
archive. There is promising evidence here of a phenomenon that various cultural critics
have described in relation to the reception of popular culture: “Paul McCartney” appears
to be actively engaged in digesting his pop, rather than simply falling passive to its seductions in the mode of a Pavlovian dog. II.True Fans Which brings me to David John Paul
George Ringo Lennon, another self-proclaimed fan of The Beatles, and of John Lennon
in particular; a fan belonging in this case to a larger community of 25 Lennon fans, who
are each portrayed individually on their own separate plasma screen in Candice Breitz’s
25-channel installation Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) (2006). Breitz
filmed each of the fans re-singing Lennon’s first official post-Beatles solo album, John
Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (1970), in its entirety.1 In the final installation, the resulting
25 re-recordings are presented side by side, creating a synchronized 25-strong a cappella
version of the album. The fans were chosen from amongst hundreds who responded
to ads placed by Breitz. Each respondent was required to fill in a lengthy questionnaire,
making it possible for Breitz to zoom in on those whose lives had been most profoundly
affected by Lennon: his true fans. Several fans opted out of the project at an early stage,
upon realizing that it would focus on the Plastic Ono Band rather than better-known
favorites like Imagine and Jealous Guy. The choice of a relatively obscure album was
formative to the work that was to result: in choosing Plastic Ono Band, Breitz specifically
avoided more mainstream hits in favor of an album consisting of intensely emotional
songs that directly relate Lennon’s psychological condition at the time of making the
album. In 1970, Lennon signed up for Primal Therapy under the supervision of the
psychotherapist Dr. Arthur Janov, an experience which was to set the raw tone of the
Plastic Ono Band, and which continues to resonate in the emotional performances of
the cast of Working Class Hero. // III. Portraiture Working Class Hero is a portrait on at
least four different levels. Most obviously, Lennon himself is portrayed, albeit in absentia,
by his fans and in their recital of his songs. The installation can secondly be regarded
as a portrait of the Plastic Ono Band itself, the album portrayed through a series of engaged individual interpretations of its lyrics. Thirdly, Working Class Hero offers a portrait
of Northern England, the part of the world in which it was made and from which many
of the participating fans hail. Newcastle upon Tyne, the city in which Working Class Hero
was shot, is typically post-industrial, having had to gradually redefine itself in response to
the decline of heavy industry. The invariable symptoms of such a transition – rampant
unemployment and urban redevelopment – find their psychic equivalent in the emotional crisis that is at the heart of the Plastic Ono Band. Breitz’s return to the Plastic
7
Far left / Cover of the Album John Lennon /
Plastic Ono Band // Left / Portrait Dr. Arthur
Janov // Right / Tyne Bridge Newcastle,
1928 //
Ono Band is fourthly, and above all, a portrait of the participating fans: the manner in
which they take possession of their idol’s music must ultimately be read to reflect –
consciously or not – their own lives and desires. Lennon clearly understood the potential
for identification that is latent in the extremely intimate songs that make up this album:
when he introduced the song Mother at a concert in New York in 1972, he commented
that, “a lot of people thought [this song] was just about my parents; but it’s about
99 percent of the parents, alive or half-dead…” Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin, John
Fiske has described this phenomenon – the emergence of new narratives as a result
of the layering of personal experience onto the products of the mass media – as a form
of “Heteroglossia”. 2 The active reception of given content has the potential to generate
personal experiences, longings and reflections, which are woven into the content of
the original songs, creating a new language. “Heteroglossia” eloquently describes the
possibilities and limitations that are inherent not only to the language of pop, but also
to language in general. The linguistic utterances of an individual must necessarily
make themselves heard against the backdrop of a pre-existing shared language.3 The
fans in Breitz’s installation identify with Lennon not only by means of their John Lennon
T-Shirts and round wire-rimmed glasses, but more importantly through their complex
individual embodiments of the Lennon that each imagines.4 In his reflections on Cindy
Sherman and Madonna, the philosopher Wolfgang Welsch refers to this process of
embodiment as “identity in transition.” The English language grasps the complexity of
“identity in transition” better than German can: where the German word “Imitator”
evokes superficial mimicry, the English word “Impersonator” suggests an altogether
more complex process of embodiment. // IV. The Anthropology of the Fan Working
Class Hero is the fourth in an ongoing series of portraits by Breitz, preceded by Legend
(A Portrait of Bob Marley), King (A Portrait of Michael Jackson), and Queen (A Portrait
of Madonna), all dated 2005.5 The portraits have thus far followed the same procedural
logic. Each of the selected fans is offered the opportunity to re-perform a complete album
in a professional recording studio. The fans are then presented non-hierarchically
alongside each other, in grid-like formations that privilege no fan over any other: each
