Good Night, and Good Luck
The School for Curatorial Studies Venice, The Cool Couple and A plus A gallery are pleased to announce the exhibition “Good Night, and Good Luck”.
In October 1940, in a time when England was under German bomb attacks, Princess Elizabeth ended her first broadcast speech by saying “Good night and good luck to you all”. This farewell quote was a popular greeting among English citizens, in a period of time in which seeing each other the next morning was uncertain.
During the 1950’s, when the United States were dominated by the anti-communism policies of senator McCarthy, the war reporter Edward Murrow adopted the quote as a catchphrase to end his TV transmissions. In 2005, George Clooney used the same phrase to title a film dedicated to Murrow’s story. By portraying the reporter’s political battles, the movie brought to light not only his initiatives to reveal the obscure aspects of McCarthyism, but also his concerns about the use of television as a mere means of entertainment.
The exhibition “Good night, and Good Luck” retakes Murrow’s quote six decades later – in a historical period in which alienation and freedom of expression have once again become subjects of debate. In a time when digital connectivity and image circulation turned out to assume a central place in our societies, it addresses the hidden processes that undergo what is often “given to be seen” within the contemporary issues. It is a matter of questioning the invisible aspects that rules this increasingly visual reality, and by doing so, groping paths that could possibly allow us to leave the condition of lethargic spectators to become real political actors.
The exhibition investigates how image can possibly work as a tool for critical action rather than as a representational device used to reaffirm given structures. With works that converge aesthetic and politics, within historical and contemporary contexts, it is an invitation to think about the power of the image to manipulate and to distort, but also about its potentialities to reveal and to resist.
ARTISTS
Bill Balaskas
Born in 1983, Thessaloniki, Greece.
The main ideas encountered in his practice are irony, humor and the interrogation of spectacle, through the fuse of which he explores subjects with a strong political character.
“This is a Public Space”, 2008-2009, Digital Video, 0′ 17” (Loop-play). Courtesy of the artist and Kalfayan Galleries, Athens-Thessaloniki.
Discipula
Founded in 2013 by MFG Paltrinieri, Mirko Smerdel and Tommaso Tanini, Milano, Italy.
It is a collective operating in the field of contemporary visual research focused on the exploration of the role and uses of images in the contemporary mediascape.
“Efficacy Testing Stream”, 2015, Prints with an background audio. MFG Paltrinieri / Mirko Smerdel / Tommaso Tanini.
Giuseppe Abate
Born in 1987, Bari, Italy.
He looks to produced a work that manage to be an ironic and evocative false representation of realty in order to involve the participation of the viewer without being merely didactic.
“Zapping”, 2016, book and “Ogni uomo convive con la bambina che è stato”, 2015, embroidery.
Jakup Ferri
Born in 1981, Pristina.
From the situation of its natal Pristina and the western art world, invisibility and isolation are two of the main ideas that influenced the content and appearance of his work.
“An Artist who cannot(all together?) speak English is no Artist”, 2003, Video.
Marco Ceroni
Born in 1987, Forlí, Italy.
In his practice he deals with urban space, on how art can subvert the image of the city.
“Denti d’oro”, 2016, Golden car rim sculpture and Picture.
Stefano Serretta
Born in 1987, Genova, Italy.
“Bam”, 2016, post stamp. “Landscape”, 2015, print.
Stefan Baltensperger and David Siepert
Collaborative since 2007, Zurich, Switzerland.
Baltensperger + Siepert’s artistic practice reflects critically upon social, cultural and political issues. By immersing themselves in diverse systems, they aim to expose and manipulate it.
“Imaginary landscapes”, 2015, Collage.
The Cool Couple
Artist duo composed by Niccolò Benetton and Simone Santilli, Italy. Their work focuses on the daily relationships people have with various forms of collective representations, in an attempt to highlight the friction points in contemporary imagery.
“Meditation room”, 2016, Site specific installation.
