MODERN PAINTINGS ARE LIKE WOMEN, YOU’LL NEVER ENJOY THEM IF YOU TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEM. FREDDIE MERCURY
SOMETHING ELSE BECOMES VISIBLE / HARUN FAROCKI

SEPTEMBER 9 – OCTOBER 30 2016

Vladivostok hosts a major exhibition and retrospective of works by the German artist Harun Farocki

From 9th September to 30th October 2016, Contemporary Art Center "Zarya" and "Pacific Meridian" International Film Festival in collaboration with Goethe Institute in Novosibirsk will present a major exhibition and retrospective of Harun Farocki in Vladivostok. It is for the first time in Russia that the work of this German documentary filmmaker can be seen in such depth.

So far, Russia has only seen a few works by the artist. The project "Harun Farocki. Something Else Becomes Visible" showcases a vast collection of his works to the Russian audiece for the first time. From 9th September to 30th October, Contemporary Art Center "Zarya" will exhibit five of Farocki’s installations, including the last ones - "Serious Games" and "Parallel". From 10th to 16th September, the "Pacific Meridian" Film Festival will present 16 of his films made between 1960s and 2000s.

This retrospective and exhibition will demonstrate three main themes in the work of Harun Farocki: state interventionism, workplace relationships in the modern world; and the image as a fulcrum for human perception of the world and of oneself.

Berlin-based film scholar, critic and the co-founder of the blog newfilkritik.de Michael Baute, who has worked with Harun Farocki for many years, will deliver introductory lectures for the retrospective and the exhibition. The project will also be accompanied by lectures of curators Tatiana Kiryanova (exhibition) and Andrey Vasilenko (retrospective) and audience discussions about the work of Harun Farocki and his methods.

A bilingual publication will supplement the project "Harun Farocki. Something Else Becomes Visible” with texts by the artist himself as well as by other contributors.

Having passed away in 2014, the artist has long been considered a definitive classic of political documentary and video art. His films and texts of the mid-sixties dedicated to the history of post-war Germany, were at the time perceived as a radical political and aesthetic experiment. In subsequent installations and texts, Farocki had sharply criticized the capitalist consumer society; only by the end of 1990s, his work has received its hard-earned wide recognition. Farocki’s ideas have shaped more than one generation of artists and media theorists.

The project is supported by:

- Institute of Harun Farocki (https://www.harun-farocki-institut.org/);

- Goethe Institute in Novosibirsk;

- Festival "Pacific Meridian".