performer is granted the same verbal and visual presence. Stark differences between
the four portraits are nevertheless apparent: it is clear that each of the stars chosen for
portrayal has a very particular public persona, which in turn attracts a very specific
community of fans. The location chosen for the shoot is itself particular in each case:
the portrait of Bob Marley was shot in his home country Jamaica, with the help of a
cast of local fans who re-sung the compilation album Legend (1984). Madonna’s
greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection (1990), was re-performed by
thirty Italian fans in a studio in Milan, while the translation of Michael Jackson’s Thriller
(1982) album was left to sixteen German-speaking fans who traveled to Berlin to participate. Legend is characterized by the laid-back flair of the Caribbean and the relaxed
relationship of Marley’s fans to the beloved music that they interpret. The sexually
9
Candice Breitz / Legend (A Portrait of Bob Marley) / 2005 / Shot on location
at Gee Jam Studios, Port Antonio, Jamaica, March 2005 / 30-Channel Installation: 30 Hard Drives / Duration: 62 minutes, 40 seconds / Installation
View: Das Schiff, Basel / Courtesy: Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary,
Vienna / Photograph: Alex Fahl //
loaded Queen throws up multiple references to Madonna’s gender-bending tendencies,
just as it vividly evokes the energy of the lively Italian metropolis of Milan. Finally, King,
which was produced in hip Berlin, illuminates not only the glamour of the Jackson
phenomenon, but also the fragility of this complex pop figure. As one moves from one
portrait to the next, an anthropology of fandom gradually begins to emerge, a study of
the fan that traverses the spectrum from fans whose identification is lodged in a shared
national identity, to fans whose identification resides in the very rejection of fixed identity,
to fans who express their identification through intense mimicry and self-erasure. In
exploring the cathartic dimension of the Plastic Ono Band, Working Class Hero broadens
this anthropology of the fan yet again. Just as Lennon himself underwent Primal Therapy,
the fans who participate in this portrait seem to undergo a parallel Plastic Ono Band
therapy, probing their personal psychological crises as they move through the album. //
In closing, I would like to draw a parallel – which may at first seem surprising – between
Breitz’s portraits and August Sander’s life-long social portrait Citizens of the Twentieth
Century. Sander’s quasi-scientific approach to documenting the people in his immediate
surroundings is echoed in Breitz’s endeavor to map the anthropology of the fan. Her
portraits set the conditions for an ongoing series of typological studies of “the fan”, as
each of the participants steps into the laboratory-like studio to offer their version of the
same album under the same conditions. In the place of Sander’s subjects, who are
defined by their occupations, Breitz’s fans are defined by that which they consume, as
expressed in their idiosyncratic reception and translation of the music that they love.
This shift – from Sander’s working citizens to Breitz’s fans – marks a broader historical
shift, from the cult of production that characterized modernity to the postmodern
eclipse of production by the culture of consumption. //
11
Endnotes 1 Pop Idol also presents ordinary people singing
popular hits, though the participants do not necessarily define
themselves as fans. Unlike Breitz’s fans, participants in this
and similar programs are earnestly intent on becoming stars
themselves. 2 See John Fiske Reading the Popular (London:
Routledge, 1989) 3 Breitz explores this logic in her ten-channel
video installation Karaoke (2000), in which ten participants each
contribute expressive Karaoke performances of the English
version of Roberta Flack’s song Killing Me Softly, despite the fact
that English is not a native tongue for any of the singers. 4 See
Wolfgang Welsch Ästhetisches Denken (Stuttgart: Reclam,
1990) 5 The first part of the title of each portrait was chosen
after Breitz had interviewed each community of fans, and reflects a term commonly used by the fans to describe their idol. //
Look At Me: Who Am I Supposed To Be? / Raimar Stange // I. Fans Auf der Internetseite
YouTube findet sich ein „Tribute“ für John Lennon, produziert von einem gewissen
„Paul McCartney“. Dieser nämlich macht Videos über seine Idole und stellt sie unter
dem Motto „Broadcast Yourself ™“, dem programmatischen Slogan von YouTube, in
das World Wide Web. Auch seinem Namensgeber und Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney hat
er schon eine eigene Sendung gewidmet. Die Identifikation mit den Stars beginnt hier
mit der Wahl des Pseudonyms und setzt sich fort bei der Produktion eigener Porträts.
Auch hier gilt ansatzweise, was bereits die Cultural Studies-Theoretiker immer wieder
über die (mediale) WAHRnehmung von populärer Musik geschrieben haben: Es handelt
sich um eine aktive Rezeption, die sich keinesfalls im passiven Konsum eines verführten
Pavlowschen Hundes erschöpft. // II. Echte Fans Und da ist David John Paul George Ringo
Lennon. Auch er ist offensichtlich ein Beatles-Fan, genauer, ein John Lennon-Fan. Und
David John Paul George Ringo Lennon ist zudem einer der 25 Fans, die in Candice Breitz’
Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) (2006) auf je einem Monitor zu sehen
sind. Jeder Fan singt hier auswendig alle Songs der LP John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band
(1970) und wird dabei von Candice Breitz’ Kamera gefilmt.1 Später werden diese Aufnahmen gleichzeitig gezeigt, zu hören ist der 25-stimmige Chor, der die Lyrics des Albums, übrigens die erste offizielle Solo-LP Lennons nach seiner Trennung von den Beatles,
