panorama

In Death Valley, everywhere we looked, gently waving stands of desert gold blossoms danced in the wind, their daisy-like faces punctuated with vibrant orange centers.

May/ June 2006

An installation by Motherboard/Per Platou og Amanda Steggell for Galleri F15's 40 year jubilee exhibition "Prosjektrommet 93-06".
Moss Bryggeri Utstillingshallen, Moss, Norway.
13.05 - 11.06


Credits:
Sound: Geir Jenssen/Biosphere.
Flower construction: Aslak Nygren.
Thanks to: Håkon Lindbäck, Jana Winderen, Greg Pope, Finn-Olaf Jones/NY Times, Amargosa Opera House, Dale Air UK, F15 crew, HC Gilje and Bodil Furu.

Video documentation:
MP4 movie [640 x 480, 20.57 MB, 3.25 min] here
[Source file: http://www.liveart.org/motherboard/mov02/In_Death_Valley640.mp4]

QT movie [320 x 240, 9.6 MB, 3.25 min] here
[Source file: http://www.liveart.org/motherboard/mov02/In_Death_Valley_320.mov]

Review:
POTENT PROJECTS
"Prosjektrommet 93-06"
Galleri F15, Moss Bryggeri Utstillingshall
Erlend Hammer, Billedkunst 04.06
(extract translated from Norwegian)

If I was to be totally honest I have to acknowledge a touch of artist distain. When I see exhibitions, theatre performances and concerts it is always with a feeling that the artist stands in the way of the experience of the work. I therefore generally give little thought to who has made the artworks I see. However, in this exhibition the apparent absence of the artists seems almost intrusive. It is very rare to see exhibitions where 80 artists are represented, and as there is very little supplementary information beyond the list of works, the job of matching the map to the terrain, so to speak, quickly becomes irritating ......

... There are moments when being an art critic feels like a burden, and the act of describing and expressing opinions feels almost perverse in that it is hard to do so without violating the actual experience. Per Platou and Amanda Steggell have created a work that I am so intensely in love with that I am actually a bit embarrassed to talk about it. It is as though the work is custom-made for my private feelings and longings, however I can't put my finger on exactly what or how. At the same time, it seems to be the exhibition's most universally accessible work - because it is so instantaneously sensuous. Particularly the use of aroma is so effective that several hours later I could still sense it on me as an aftertouch of a lover's caress. To experience the work feels like being wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a cradle, and the memory of the experience is almost stronger then the experience itself. The installation has become a friend and it is the only artwork that I have ever attempted to hug. It feels sad to have to have to say goodbye, but friends come and go. The parting is endurable because there is hope that we may meet again and everything that has happened in the meantime will generate new things to talk about. It is through moments like these that the art circus proves itself worthwhile after all.

Full review in Norwegian HERE (PDF)

Links:
http://www.liveart.org (Motherboard)
http://www.biosphere.no (Biosphere)
http://www.death-valley.us (Death Valley resource)
http://www.clui.org/ (Centre for Land Use Interpretation)