PORTIKUS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
2001-2008, 3 DVDs with a booklet
by Helke Bayrle
Alte Brücke 2/Maininsel
60594 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
From Daniel Birnbaum’s introduction:
“For many years now, Helke Bayrle – a film maker based in Frankfurt am Main – has documented the activities of the Portikus. The result is a unique collection of artist portraits. Here we present the last decade. This is backstage material, the kind of things that the viewer of the finished exhibitions never sees. Some of the artists really like talking about what they do and about the significance of what they present, others prefer to simply work with the installation team and the curator. Helke Bayrle’s unique material is very large and represents an important archive of contemporary exhibition making. These 3 discs present an edited version of the artist portraits. They give us a glimpse of each artist’s work at the Portikus, and at the same time they offer a unique behind the scenes view of the activities at one of Europe’s most lively experimental art institutions. Each chapter offers a version of the Portikus under construction.
The Portikus is an exhibitions space that is associated with the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. A production site rather than a traditional gallery, it is an institution willing to redefine its basic parameters with every new project. Since the late 1980s, some 160 exhibitions and innumerable other events have been staged there, and with each project the space has changed. Sometimes it is a factory, sometimes a kitchen or a stage for gatherings and performances. Sometimes it is a classical white museum space, sometimes a cinema, a green house or a swimming pool. How can one portray an institution like this?”
Artists
Bas Jan Ader, Francis Alÿs, John Baldessari, Bonnie Camplin, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Maurizio Cattelan, Paul Chan, Chung Seoyoung, Peter Cook, Ben van Berkel & The Theatre of Immanence, Michael Beutler, e-flux Video Rental, Olafur Eliasson, Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, Spencer Finch, Ceal Floyer, Yona Friedman, Gilbert & George, Felix Gmelin, Dominique Gonzales-Foerster, Renée Green, Wade Guyton, Judith Hopf, Pierre Huyghe, Inventory, Henrik Plenge Jakobsen, Gareth James, Friedrich Jürenson, Sejla Kameric, John Kelsey, Scott King, Michael Krebber, Koo Jeong-a, Louise Lawler, Mark Leckey, Pamela M. Lee, Gordon Matta-Clark, Cildo Meireles, Rivane Neuenschwander, Henrik Olesen, Paulina Olowska, Yoko Ono, Philippe Parreno, Dan Perjovschi, Kirsten Pieroth, Paola Pivi, Marjetica Portrc, The Rausch Collection, Tobias Rehberger, Jason Rhoades, Matthew Ritchie, Martha Rosler, Tomas Saraceno, Sean Snyder, Frances Stark, Simon Starling, Josef Strau, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Salla Tykkä, Donald Urquhart, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Haegue Yang, Akram Zaatari
Helke Bayrle
PORTIKUS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
2001-2008, 3 DVDs with a booklet
Publisher: Daniel Birnbaum, Editor and Design: Sunah Choi, Video Recording: Helke Bayrle
Edition: 1000
© 2009 Helke Bayrle, Portikus, Sternberg Press
Printed and made in Germany
ISBN: 978-1-933128-76-4
This project has been generously supported by STÄDELSCHULE PORTIKUS E.V.
PORTIKUS
Director: Daniel Birnbaum
Curator: Melanie Ohnemus
Alte Brücke 2 / Maininsel
60594 Frankfurt/Main
Germany
TEL: +49 69 962 4454- 0
FAX: +49 69 962 4454- 24
info@portikus.de