vorträgt. Breitz hat ihre Fans ausgewählt aus einer großen Anzahl von Antworten auf
Anzeigen, die sie zuvor geschaltet hat. Mit Hilfe von Fragebögen wurde dann ermittelt,
wer von diesen Fans auch ein „echter“ ist, also einer, für den Lennon wirklich der Star
war, der das Leben des Fans nicht unentscheidend beeinflusst. Erleichtert wurde die
Auswahl der 25 Fans dadurch, dass viele von ihnen nicht die Songs des Plastic Ono
Band-Album singen wollten, sondern lieber Hits wie Imagine oder Jealous Guy. Genau
dieser Unterschied ist aber zentral für die Arbeit von Breitz: Das Plastic Ono Band-Album
besteht nämlich nicht aus mainstreamig-fähigen Single-Hits, sondern aus sehr emotionalen Songs, die in bewusst schlicht arrangierter Musik ganz direkt erzählen von Lennons
psychischen Problemen, die seit dem Ende der 1960er Jahre zunahmen. 1970 entschloss sich Lennon daher bei dem Psychotherapeuten Arthur Janov an dessen UrschreiTherapie teilzunehmen. All dies ist der LP eingeschrieben, entsprechend emotional
waren die Darbietungen der Fans. // III. Porträts Working Class Hero ist ein Porträt in gleich
viererlei Hinsicht. Zum einen wird da Lennon porträtiert, und zwar in Abwesenheit durch
den Spiegel seiner Fans und den von ihnen gesungen Lennon-Songs. Außerdem wird
die LP-Plastic Ono Band in Form der Cover-Versionen porträtiert. Signifikant ist da zum
Beispiel die Art und Weise wie betroffen und engagiert jeweils die Fans auf die einzelnen
Lieder reagieren. Porträtiert wird auch der Ort an dem die Installation produziert wurde,
nämlich Newcastle. Im Nordosten Englands gelegen, ist Newcastle upon Tyne als postindustrielle Stadt typisch für den Niedergang von Schwerindustrie und Maschinenbau
nicht nur in Großbritannien und den damit verbundenen Probleme wie hohe Arbeitslosigkeit und urbanistische Umstrukturierung. Auch diese Krise reflektiert sich in der
13
Candice Breitz / King (A Portrait of Michael Jackson) / 2005 / Shot on location
at UFO Sound Studios, Berlin, Germany, July 2005 / 16-Channel Installation: 16 Hard Drives / Duration: 42 minutes, 20 seconds / Installation View:
Sonnabend Gallery, New York / Courtesy: White Cube, London & Francesca
Kaufmann, Milan / Photograph: Jason Mandella //
Stimmung des Albums. Vor allem aber ist die Arbeit ein Porträt der gezeigten Fans. Dass
und wie sie sich diese Musik ihres Vorbildes aneignen und anschließend singen erzählt
nämlich von ihrem eigenem Leben und, bewussten und unbewussten, Begehren. Lennon
wusste dies: So stellte er bei Konzerten, etwa in New York City 1972, in der Ansage für
seinen Song Mother fest, „dass es bei diesem Lied nicht nur um seine Mutter geht,
sondern um 99 Prozent aller Eltern“ – das sich Identifizieren ist also gerade bei diesem
sehr intimen Song bewusst angelegt. // „Heteroglossie“ nennt, sich auf Michail Bachtin
beziehend, der Kulturkritiker John Fiske dieses Phänomen: Bei der aktiven Rezeption von
medial vorgegebenen Inhalten bringen Fans eigene Erfahrungen, Sehnsüchte und
Probleme ein, verweben so Vor- und Nachbild zu einer neuen Story, zur „Heteroglossie“.2
Dieser Vorgang bezeichnet die Grenzen, aber auch Möglichkeiten nicht nur von PopInterpretation: Sprachliches Formulieren bewegt sich immer in den Grenzen von bereits
strukturierten überindividuellen Sprachen,3 nutzt diese aber dann individuell für neue
Artikulationen. Die Fans, die sich mit ihrem Idol Lennon identifizieren, verkleiden sich
also nicht nur, etwa mit T-Shirt und legendärer kreisrunder Brille, sondern die Identität
Lennons wird von ihnen „gleichsam abstrichslos verkörpert“, wie der Philosoph Wolfgang
Welsch über den Vorgang der „Identität im Übergang“ 4 (zum Beispiel bei Cindy Sherman
und Madonna) schrieb. Die englische Sprache hat dies schon immer gewusst: Imitatoren
von Stars werden dort eben nicht gleichsam äußerlich als „Imitatoren“ benannt, sondern
als „Impersonators“ bezeichnet, also als Verkörperer. // IV. Anthropologie des Fantums
Working Class Hero ist Breitz’ viertes Porträt eines Popstars, seiner Musik und Fans,
vorangegangen waren Legend (A Portrait of Bob Marley), Queen (A Portrait of Madonna)
und King (Portrait of Michael Jackson) (alle 2005).5 Alle vier Arbeiten dieser Werkreihe
sind vergleichbar produziert: Fans werden ausgesucht, die dann eine Platte ihrer Idole
auswendig vor der Kamera singen. Anschließenden werden diese Aufnahme in einer
Wand von Monitoren gezeigt. Schlicht neben- und aufeinander gereiht leugnet dieses
Gitter von Monitoren jede Hierarchie, gleichwertig kommen alle Fans zu Gehör und
Gesicht. Trotzdem fallen die Unterschiede der vier Porträts sofort ins Auge, hat Breitz
doch mit konzeptioneller Sensibilität vier verschiedene Modi von Stars und damit auch
verschiedene Arten von Fans für ihre Werkgruppe ausgesucht. Und nicht nur das:
Auch die Locations, an denen gedreht wurde, sind von signifikantem Unterschied. Da
ist also das Best-Off-Album Legend (1984) des Volkshelden Bob Marley, der in seiner
Heimat Jamaika von seinen Fans porträtiert wird; dann die Queen of Pop Madonna,
deren Platte The Immaculate Collection (1990) in Mailand von 30 Fans nachgesungen
wird; als drittes dann der King of Pop Michael Jackson, dessen Thriller-Album (1982)
in Berlin von 16 Sängern vorgetragen wird. Ist Legend (A Portrait of Bob Marley) geprägt
vom Flair der Karibik und dem entspannten Umgehen mit dem dort allseits geliebten
Marley, so findet sich in Queen (A Portrait of Madonna) eine sexuell aufgeladene Stimmung
wieder, die von der brodelnden Atmosphäre der italienischen Metropole ebenso gezeichnet ist, wie von dem zuweilen schon gender-experimentellen Gestus Madonnas.
