Shortlist 2015 Miami Beach
Cologne-based artist duo Henning Fehr and Philipp Rühr were selected for the second BMW Art Journey. For their film project, “The Art of Memory: Dub Music and the CCTV Tower” the artists will visit Jamaica, China, North America and Europe.
“The Art of Memory: Dub Music and the CCTV Tower” is an extended investigation into the ever-growing interconnectedness of contemporary life. The artists capture today’s global linkages through the metaphor of the loop both as a visual form and as a system of cultural transmission and cross-pollination. For this project, which has two topical focal points, Jamaican dub reggae music and the iconic CCTV tower in Beijing, Fehr and Rühr will travel extensively to conduct research.
Though seemingly unrelated, the Beijing architectural landmark designed by Rem Koolhaas and the Jamaican music style both follow a loop structure. In fact, Koolhaas patented the building as a “looped skyscraper,” breaking the conventional monolithic form into two parts and then reconnecting those masses into an irregular circle. Dub music is an electronic, looped form of reggae. Jamaican musicians use synthesizers produced in the West that enable a non-linear narrative structure, as opposed to earlier forms of Jamaican reggae music.
Henning Fehr and Philipp Rühr
The artist duo of Henning Fehr (b. 1985 in Erlangen, Germany) and Philipp Rühr (b. 1986 in Brühl, Germany) live and work in Cologne.
They were awarded the Förderpreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen für junge Künstlerinnen und Künstler (The Northern Rhineland-Westfalen prize for young artists) in 2014 and received a studio scholarship from Kölnischer Kunstverein and Imhoff Stiftung, as well as a travel scholarship for Istanbul from the Kunststiftung NRW. Their practice is rooted in a shamanistic idea of cinema, in which the filmmaker is suspended between active participation and passive reflection. At Art Basel in Miami Beach 2015, the artists presented “Polyrhythm Technoir” (2015), a three-part film that allegorizes the present state of electronic music. Each of the work’s three sections is concerned with a different topicpolyrhythm, phasing, and synchronicity-that finds its expression in the manner of its representation and presentation.
Fehr and Rühr will contrast these two subjects using film, music, and TV productions, which they see as alternative forms of memory and memory-creation. The artists will travel around Europe, the US, and Jamaica to interview dub musicians, follow them on tour, and document their studio work. In Beijing, they are planning to document the architecture of the CCTV tower. Combining different forms of travel—slow travel on a bus and fast, intercontinental plane rides, the artists will reflect on the notion of the journey itself. As they stated in their proposal for the Art Journey, “Just like dub music, travel is non-linear, unplannable, full of wormholes, and in every regard psychedelic.”
The artist duo of Henning Fehr (b.1985 in Erlangen, Germany) and Philipp Rühr (b. 1986 in Brühl, Germany) live and work in Cologne. They were awarded the Förderpreis des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen für junge Künstlerinnen und Künstler (The Northern Rhineland-Westfalen prize for young artists) in 2014 and received a studio scholarship from Kölnischer Kunstverein and Imhoff Stiftung as well as a travel scholarship for Istanbul from the Kunststiftung NRW. Their practice is rooted in a shamanistic idea of cinema, in which the filmmaker is suspended between active participation and passive reflection. At Art Basel in Miami Beach 2015 the artists presented “Polyrhythm Technoir” (2015), a three-part film that allegorizes the present state of electronic music. Each of the work’s three sections is concerned with a different topic—polyrhythm, phasing, and synchronicity—that finds its expression in the manner of its representation and presentation.
Combining different forms of travel—slow travel on a bus and fast, intercontinental plane rides, the artists will reflect on the notion of the journey itself. As they stated in their proposal for the Art Journey, “Just like dub music, travel is non-linear, unplannable, full of wormholes, and in every regard psychedelic.”
HENNING FEHR AND PHILIPP RÜHR WERE CHOSEN FROM A SHORTLIST OF THREE ARTISTS FROM THE POSITIONS SECTOR OF ART BASEL IN MIAMI BEACH 2015.
Dan Bayles (b. 1977 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) lives and works in Los Angeles.
Combining elements of photography, drawing, architectural rendering, collage, and abstraction with research-based investigations, Bayles’ work explores the underlying subtexts of politically sensitive sites. In 2008, he received the California Community Foundation Emerging Artist grant. He has exhibited at the François Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles; the Luckman Gallery, Los Angeles; the Armory Center for Art, Pasadena; and recently showed new works at Frieze Art Fair, New York.
Fritzia Irizar (b. 1977 in Culiacán, Mexico) graduated from the ENPEG “La Esmralda” National Arts Centre, Mexico City, in 2002.
Her multi-disciplinary work draws from the history of Latin America while tackling contemporary issues such as labor, wealth gaps, and political inequities. She was awarded the Antonio López Sáenz Painting State Award and Salón de Artes Plásticas Photography State Award in 2004, as well as the 13th Biennal de Artes Visuales del Noroeste award in 2011. Irizar´s work has been exhibited at the Museo de la Ciudad in Mexico City and the Museo de Arte de Zapopan in Guadalajara, Mexico.
