M.2062 (FITZCARRALDO), 2014
While previous apparitions by Gonzalez-Foerster were live, single occurrences, this
work for the first time captures the time-based quality of those performative events.
Technically sophisticated (both the recording and the projection), the ghostly flickering
images in effect make visible the fragility and fleetingness of Gonzalez-Foerster’s
apparitions. First exhibited at the 2014 Gwangju Biennale, the work includes a carefully
staged darkened passageway in which ambient sounds suggestive of a tropical
environment can be heard. Visitors moving through the darkened space can at first
see the holographic projection only at a distance, increasing the dramatic effect and,
because of the darkness, the impression of a corporeal presence.
The holographic projection shows Gonzalez-Foerster as Fitzcarraldo, the protagonist
of Werner Herzog’s eponymous 1981 film, portrayed by Klaus Kinski. Dressed in a
white suit with a black tie and seen with a head of short, bleach-blond hair, the figure
is immediately recognizable. (The film tells the story of an Irish rubber planter in South
America whose enthusiasm for (the tenor Enrico) Caruso makes him want to build
an opera house in the jungle, if necessary by hauling a boat across a mountain and
opening up a waterway that will generate the funds needed to finance such a scheme.)
During the circa 15 minute duration the artist refers to events in the film (clutching a
gramophone, she is the film’s character) but also, as in other apparitions, switches
between narrative levels, impersonating Klaus Kinski and also speaking about her
portrayal. (“I am Fitzcarraldo, I am Lola Montez, I am Ludwig…”).
M.2062 (Fitzcarraldo), 2014
HD video, special projection, hologram, pepper ghost effect, computer, amplifier, speakers, special foil screen,
lights, curtains
500 x 300 cm (projection screen), 8 x 20 m (approx size of space), duration 15:00 min approx.
(DGF 235)
Exhibition view, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster. 1887–2058, Centre Pompidou, 2015
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