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King Kong Theory
live performance, 20:13 min, 10th May, 2012, Momentum Worldwide, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin
„King Kong Theory“ is based on the book by the French novelist and feminist Virginia Despentes. Despentes selects as the protagonist femininity, which moves between the poles of staged reality, perception and self-assertion. It speaks to the diversity and uniqueness and against defined roles and clichés that govern our everyday image and shape our reality. King Kong, so to speak, her protagonist, embodies a natural, perfect original condition - neither man nor animal, male or female, good or bad - that changes only through the act of domestication into a true beast.
In her performance, „King Kong Theory“ Marcin pushes out this exciting moment of animalistic simplicity and civilized complexity, her skepticism against rigid categories. She plays the role of „Ann Darrow“, while „King Kong“ is present in form of a distinctive sculpture. The immensely powerful appearing reminiscent of a gorilla evokes in contrast to the petite woman the traditional idea of good and evil, but the brutality of the original and the its traditional constellation are absent. In Despentes sense, subscribed gender roles need to be challenged and eradicated: Behind the perfect facade of tradition, where everything has its „natural“ place, is a hidden standarizing and value-building norm supported by a poor, social structure. In the interaction with the supposedly man-eating beast Marcin reveals our dualistic negative-positive perspective and demonstrated to us their dangerous and hurtful absurdity.
Ein Text von Veit Rieber
King Kong Theroy
2012
Performance, 22.45 min
Momentum/ Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Germany
In the performance and installation King Kong Theory Marcin forces and inverts the moment of tension between animalistic simplicity and civilized complexity – and makes her skepticism towards rigid categories tangible in interaction with the audience.
King Kong Theory refers to the book of the same name by the French feminist Virginia Despentes, in which she chooses femininity as a protagonist moving between the poles of staged reality, perception and self-assertion. She speaks of diversity and uniqueness against the fixed roles and clichés that determine our everyday image and shape our reality. King Kong, her protagonist so to speak, embodies a natural, perfect primal state – neither human nor animal, male or female, good or evil, which only transforms into a true beast through the act of domestication.
In the performance, Marcin assumes the role of Ann Darrow and interacts with the audience as a supposed starlet, while King Kong is present in the form of a harmless plush sculpture. In front of it stands a speaker’s podium composed of two ice blocks reminiscent of the Twin Towers. The powerful gorilla-shaped apparition in the back in contrast to the petite woman on shaky, icy ground in foreground evokes a traditional notion of good and evil but the brutal possibilities of the monstrous animal are absent, thus the traditional constellation of being of vulnerability becomes an illusion.
In Despentes’ sense, inscribed gender roles must be questioned and eradicated: Behind the perfect façade of tradition, in which everything has its natural place, there is a norming and value-forming standards supported by a poor, social structure. In this group interaction with the supposedly man-eating beast, Marcin humorously exposes our dualistic negative-positive perspective and shows us its dangerous absurdity.
Text by Veit Rieber, Art Historian, Berlin
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_026 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_069 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_091 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_100 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_111 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_135 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_161 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_179 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_200 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_270 1
Fuchs_KingKongBerlin_317 1
King Kong Theory
live performance, 20:13 min, 10th May, 2012, Momentum Worldwide, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin
„King Kong Theory“ is based on the book by the French novelist and feminist Virginia Despentes. Despentes selects as the protagonist femininity, which moves between the poles of staged reality, perception and self-assertion. It speaks to the diversity and uniqueness and against defined roles and clichés that govern our everyday image and shape our reality. King Kong, so to speak, her protagonist, embodies a natural, perfect original condition - neither man nor animal, male or female, good or bad - that changes only through the act of domestication into a true beast.
In her performance, „King Kong Theory“ Marcin pushes out this exciting moment of animalistic simplicity and civilized complexity, her skepticism against rigid categories. She plays the role of „Ann Darrow“, while „King Kong“ is present in form of a distinctive sculpture. The immensely powerful appearing reminiscent of a gorilla evokes in contrast to the petite woman the traditional idea of good and evil, but the brutality of the original and the its traditional constellation are absent. In Despentes sense, subscribed gender roles need to be challenged and eradicated: Behind the perfect facade of tradition, where everything has its „natural“ place, is a hidden standarizing and value-building norm supported by a poor, social structure. In the interaction with the supposedly man-eating beast Marcin reveals our dualistic negative-positive perspective and demonstrated to us their dangerous and hurtful absurdity.
Ein Text von Veit Rieber
Exhibitions / Catalogs:
Momentum Worldwide, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin, 2012
Tina B. Festival, Prague, Czech Republic, 2012
Press / Literature:
N/A
Collections:
N/A
Credits:
N/A
