AT HOME WITH IC x sammlung FIEDE. Selection 12 presents: Constantin Hartenstein, JUST SAYIN’, 2010

During 2020’s initial lockdown, we started a new series, AT HOME WITH IC, using our Vimeo channel as a way to bring specific focus to video art, engaging with IC Collections to push critical media art into public view. Works are selected that reflect the term crisis, and which pertain a particular relevance to our current global experiences, and are screened while lockdowns last.

Amongst the flood of online content, accessible on various streams, websites and apps, we decided to bring things back here to our global platform for contemporary collecting, to present singular and focused features on each of the video works selected for AT HOME WITH IC.

In The Decay of Lying, 1889, Oscar Wilde said, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates life”–narrative explorations (whether fictional or not), have the possibility to unfold in time based media art and can certainly strike that confronting, thrilling, confusing, alleviating, healing, etc., cord that we search for in live art experiences. You can’t view paintings now anyway, so let’s spend time on selected video works–just sayin’.

Back with a bang and released as the presidential inauguration takes place in the United States, selection #12 engages with the sammlung FIEDE in Frankfurt to screen:

Constantin Hartenstein, JUST SAYIN’, 2010
1920×1080 HD color and stereo sound for online streaming
Soundtrack: Brian Mehldau Trio, Black Hole Sun
07’00”

JUST SAYIN’ presents a stream of found footage depicting how the apocalypse is shown in US Hollywood movies. The uncanniness of it all, is that Hollywood’s biggest fear is the destruction of itself… Only rarely are other continents like Europe, Africa, Asia or Australia shown as being destroyed in movies by natural disaster.

Films included:

The Day After Tomorrow

Deep Impact

Twister

2012

Dante’s Peak

The Core