Thematic Gallery Installation with Stefanos Tsivopoulos
In this seminar, we will expand on the field of 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:
- A series of lectures on contemporary video installation followed by group discussions and analysis,
- A workshop that aims to create a model for a video installation during seminar
- A series of group critics and in depthdiscussions 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.
Part 1
Monday, October 31: Video Installation
- 11h -12h: Presentation of S. Tsivopoulos's works.
Possible screening: Journey to a land otherwise known (2011, 23 mins), The Labyrinth (2018, 19
mins), Black Sun (2016, 43 mins), followed by a Q&A.
- 12h-15h: Students' Presentation.
The students will present the following: 1. Introduce their practice, key topics, and
methodologies. 2. 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. 3. Present and analyze the works of three contemporary
video artists that use video Installation as a primary component of their work.
- 15h -1730h: 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.
1730h - 18h: Closing remarks. At the end of each session, we will take a moment to reflect on
the day's work and discuss any questions.
Tuesday, November 1: Components of Video Installation
- 11h -14h: Second session: Video Installation Components
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.
Discuss the interaction and interdependence of the different components and the impact on the
outcome.
- 14h - 16h: Video Installation and the Public.
We'll use examples of seminal video installations and examples of students' works to discuss the
position of the public.
Discussion about 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?
- 16h – 18h: Researching, Designing, and Constructing a Video Installation
Researching materials, scale, space, and colors. Making sketches, building models, and working
with AutoCAD. Identifying the appropriate audiovisual equipment. Working with architects,
interior/exhibition designers, curators, and other experts. Combining the spatial designs with the
right audiovisual equipment in a given space.
- 1730h - 18h: Closing remarks. At the end of each session, we will take a moment to reflect on
the day's work and discuss any questions.
Wednesday, November 2: From Video work to Video Installation
- 11h -15h: Third Session: Video work to Installation
We will explore the interconnection between video work and Installation. We will delve deeper
into the concept, and production of three video works, to better understand how the content of
each piece is echoed in the Installation and its final quality enhanced by the spatial experience.
We will watch the entire length of each video work, followed by a discussion about each film
and substantial analysis of all components of the video installation.
The discussion will expand on speculating different iterations of the Installation of the three
video works.
- 15h - 1730h: Workshop Assignment Mock-Up.
The students will share ideas, sketches, and rough models of the Installation of the video project.
We will dedicate time to work in class, and students will receive one-on-one feedback on their
work in progress. The students will have the opportunity to develop and complete the work in the
following days and present the workshop's outcome on Monday, November 7.
- 1730h - 18h: Closing remarks. At the end of each session, we will take a moment to reflect on
the day's work and discuss any questions.
Monday, November 16: Presentation mock-up Installation, Group Critics.
11h - 18h Each student presents the mock-up video installation produced in the frame of this
workshop, followed by a collective discussion.
Tuesday, November 8, and Wednesday, November 9. Thesis Projects
- 11h - 18h. This part of the workshop is dedicated to the student's thesis projects. Each student
will have the opportunity to present their work in progress, ongoing research, and project
development. We will emphasize the content of the work, production plans, and the dialogue
with ideas about potential presentation/video installation. A collective discussion will follow
each presentation.
Part 2
Monday, January 16: 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 the final project.
The artists may present an excerpt of their project alongside sketches and mock-ups for a video
installation. Please include a list of equipment that would best serve the presentation.
Closing remarks. At the end of each session, we will take a moment to reflect on the day's work
and discuss any questions.
Tuesday, January 17 & Wednesday, January 18: From sketch to 3D
11h -18h: Experimenting with video equipment in the project space. On 17 and 18 January, we
will experiment with audiovisual equipment to get your proposals in the space. Available for
these installations will be 2 video projectors, two monitors, and a set of speakers. Prepare your
audiovisual material, export your video clips in .mpg files, and transfer them to USB sticks or
keep them available on your laptops. This is a trial and error process, putting some of your ideas
to practice and troubleshooting how they work visually and technically.
We will pay extra attention to the position and state of the audience entering and watching each
work. How does the installation influence the perception of the work?
Monday, January 23, and Tuesday, January 24: 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.
Each session is 50 mins.
Wednesday, January 24: Visit V2, TENT spaces, and Exhibitions.
11h - 13h. We will visit the V2 and TENT exhibition spaces and try to get accustomed to the rooms and the potential installation for each work based on the tryouts of the previous days. We will also get ahold of their floor plans. 13h - 18h. We will visit two exhibitions in Rotterdam and/or one in Amsterdam, depending on the time (TBC). Possible exhibitions in Rotterdam are Het Nieuwe Instituut: Open Archive 3.0, Kunstinstituutmelly, and the exhibition of filmmaker/artist Saodat Ismailova at the Eye Museum.
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 Mellly, 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.