Thematic Gallery Installation with Stefanos Tsivopoulos
Seminar Video Installation Expanded
This Seminar will expand on video installation and investigate contemporary methodologies and practices that shed light on the intricacies between space, moving images, and the public. The Seminar uses three distinct areas of inquiry: 1. A series of lectures on contemporary video installation followed by group discussions and analysis; 2. A workshop that aims to create a model for a video installation, and 3. A series of studio visits and discussions on your upcoming thesis project.
Students will learn to translate and incorporate various artistic methodologies in a video installation. We will also study the contemporary practices of video art and filmmaking through screenings of video art, interviews, and installation works by seminal contemporary video artists.
Thematic Seminar Video Installation Expanded - Part II - 18 - 27 March 2024
This seminar will expand on contemporary video installation and investigate current methodologies and practices that shed light on the intricacies between space, moving images, and the public.
Monday, March 18: Group Presentations of Video Installation proposals.
• 11h -18h: Each artist will make a short presentation of draft ideas and early plans for the video installation related to your final project. The artists may present an excerpt of their project alongside sketches and mock-ups for the video installation. Please include a list of equipment that would best serve the presentation.
Tuesday, March 19 & Wednesday, March 20: Studio Visits
• 11h - 18h. These are in-depth one-on-one meetings with an emphasis on the content of the work, and production plans, focusing on the presentation/video installation of your thesis project.
Monday, March 25, and Tuesday, March 26: From sketch to 3D
• 11h -18h: Experimenting with video equipment in the gallery space is a trial and error process, testing your ideas and troubleshooting any technical issues emerging from working with the hardware.
During these sessions you are encouraged to bring in as many components you consider essential for the installation, - video, photos, drawings, object etc. The goal is to fully test your video installation in space, and discuss in detail how it works spatially, visually and technically. We will also analyze the position of the audience entering and watching each work.
Please keep in mind that it will have to be in a scale. For example, it’s more useful to use a well developed portion of your film and 2-3 elements that represent your vision, instead of an unresolved full length version and a plethora of objects.
However, at the end of each session the room will be available for those who want to experiment further.
On the technical side of things, prepare your audiovisual material, export your video clips in .mp4 video files, and transfer them to USB sticks or keep them available in your laptops - make sure you have HDMI cables to connect straight to the projectors.
Wednesday, March 27: Visit V2, and Exhibitions in Rotterdam / Amsterdam.
• 11h - 13h. We will visit the V2 where we will be introduced to the space and get accustomed to the exhibition rooms. We can discuss the potential installation for each work based on the tryouts of the previous days. We will also ask questions about the logistics of the space, facilities, equipment etc.
• 13h - 18h. We will visit two exhibitions in Rotterdam and /or in Amsterdam. Exhibitions TBC.
Part 1
Monday, October 23, 2023: Video Installation•
• 11h -13h: Introduction to the Seminar. Schedule, Objectives, Q&A.
• 13h -18h Students' Presentations. The students will present in a 10-minute presentation the following: 1. Introduce their practice, key topics, and methodologies; 2. A brief introduction to early ideas about their Thesis project, and 3. Within the workshop's framework, students will present one of their existing video works (or WIP) as a starting point to (re) imagine, develop, make sketches, and eventually build a model for a video installation.
Tuesday, October 24: Components of Video Installation
• 11h -16h: First session: Video installation
Lens-based practices and video installation. We will look into seminal video installations by contemporary video artists, discuss the methods and intentions of these artists, the politics of display, and finally, the necessitation of space and image concerning the public.
Reference artists include Bill Viola, Joan Jonas, Pipiloti Rist, John Akomfrah, Natalie Djurberg, Isaak Julien, Omer Fast, Mika Rottenberg, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Anri Sala, Ryan Trecartin, Fiona Tan, Pierre Huyghe, Wandelien van Oldenborgh, Erik van Lieshout, Jeremy Deller, Forensic Architecture, Hito Steyerl.
• 16h -18h: Second session: Video Installation Components
Discuss the interaction and interdependence of the different components and the impact on the outcome.
Analysis of the following:
Video Component: Single/Multi-channel, Performance, Live, Interdisciplinary.
Sound Component: Synchronous/Asynchronous, Speakers, Live.
Spatial Component: interior/exterior, architecture, exhibition design, in situ.
Multidisciplinary Component: Diverse disciplines - sculpture, objects, text, performance, music - combined with moving images.
We'll also use examples of seminal video installations and examples of students' works to discuss the position and state of visitors and spectators. How do they move into an exhibition? How do they interact with video works and installations? How do the exhibition design and architecture influence their perception of the work?
Wednesday, October 25: From Video work to Video Installation
• 11h -15h: Third Session: Video work to Installation.
We will explore the interconnection between video work and installation, by researching, designing, and constructing a video installation.
We will watch three seminal video works as examples to understand better how each piece's content is echoed in the Installation and how the spatial experience enhances its final quality.
We will analyze materials, space, colors, and work with sketches, and models. We will identify the appropriate audiovisual equipment. How can we include other professionals such as architects, interior/exhibition designers, technicians, curators, and other experts in creating a video installation. We will combine the spatial designs with the right audiovisual equipment in a given space.
• 15h - 18h: Workshop Assignment Mock-Up.
Students will use the floor map of existing exhibition spaces to conceive and design an installation of their work. The students will share ideas, sketches, and rough models for the video installation of one of their video projects. We will dedicate time to work in class, and students will receive one-on-one feedback on their progress.
The students will develop and complete the work in the following days and present the workshop's outcome on Monday, October 30.
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Monday, October 30: Presentation mock-up Installation.
• 11h - 18h. Each student presents the mock-up video installation produced in the frame of this workshop, followed by a group discussion.
Tuesday, October 31, and Wednesday, November 1. Studio Visits - Thesis Projects
• 11h - 18h. This part of the workshop is dedicated to the student's thesis projects. Each student will have a one-on-one studio visit for 50 minutes, during which they will present their work in progress, ongoing research, and project development of their thesis project ideas.
We will emphasize the content of the work, production plans, and early ideas about presentation/video installation. A schedule will be uploaded in which you can fill in your name.
If you have questions you can contact me at: stefanostsivopoulos@gmail.com
Stefanos Tsivopoulos is an interdisciplinary artist, flimmaker, educator, and organizer, who exhibited extensively in art institutions and flm-festivals including the 1st Athens Biennial; 2nd CAFAM Biennial Beijing; Manifesta 8, Spain; 6th Thessaloniki Biennial; 2nd Xinjiang Biennale; 6th Fotobiennale Mannheim; 4th Riga Quadrennial; and dOCUMENTA 14, Kassel. Group shows include the High Line Art, New York; MAXXI, Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome; MoMUS, State Museum Thessaloniki; The 8th Floor, New York; Bellas Artes Projects Manila; MuCEM, Marseille; Tate Modern, London; MACBA, Barcelona; M KHA, Antwerp; BAK, Utrecht; Kunsthaus Zurich; Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam. He represented Greece at the 55th Venice Biennial with History Zero a three part film and an archive.
Tsivopoulos teaches at the BFA and MFA Fine Arts program of The New School - Parsons (2017-). He's the founder and co-director of the Artists for Artists (AfA) a non-proft educational organization.