Der Konsum meiner eigenen Kritik
The Consumption of my own Criticism
- Date of creation : 1976, 1978
- Country : Germany
- Artist - Author : Marcel Odenbach
Description
The work is composed of two tapes, two monitors, objects and seating. (Source: Wulf Herzogenrath, "Marcel Odenbach, Das im Entwischen Erwischte Pläne 1975-1983 Video", Germany: Kunsthalle Bremen, 2008, p.191.)
"My work is divided into three phases. During the first phase, in which a video tape is made, I am concerned with preserving the passive consumer attitude when watching television. The way television is made today requires passive consumption, as the audience rating is the decisive factor in programming. Time and opportunities to offer an alternative are wasted by commercial entertainment programs such as the American crime series Kojak, hit parades involving the record industry, etc. By showing my own consumer attitude from the first phase on the screen during the public performance (phase 2), I, as a communicator, apply the one-way action principle of the existing broadcasting companies. Due to the narcotic effect of the media, it is very difficult for the consumer to recognize his consumption. I act as the television tells me to, consuming my own criticism, as one-way communication tends to trigger an amplifying effect rather than a cognitive process. At the end of the screening, I include the preservation of my passivity as a television viewer in the video recording, my own television face between the screen and the television chair (Phase 3).
The intention of this work is to arouse concerns in the audience about the current decision-making mechanisms in program design.
— Marcel Odenbach, 1978"
(Source: Zdenek Felix (ed.), "Marcel Odenbach - Videoarbeiten", Germany: Köln, 1981, p.71.)
Additional Informations
This work has been presented at Kunstausstellung Gutenbergstrasse, Stuttgard, Germany in 1978 and at Skultpturenmuseum, Marl, Germanu in 1981. (Sources: Udo Kittelmann (ed.), "Marcel Odenbach, Ach, wie gut, daß niemand weiß", Germany: Köln, 1999; p.110; Dan Cameron (ed.), "Marcel Odenbach", United States: New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, 1998, p.51)