15
Candice Breitz / Queen (A Portrait of Madonna) / 2005 / Shot on location at
Jungle Sound Studio, Milan, Italy, July 2005 / 30-Channel Installation: 30 Hard
Drives / Duration: 73 minutes, 30 seconds / Installation View: White Cube,
London / Courtesy: White Cube, London & Francesca Kaufmann, Milan /
Photograph: Stephen White //
Schließlich King (Portrait of Michael Jackson), das, im vermeintlich hippen neuen Berlin
produziert, das Phänomen Jackson vor allem in seiner glamourösen Dimension ausleuchtet, aber auch das Moment der Fragilität des umstrittenen Superstars reflektiert.
Das spannende nun ist, wie sich hier in der Abfolge der Porträts eine Anthropologie des
Fantums auftut, dessen Spektrum, verkürzt formuliert, zum Beispiel von unbeschwert
nationale Identität findenden Fans, über den kreativen, ein vor- und festgeschriebene
Identität leugnenden Fan, bis hin zum dem seinen Star vergötternden und (bloß)
nachahmenden, sich zuweilen schon selbstverleugnenden Fan reicht. Working Class
Hero nun fügt dieser Anthropologie des Fantums eine weiteren Aspekt hinzu, nämlich
den des gleichsam Katharsischen: Wie Lennon sich der Urschrei-Therapie unterzieht,
so unterziehen sich die Fans nachfolgend quasi der Plastic Ono Band-Therapie. Psychischen Krisen zu bewältigen – dabei hilft die Musik Lennons den Fans entscheidend. //
Abschließend sei kurz ein Vergleich angestellt, der vielleicht überraschen mag, nämlich
der mit August Sanders unvollendet gebliebenem Gesellschaftsporträt Menschen des
20. Jahrhunderts. Suchte Sander mit wissenschaftlicher Strenge eine Anthropologie
des modernen Menschen zu erstellen, so Breitz eine solche des Fans. Und auch sie tut
dies mit fast schon wissenschaftlicher Akribie, etwa dadurch, dass alle Porträts in vergleichbarer, streng geometrischer Anordnung präsentiert werden und zudem alle auch
in vergleichbaren (laborartigen) Situationen in sterilen Studios aufgenommen sind. Wollte August Sander seine Arbeit noch vor allem auf den Beruf der Menschen fundieren, so
sind es bei Candice Breitz die Modalitäten von sehnsuchtsvollem Wahrnehmen und aktiver Rezeption – eine Verschiebung, die kennzeichnend ist für eine Differenz von Moderne und Postmoderne, nämlich den einer sich entwickelnden consumer culture. //
17
Fußnoten 1 Auch in TV-Sendungen wie Deutschland sucht
den Superstar singen Nicht-Stars die Lieder von Stars, doch
a) handelt es sich dort nicht um Fans, und b) wollen diese
Musikanten, im Gegensatz zu Breitz’ Fans, selber professionelle Stars werden. 2 lese dazu zum Beispiel: John Fiske Lesarten des Populären, Wien 2003 3 Genau dies bringt Breitz
auch in ihrer Video-Installation Karaoke (2000), in der zehn
Sänger den Song Killing Me Softly von Roberta Flack singen –
so ausdrucksvoll wie möglich und in englischer Sprache, obwohl dies nicht die Muttersprache der zehn Protagonisten ist.
