CYPRIEN GAILLARD – NIGHTLIFE
2018-03-26Shot entirely at night over the course of two years, this three-dimensional film connects a series of divergent natural and cultural phenomena throughout Cleveland, Los Angeles and Berlin. Organized into distinct chapters, Nightlife optically, audibly and conceptually brings together an obscure yet significant mix of historical monuments and occurrences, forming a hyper psychedelic experience. This ambitious production ties together several key themes that recur throughout the artist’s oeuvre, such as cultural relics, preservation and entropy, and speaks to the multidisciplinary nature of his practice.
Nightlife chronicles four interconnected subjects: Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker installed at the Cleveland Museum of Art; non-indigenous plants scattered throughout the Los Angeles basin; the annual Pyronale firework event at the Olympiastadion in Berlin; and the Jesse Owens Olympic oak tree at the James Ford Rhodes High School in Cleveland. The film begins with the camera panning over an unidentifiable undulating green form that resembles an indiscernible tropical leaf. As the camera continues rightward, showing the viewer a scaly, dense metal object, Rodin’s The Thinker is unveiled in its full form. One of the last casts overseen directly by Rodin, this work is shown in its current state outside the Cleveland Museum of Art. In 1970, the work was partially destroyed by a bombing attributed to a cell of the anti-imperialist group ‘Weather Underground.’ Through the lens of stereoscopic vision, Rodin’s damaged thinker permeates the exhibition space, establishing both the spectral and sculptural nature of this film.
Opposite – Installation view
Exhibition runs through to April 14th, 2018
Gladstone Gallery
530 West 21st Street
NY 10011
New York
