Luca Francesconi
gin a body meet a body
04/04/2003 - 26/04/2003
PLAY
gallery for still and motion pictures
hannoversche str. 1 d-10115 berlin
t +49 30 2345 575-3 f 4
Mon Sat 10am–8 pm
www.pushthebuttonplay.com
Opening: april 3, 2003, 7 pm
Conversation between Cedar Lewisohn & Patricia Ellis, London 2003
So, like, this guy met this girl and started dating her as an art project. I mean, I’m not sure if it was really a project in the beginning, or if he genuinely fell in love with her. But he stayed with her for 6 months, and then left her for no apparent reason.”
“Sounds stupid.”
“Yeah, he says she was a really terrific girl and everything. A real goddess. But then he totally exploited her. He took these photos of her in the park, like they were all “Love Story” with Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw. And then he did really creepy stuff like filming her having sex with him ? But she didn’t know! And now he’s put it in a gallery for everyone to see.”
“Isn’t that illegal? He could get arrested. What about his ex-girlfriend, if she doesn’t know about this and finds out.I guess she’ll be seriously pissed off.”
“She’ll probably kill him..”
“Would that be part of the work? Maybe he could exhibit his tombstone.” (laughs)
“It’s like he’s being such an asshole. This poor girl just gets dumped with no explanation, and then he’s just made this porny exhibition about her. How demented is that?”
“I bet he thinks about her when he jerks off. How ’bout that, is that part of the art?”
“What? He’s still pining after her?”
“Even if he’s left her she’s still on his mind. And he might go back to her at any point.”
“So you think all of this is like some big love monument then? He’s got this sign that reads “The gift you desire is the one I will never give you.” Do you think he’s making art, or is this some kind of mind-game?”
“No I think he really believed he was making a work of conceptual art. That plaque reminds me of a Gilbert and George piece called “All My Life I Give You Nothing And Still You Ask For More” which seems to share the same sentiment.”
“Yeah, But this is real. What about this girl in the end? Doesn’t it matter what happens to her?”
“Of course she matters in the real world ? I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s probably got another boyfriend by now. But in terms of art, she was just a sort of material. The only difficulty is she wasn’t consenting to the process.”
“So that makes it OK then?”
“That’s up to the audience to decide.”
Luca Francesconi: born 1979 in Mantova, lives and works in Mantova, Italy.
Selected solo shows and performances: 2003 Play gallery for still and motion pictures, Berlin; Analix Forever, Geneve (CH). 2002 The division of possessions in society is perfectly useless, Artinprogress, Berlin; La ripartizione degli averi.., The Flat – Massimo Carasi, Milano. 2001 Tecniche di costruzione, Milano Film Festival; 1. Tirana Biennal, Tirana (AL). Recent group shows: 2001 Generator, Trevi Flash Art Museum, Trevi / Loretta Crisofori, Bologna / Claudio Poleschi, Lucca (I). 2000 Tracce di un seminario, Viafarini, Milano; 2000 Pubblico/Privato, Chiostri di S. Pietro, Reggio Emilia (I).