4 zitiert nach: Wolfgang Welsch Ästhetisches Denken, Stuttgart 1993, Seite 175 5 Der nicht in Klammern stehende Teil
des Titels benennt jeweils die Qualität, die die Fans ihrem Star
zu sprechen. //
Mother Mother, you had
me / But I never had you /
Oh, I wanted you – but
you didn’t want me, / So I,
I just got to tell you / Goodbye, goodbye // Father,
you left me / But I never
left you / Oh, I needed you
– you didn’t need me, /
So I, I just got to tell you /
Goodbye, goodbye //
Children, don’t do what
I have done / Oh, I couldn’t
walk – and I tried to run, /
So I, I just got to tell you /
Goodbye, goodbye //
Mama don’t go / Daddy
come home / Mama don’t
go / Daddy come home /
Mama don’t go / Daddy
come home / Mama don’t
go / Daddy come home /
Mama don’t go / Daddy
come home / Mama don’t
go / Daddy come home /
Mama don’t go / Daddy
come home / Mama don’t
go / Daddy come home /
Mama don’t go / Daddy
come home / Mama don’t
go / Daddy come home
Hold On Hold on John,
John hold on / It’s gonna
be alright / You gonna win
the fight // Hold on Yoko,
Yoko hold on / It’s gonna
be alright / You gonna
make it fly // When you’re
by yourself / And there’s
no-one else / You just
have yourself / And you
tell yourself / Just to hold
on… // Cookie! // Hold on
world, world hold on /
It’s gonna be alright /
You gonna see the light //
When you’re one / Really
one / Well, you get things
done / Like they’ve never
been done / So hold on
I Found Out I told you
before, stay away from
my door / Don’t give me
that brother, brother,
brother, brother / The kids
on the phone, won’t leave
me alone / So don’t give
me that brother, brother,
brother, brother / No! //
I, I found out! / I, I found
out! // Now that I showed
you what I been through /
Don’t take nobody’s word
what you can do / There
ain’t no Jesus gonna come
from the sky / Now that I
found out I know I can cry //
I, I found out! / I, I found
out! // Some of you sitting
there with your cock in
your hand / Don’t get you
nowhere, don’t make you
a man / I heard something
’bout my ma and my pa /
They didn’t want me so
they made me a star //
I, I found out! / I, I found
out! // Old Hare Krishna
got nothing on you / Just
keep you crazy with nothing to do / Just keep you
occupied with pie in the
sky / There ain’t no guru
who can see through your
eyes // I, I found out! /
I, I found out! // I seen
through junkies, I been
through them all / I seen
religion from Jesus to Paul /
Don’t let them fool you
with dope and cocaine /
Can’t do you no harm if
you feel your own pain //
I, I found out! / I, I found
this out! / I, I found out!
Working Class Hero As soon
as you’re born they make
you feel small / By giving
you no time instead of it
all / Till the pain is so big
you feel nothing at all /
A working class hero is
something to be / A working
class hero is something to
be // They hurt you at
home and they hit you at
school / They hate you if
you’re clever and they
despise a fool / Till you’re
so fucking crazy you can’t
follow their rules / A working class hero is something
to be / A working class hero
is something to be // When
they’ve tortured and scared
you for twenty odd years /
Then they expect you to
pick a career / When you
can’t really function you’re
so full of fear / A working
class hero is something to
be / A working class hero
is something to be // Keep
you doped with religion
and sex and TV / And you
think you’re so clever and
classless and free / But
you’re still fucking peasants
as far as I can see / A working class hero is something
to be / A working class
hero is something to be //
There’s room at the top
they are telling you still /
But first you must learn
how to smile as you kill /
If you want to be like the
folks on the hill / A working
class hero is something to
be / A working class hero
is something to be // If you
want to be a hero well just
follow me / If you want to be
a hero well just follow me
Isolation People say we got
it made / Don’t they know
we’re so afraid, isolation
/ We’re afraid to be alone
/ Everybody got to have a
home, isolation… // Just a
boy and a little girl / Trying
to change the whole wide
world, isolation / The world
is just a little town / Everybody trying to put us down,
isolation… // I don’t expect
you… to understand / After
you’ve caused… so much
pain / But then again, you’re
not to blame / You’re just
a human, a victim of the
insane // We’re afraid of
everyone / Afraid of the
sun, isolation / The sun will
never disappear / But the
world may not have many
years, isolation Remember
Remember when you were
young? / How the hero was
never hung / Always got
away / Remember how the
man / Used to leave you
empty handed? / Always,
always, let you down / If you
ever change your mind /
About leaving it all behind /
Remember, remember,
today // And don’t feel
sorry / The way it’s gone /
And don’t you worry /
’Bout what you’ve done //
Remember when you were
small / How people seemed
so tall / Always had their
way / D’you remember your
ma and pa / Just wishing
for movie stardom / Always,
always playing a part / If
you ever feel too sad / And
the whole world is driving
you mad / Remember,
remember, today // And
don’t feel sorry / ’Bout the
way it’s gone / And don’t
you worry / ’Bout what you’ve
done // No, no, remember,
remember / The fifth of
November… Love Love
is real, real is love / Love is
feeling, feeling love / Love
is willing to be loved // Love
is touch, touch is love /
Love is reaching, reaching
love / Love is asking to be
touched // Love is you /
You and me / Love is
knowing, / We can be //
Love is free, free is love /
