Recycling Anything
Ellen Ringstad. Black (2011). Installation view.
Ellen Ringstad. Static (I, II & III). 2011. Found ballpoint pens on left-over passepartout-cardboard. Installation view.
Ellen Ringstad. Static (I, II & III). 2011. Found ballpoint pens on left-over passepartout-cardboard. Installation view.
Ellen Ringstad. Coffee Stain. 2011. Left-over coffee on found wall - AND - Untitled. 2011. Waste from the mounting of the exhibition. Installation view.
Text by Rasmus Hungnes, Curator, Premiss
”The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long” – from Blade Runner
Black, shown in the exhibition Ouroboros by Ellen Ringstad, consists of black plastic which was previously wrapped around the building housing the Hordaland Art Centre, for the exhibition Leila by the artist duo AiPotu. Ringstad’s gesture of appropriating the material relates to the concept of recycling, not only of materials (the plastic would otherwise be headed straight for the garbage dump), but also of ideas (the original piece by AiPotu references Wrapped Kunsthalle by Christo and Jeanne-Claude). Contemporary art constantly refers to ancient and modern art history, recycling and recontextualizing ideas. Is art history linear?
Coffee Stain also reveals ways in which the artist discovers the potential in materials otherwise considered worthless: it is a wall painting painted with coffee left in the cups of guests at Ringstad’s part-time job. The exhibition space is used the way it was found, except for minor adjustments, visible in the piece “Untitled”.
Static is a series of drawings on superfluous cardboard collected at a passepartout-factory, using ballpoint pens Ringstad has found here and there. Propelling the gaze to jump like a wild horse around the densely patterned surface, referring to abstract expressionism, minimalism and the monochrome tradition, as well as Sol LeWitt’s conceptual drawings, this is advanced scribbling, virtuously doodled in three layers.
The recycling symbol, the entangled arrows, bears resemblance to the Ouroboros, the snake biting its own tail. The Ouroboros is a symbol for cyclicality, self-reflection and alchemy. Ellen does not, like the alchemists, make gold, rather she turns rubbish into art. Avoiding the role as a missionary for the environmentalist agenda, rather posing questions about how we live our lives, her works may induce us to think twice about our roles as consumers and administrators of resources.
Poetic and dystopian, sometimes with a hint of discreet humour, Ellen Ringstad offers an experience satisfying to the eye, emotions and intellect.
Ellen Ringstad
Ouroboros
18 -20th February 2011.
Friday 18th 20:00-23:00. Saturday-Sunday 12:00-18:00
Premiss
Damsgårdsvn 35,Bergen
www.prmss.no
www.ellenringstad.com
Sol LeWitt
Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) was an American artist, linked to various art movements such as Conceptual Art and Minimalism (1). LeWitt was in the forefront of a radical aesthetic practice, reacting to the Abstract Expressionism movement of the 60s. His work is said to advocate equality, accessibility, open exchange, and public space, all core elements of democracy. Emphasising the importance of the concept or idea, his works are executed by others to strict instructions. LeWitt’s wall drawings redefined the way by which art could be purchased and owned, criticising the proprietary rights imposed by his fellow artists. LeWitt regarded copying as “the most sincere form of flattery” and insisted that anyone could copy his wall drawings, as long as the copier follows his instructions (2).
LeWitt also valued the processual aspects of making art, stating that “If the artist carried through his idea and makes it into visible form, then all the steps in the process are of importance. The idea itself, even if not made visual, is as much a work of art as any finished product.” (3) In June 1967 he published his “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art” in Artforum, where he wrote “All intervening steps, scribbles, sketches, drawings, failed work models, studies thoughts, conversations, are of interest. Those that show the thought process of the artist are sometimes more interesting than the final product” (4).
LeWitt has been and continues to be a strong influence on new generations of young artists, including myself.
Links:
Sol Lewitt Retrospective, Mass Moca
Sol Lewitt on Lisson Gallery
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- Sources:
(1) Wikipedia.org. 2011. Sol Lewitt. Available from URL: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Lewitt#cite_note-0. Downloaded [08.02.2011].
(2) Garrels, Gary, ed. 2000. Sol Lewitt: A Retrospective. pp. 369-371. New Haven and London: Yale University Press
(3) Lisson Gallery. Sol Lewitt. Available from URL http://www.lissongallery.com/#/artists/sol-lewitt/works/. Downloaded [08.02.2011].
(4) Lewitt, Sol. “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art”. Artforum Vol. 5, no. 10, Summer 1967, pp 79-83. Available in parts from URL: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SWu4SB92fHMC&pg=PA846&lpg=PA846&dq=sol+lewitt+art+in+theory&source=bl&ots=rRtBBwoIPo&sig=7caOOwL0wSneseAtmd2WvlZyIKE&hl=en&ei=6HZRTYfYGcbOswbfoPjWBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=paragraphs%20on%20conceptual%20art&f=false
(5) Foster, Hal, Rosalind Krauss, Yves-Alain Bois and Benjamin H.D. Buchloch. 2004. Art Since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson. pp 470-474.
Did you catch a cold?
“Catch a Cold Open” is the first exhibition ever to be hosted at Premiss.
Premiss is an experimental, artist-driven, non-profit, ‘non-gallery’, right below a white-cube gallery managed by Tag Team Studios, located in an old, cold, charming but nonetheless condemned building in Bergen, Norway.
We wanted to avoid the traditional white-cube sterilisation by maintaining most of the original details of the space, allowing for a direct dialogue with the surrounding atmosphere instead of alienating the works from the outer world. Ellen Ringstad‘s site-specific, reductive, formal experiment entitled ‘Yellow’, made entirely of found materials – plastic bags filled with shredded paper – was mounted in a ’found’ hole in the wall, next to a long line of mirrors, left-overs from previous tenants. Rasmus Hungnes‘ ‘Waste Line’, is, as the title suggests, literally a long line of found waste, placed on the green, worn-out cement floor. These two trashy, immobile installations were emphasized by Eric Alvin Wangel’s silent aesthetic video piece, projected directly onto the wall, subtly reminding us that time is quietly, inevitably ticking.
The non-gallery opening was marked by the serving of warm vegetarian soup, freshly home-baked bread and waffles, which may have prevented our guests from catching that anticipated cold.
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