Overview
A dance of colours, fabrics, and bodies occurs in Ulla von Brandenburg's new artworks, which span an arc in the exhibition space – from the Weimar years to the present, from modernism to contemporary art. At the center of the series by the Paris-based artist, shown here for the first time, is her film Blaue und Gelbe Schatten (Blue and Yellow Shadows), which explores the origins and effects of color. Text fragments from Goethe’s Theory of Colors meet experimental sound colors and bodies, interacting lustfully in the wild. In three acts, the film allows movement and color to merge, with the latter becoming the protagonist itself.
Inspired by the radical eroticism of the ‘absolute dancers’, Ulla von Brandenburg continues her long-standing exploration of the interplay between body, space, and materiality. In opposition to the topos of historical tableaux, her film celebrates physicality beyond ideals of youth. Installed in Kolbe’s large studio, the artist’s work assumes its characteristically spacious form. The walk-in staging of colorful fabric panels and objects, whose color concept runs pictorially through the entire show, is constantly re-staged by the architectural lighting. Complementing the installations is a performance, the film documentation of which will be integrated into the exhibition later.
Ulla von Brandenburg’s series was developed especially for the Georg Kolbe Museum and produced in cooperation with the event Le Voyage à Nantes, where it will be shown after the exhibition ends. In the course of Der absolute Tanz (The Absolute Dance), the second instalment of the SCULPTURE Festival, whose inaugural event took place in Sept. 2020, can hopefully be held at the museum.
Credits:
Ulla von Brandenburg
Blaue und Gelbe Schatten, 2020
Super 16 mm film transferred to HD video, color, sound, 8’09”
Edition of 5 + 2 AP
With the support of: Le Voyage à Nantes 2021 and Georg Kolbe Museum Berlin.
Courtesy of the artist and Art : Concept (Paris); Meyer Riegger (Berlin/Karlsruhe); Pilar Corrias Gallery (London); Produzentengalerie Hamburg
Director: Ulla von Brandenburg
Director of Photography: Laurent Coltelloni
First Camera Assistant: Mathias Sabourdin
Executive Producer: Julia Mossé
Choreography: Giuseppe Molino
Performers: Benoit Résillot, Giuseppe Molino, Laurence Mayor
Costumes and Make Up: Olivia Funes Lastra, Julia Mossé, Solène Untereiner
Make Up Advisor: Bénédicte Trouvé
Music: Anna Holveck, Ulla von Brandenburg
Catering: Julien Crépieux
Editing and Color grading: Julien Crépieux, Alexandre Westphal
Sound Engineer: Olivier Pelletier
Laboratory: Hiventy, Joinville-Le-Pont
Equipment: Kodak France, Groupe TSF