Love is giving, giving love /
Love is needing to be loved
Well Well Well Well, well,
well, oh well / Well, well,
well, oh well // I took my
loved one out to dinner /
So we could get a bite
to eat / And though we
both had been much
thinner / She looked so
beautiful I could eat her //
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well //
I took my loved one to a
big field / So we could
watch the English sky /
We both were nervous
feeling guilty / And neither
one of us knew just why //
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well //
We sat and talked of revolution / Just like two liberals
in the sun / We talked of
women’s liberation / And
how the hell we could get
things done // Well, well,
well, oh well / Well, well, well,
oh well // I took my loved
one to a big field / So we
could catch the English
sky / We both were nervous
feeling guilty / And neither
one of us knew just why //
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well /
Well, well, well, oh well
Look At Me Look at me /
Who am I supposed to be? /
Who am I supposed to be? /
Look at me / What am I
supposed to be? / What am
I supposed to be? / Look
at me / Oh my love, oh my
love // Here I am / What
am I supposed to do? /
What am I supposed to do? /
Here I am / What can I do
for you? / What can I do
for you? / Here I am / Oh
my love, oh my love //
Look at me, oh please look
at me, my love / Here I am /
Oh my love // Who am I? /
Nobody knows but me /
Nobody knows but you /
Who am I? / Nobody else
can see / Just you and me /
Who are we? / Oh my love,
oh my love, oh my love
God God is a concept /
By which we measure /
Our pain / I’ll say it again /
God is a concept / By which
we measure / Our pain //
I don’t believe in magic /
I don’t believe in I-Ching /
I don’t believe in Bible /
I don’t believe in Tarot /
I don’t believe in Hitler /
I don’t believe in Jesus /
I don’t believe in Kennedy /
I don’t believe in Buddha /
I don’t believe in Mantra /
I don’t believe in Gita /
I don’t believe in Yoga /
I don’t believe in Kings /
I don’t believe in Elvis /
I don’t believe in Zimmerman / I don’t believe in
Beatles / I just believe in
me / Yoko and me / And
that’s reality // The dream
is over / What can I say? /
The dream is over / Yesterday / I was the dreamweaver / But now I’m reborn /
I was the Walrus / But now
I’m John / And so dear
friends / You’ll just have to
carry on / The dream is over
My Mummy’s Dead My
mummy’s dead / I can’t
get it through my head /
Though it’s been so many
years / My mummy’s dead /
I can’t explain / So much
pain / I could never show it /
My mummy’s dead
75
Candice Breitz Born in Johannesburg, 1972 / Based in Berlin //
Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) // Producer White Cube, Jay Jopling Location
Culture Lab, Newcastle University, August 2006 Director Candice Breitz Project Management
Alexander Fahl Casting and Coordination Katharine Welsh and Kate Lewis Camera Sebastian
Krügler Sound Max Schneider Interviews Candice Breitz Production Assistants Harry Watton
and Joel Weaver Post-Production Alexander Fahl Post-Production Assistant Pierfrancesco
Celada Photography Pierfrancesco Celada Technical Realisation Neue Medien Projekte and
Cine Plus, Berlin The Fans Anthony Miller / Spencer Taylor / Kozue Etsuzen / George Burton /
Billy J. Walker / Gordon Bray / Antony T. Flynn / Peter Grimes / Stephen J. Fenwick / David John
Paul George Ringo Lennon / Liliana Ghilardi / Geoffrey Cowie / William J. Harrington / Andrew
Griffin / Philip Jones / William Watson / James McCoy / Gerard Fagan / Steve Mathieson / Roger
Pounder / Sasha V. Ames / Paul Kindred / Kieran Dunne / John M. Patterson / Peter J. Dicks //
Many thanks also to John D. Adams, Peter Cullen, Andrew Murphy, Michelle Ord, Frederick
Rogers and Alison Suffield //
Selected Solo Exhibitions (* indicates exhibition catalogue) // 2006 Konstmuseum Uppsala,
Uppsala / Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead / Hellenic American Union,
Athens* / Kukje Gallery, Seoul* 2005 Castello di Rivoli, Turin* / Palais de Tokyo, Paris /
White Cube, London* / Sonnabend Gallery, New York* / Edith-Russ-Haus für Medienkunst, Oldenburg* / Bob Marley Museum, Kingston 2004 Moderna Museet, Stockholm /
FACT – Foundation for Art & Creative Technology, Liverpool / Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo*
2003 Modern Art Oxford, Oxford* 2002 Artpace San Antonio, Texas* / Künstlerhaus
Bethanien, Berlin* / Museum Folkwang im RWE-Turm, Essen* 2001 De Appel Foundation,
Amsterdam / O.K Center for Contemporary Art Upper Austria, Linz* / Kunstverein St. Gallen
Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen / Galerie Johnen & Schöttle, Cologne / Galleria Francesca
Kaufmann, Milan 2000 Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, Geneva / New Museum of
Contemporary Art, New York //
Artist’s Acknowledgments // Special thanks to Jay Jopling and all at White Cube (Craig
Burnett, Daniela Gareh, Susannah Hyman, Susan May and Alison Ward), to Francesca
Kaufmann and her staff (especially Alessio delli Castelli and Chiara Repetto), to Peter Doroshenko and his team at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead (particularly
David Coxon, Alex Gibson, Katie Jackson and Chris Osborne) and to Ralph Niebuhr and
all at Cine Plus Berlin (especially Benjamin Geiselhart and Fabian Richter). // Additional
thanks to June and Louis Breitz, Nicolette Cavaleros, Michael Juul Holm, Jana Kaffka, Christine Kintisch, Ralf Klöden, Michele Robecchi, Ringo Stange, Martin Sturm and Ute Zscharnt.
To Pierfrancesco Celada for his magnificent photographs: mille grazie. To the fans who sang
for Working Class Hero: remember, remember, today. Finally, my deep gratitude to Yoko Ono
for giving this portrait her blessing //
Cover and Pages 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 // The Making of Working Class Hero (A Portrait
of John Lennon) / Shot on location at the Culture Lab, Newcastle University, United Kingdom,
August 2006 / Courtesy: Jay Jopling and White Cube, London / Photographs: Pierfrancesco
Celada //
Page 4 // Candice Breitz / Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) / 2006 / 25-Channel
Installation: 25 Hard Drives / Duration: 39 minutes, 55 seconds / Installation View: Baltic
Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead / Courtesy: Jay Jopling and White Cube, London /
Photograph: Candice Breitz //
Pages 19 –73 (odd Pages) // Candice Breitz / Stills from Working Class Hero (A Portrait
of John Lennon) / 2006 / 25-Channel Installation: 25 Hard Drives / Duration: 39 minutes,
55 seconds / Courtesy: Jay Jopling and White Cube, London / Stills: Alex Fahl //
77
Selected Group Exhibitions // 2006 Mori Art Museum Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo Tokyo* / Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Sip My Ocean Humlebaek, Denmark* / Kunsthalle Mannheim
Full House: Faces of a Collection Mannheim* / Centraal Museum This is America! Utrecht* /
Collection Lambert en Avignon Figures de l’acteur, Le Paradoxe du comédien Avignon* /
Galerie der Stadt Wels Candice Breitz und Elfie Semotan Wels / Kunstmuseum St. Gallen Lifestyle St. Gallen* / O.K Center for Contemporary Art Biennale Cuvée Linz* / Haus am Waldsee
Anstoß Berlin, Kunst macht Welt Berlin* / Akademie der Künste sonambiente 2006 Berlin* /
Kunstraum Niederösterreich Klartext Berlin Vienna* 2005 51. Biennale di Venezia The Experience of Art Venice* / Kunsthalle Wien Superstars Vienna* / Armand Hammer Museum Fair
Use Los Angeles / Palazzo delle Papesse Guardami. Percezione del Video Siena* / Museo de
Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León Fusion León 2004 Montevideo Time Based Arts TV Today
Amsterdam / Kunsthalle Wien Africa Screams Vienna* / Henry Art Gallery The Work of the
Work Seattle* / Queensland Art Gallery Video Hits Brisbane* / The Bronx Museum of the Arts
Music/Video New York / Museum of Contemporary Art Cut: Film as Found Object North Miami*
2003 Kunsthalle Nürnberg fuckin‘ trendy Nürnberg* / Govett-Brewster Art Museum Extended
Play: Art Remixing Music New Zealand* / Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik Brightness: Works
from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Contemporary Art Foundation Dubrovnik* / Dundee Contemporary Arts Plunder Dundee / 2nd International Biennial for Contemporary Art in Göteborg Against
All Evens Sweden* 2002 Tate Liverpool Remix: Contemporary Art and Pop Liverpool* / National
Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Continuity and Transgression Tokyo* / ZKM Iconoclash: Beyond
the Image Wars in Science, Religion, and Art Karlsruhe* / Hamburger Kunsthalle Schrägspur
Hamburg / Studio Museum in Harlem Africaine New York / 8th Baltic Triennial of International
Art Centre of Attraction Vilnius* 2001 Kunsthalle Wien Tele[Visions] Vienna* / Hamburger Kunsthalle Monet’s Legacy. Series: Order and Obsession Hamburg* / Museum Fridericianum Looking at You Kassel* / Tirana Biennale 2001 Escape Tirana* 2000 Taipei Biennale 2000 The Sky
is the Limit! Taipei* / Kwangju Biennale Korea 2000 Man and Space Kwangju* / ZKM The Anagrammatical Body Karlsruhe* / Kunstverein München The Wounded Diva Munich* / Museum
Fridericianum Das Lied von der Erde Kassel* / Fotogalerie Wien Körper Vienna* 1999 6th International Istanbul Biennial The Passion and the Wave Istanbul* / Museum Ludwig Köln Global
Art 2000 Cologne* 1998 XXIV Bienal de São Paulo Roteiros, Roteiros, Roteiros… São Paulo*
1997 Johannesburg Biennale Graft Cape Town* 1996 Neue Galerie Graz in Reininghaus Inklusion/Exklusion Graz* //
Monographs // 2006 Lange, Christy (interview) Candice Breitz Seoul: Kukje Gallery (exhibition catalogue) // Potamianou, Artemis (editor) Candice Breitz Athens: Hellenic American
Union (exhibition catalogue) 2005 Beccaria, Marcella (editor) Candice Breitz Rivoli-Torino:
Castello di Rivoli (exhibition catalogue) // Himmelsbach, Sabine and von Sydow, Paula
(editors) Candice Breitz: Mother Frankfurt: Revolver Archiv für Aktuelle Kunst (exhibition
catalogue) // Neri, Louise (editor) Candice Breitz London: White Cube (exhibition catalogue)
published by Jay Jopling / White Cube, Francesca Kaufmann and Sonnabend Gallery
2003 Cotter, Suzanne (editor) Candice Breitz: Re-Animations Oxford: Modern Art Oxford
(exhibition catalogue) 2002 Tannert, Christoph (editor) Candice Breitz: Alien (Ten Songs
from Beyond) Essen: Museum Folkwang im RWE Turm (exhibition catalogue) 2001 Sturm,
Martin and Plöchl, Renate (editors) Candice Breitz: Cuttings Linz: O.K Center for Contemporary Art Upper Austria (exhibition catalogue) //
Volk, Gregory Candice Breitz at Sonnabend Art in America (No. 11: December, 2005) //
Whitfield, Sarah Exhibition Reviews: Candice Breitz at White Cube The Burlington Magazine
(London, Volume CXLVII, Number 1232: November, 2005) pp. 766 –767 // Zolghadr,
Tirdad et al. Venice Biennale 2005 Frieze (Issue 93: September, 2005) p. 101 2003 Mullins,
Charlotte Sigmar Polke and Candice Breitz: Taking Pot Shots at a Media-Saturated World
The Financial Times (London: October 1, 2003) // Schmitz, Edgar Candice Breitz: Re-Animations Kunstforum (Volume 167: November – December, 2003) pp. 346 – 348 // Wainwright,
Jean Candice Breitz: Modern Art Oxford Art Monthly (No. 271: November, 2003) pp. 18 –19
2002 Stange, Raimar Candice Breitz im Museum Folkwang Kunst-Bulletin (No. 11: November, 2002) 2001 Krumpl, Doris Sanfter Tod mit Liebesliedern: Candice Breitz mit „Cuttings“
im Linzer O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst Der Standard (Vienna: July 4, 2001) // Louis,
Eleonora Candice Breitz: Cuttings Springerin (Vienna,Volume VII / Issue 3/01: 2001) p. 68 //
Reference Books // 2006 Gisbourne, Mark et al. Berlin Art Now London: Thames & Hudson,
2006 // Holm, Michael Juul and Kold, Anders (editors) Sip My Ocean: Video from the Louisiana Collection Humlebaek: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2006 // Martin, Sylvia Video
Art Cologne: Taschen, 2006 2005 Gianelli, Ida and Beccaria, Marcella Video Art: The Castello di Rivoli Collection Milan: Skira, 2005 // Grosenick, Uta. ART NOW: The New Directory
to 136 International Contemporary Artists Cologne: Taschen, 2005 //
Interviews // 2006 Kedves, Jan Interview: Candice Breitz Zoo Magazine (No. 12: 2006)
2005 Chambers, Nicholas Candice Breitz: Mother and Father, Interview with Nicholas
Chambers Artlines (Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane / Volume 2: 2005) // Lange,
Christy Crazy for You: Candice Breitz on Pop Idols and Portraiture Modern Painters
(London: September, 2005) 2004 Kröner, Magdalena Candice Breitz: Schreien, Stottern,
Singen: Das Playback des Ich: Ein Gespräch mit Magdalena Kröner Kunstforum (No. 168:
January – February, 2004) 2003 Stange, Raimar Zurück in die Kunst (Hamburg: Rogner
und Bernhard bei Zweitausendeins, 2003) 2001 Altstatt, Rosanne Killing Me Softly…
An Interview with Candice Breitz Kunst-Bulletin (No. 6: June, 2001) 2000 Hunt, David
Candice Breitz: Fighting Words Flash Art (No. 211: March – April, 2000) //
Selected Periodicals // 2006 Buhr, Elke Candice sucht den Superstar Art: Das Kunstmagazin
(No. 10: October, 2006) pp. 70 – 75 // Graham-Dixon, Andrew Haunted Staircase. Candice
Breitz: Working Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) The Sunday Telegraph, Seven
Magazine (London: October 29, 2006) p. 32 // Rappolt, Mark Lucky Star: Candice Breitz
i-D Magazine (London, Vol. II/XVI, No. 266: May, 2006) pp. 118 –121 // Sooke, Alastair
Singing to the Gallery The Daily Telegraph (London: September 2, 2006) 2005 Althen,
Michael Ich bin deine Erfindung Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt: October 13,
2005) p. 39 // Bruhns, Annette Die Meisterin des Loops KulturSPIEGEL (Issue 11: November, 2005) pp. 26 – 32 // Darwent, Charles Shot by Both Sides The Independent on Sunday
(London: September 11, 2005) p. 33 // Dorment, Richard Screaming and Singing The Daily
Telegraph (London: September 6, 2005) p. 21 // Graham-Dixon, Andrew Implosion of the
body-snatched The Sunday Telegraph (London: September 11, 2005) p. 6 // Johnson,
Ken Girls on Film New York Times (New York: August 26, 2005) // Kent, Sarah Screen Idols
Time Out (London: September 21–28, 2005) p. 57 // Robecchi, Michele Candice Breitz
Contemporary (Issue 76: 2005) pp. 34 – 37 // Smith, Roberta A Medium in the Making:
Slicing Familiar Films Into Something New New York Times (New York: July 29, 2005) //
79
Impressum // Published on the occasion of the exhibition Candice Breitz Working Class Hero
(A Portrait of John Lennon) / BAWAG Foundation / 15 December 2006 – 28 February 2007 //
A selection of photographs by Pierfrancesco Celada documenting the making of Working
Class Hero (A Portrait of John Lennon) will be shown at the BAWAG Foundation parallel to
the exhibition //
Curator Christine Kintisch / Text Raimar Stange / Translation Wolfgang Astelbauer / Design
Gute Gestaltung, Berlin / Printing Remaprint / Photography Pierfrancesco Celada (Cover
and Pages 2,6,8,10,12,14,16), Candice Breitz (Page 4), Alexander Fahl (Pages 9, 19–73),
Jason Mandella (Page 13), Stephen White (Page 15) //
BAWAG Foundation Tuchlauben 7a, 1010 Vienna / Telephone +43 1 5345 322296 / Fax
+43 1 5345 323096 / E-Mail [email protected] / www.bawag-foundation.at //