Mike Kelley / Paul McCarthy "Sod And Sodie Sock Comp O.S.O", 1998, Photo: Angelika Hausenblas
"Sod and Sodie Sock Comp. O.S.O."
Artists' book by Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy.
152 pages, ca. 200 Color-Images, Wiener Secession
An artists' book entitled "Sod and Sodie Sock Comp. O.S.O." was created by Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy during an exhibition the two American artists mounted in the Vienna Secession in 1998.
This book documents the installation, video works, performances and realization of the "Sod and Sodie Sock Comp. O.S.O." exhibition in a series of loosely arranged scenes. Sad Sack is an American children's cartoon figure that reflects everyday life in the army. The book deals with the power play of the US Army with the aid of Sad Sack and associations with Georges Bataille, Wilhelm Reich and Clement Greenberg. The illusory nature of this power play is undermined by a calculated flaunting of conventions, whilst numerous cultural and theoretical allusions and references are integrated in a precisely arranged series of images.
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MIKE
KELLEY / PAUL McCARTHY Sod and Sodie Sock Comp. O.S.O. 152 pages, approx. 200 colored illustrations Secession 1999 ___________________ available in the shop |
The American artists Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy will be creating a new joint project for their exhibition in the Secession, which will emcompass all the exhibition spaces in the building except for the Ver Sacrum Room. This will be accompanied by two performative works, as well as a video dedicated to the Austrian avantgarde film maker Kurt Kren woul died two months ago.
Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy have collaborated on the realization of a a considerable body of work since the 'eighties. Together they have created performances, installations and videos such as "Family Tyranny" (1987), "Heidi House" (1992), "Fresh Acconci" (1996) and "Picabia/Powers".
"Sod and Sodie Sock Comp. O.S.O"
The exhibition by Mike Kelley and Paul McCarthy at the Secession will consist of a new installation/video work built in and designed especially for the site. 'Sad and SadieSack' consists of an architecture composed of American military tents, various tunnel systems and military paraphernalia. The installation will also serve as the set for a single channel video work which will contain documentation of the piece during its installation as narrativized through 'Sad Sack', a children's comic book about American military life. Kelley, McCarthy and a larger cast of performers will use the installation in a number of improvised and scripted scenarios, addressing military themes through the writings of Georges Bataille, Wilhelm Reich, and Clement Greenberg.
The installation will also be used to stage a live performance with Japanese noise musician - Violent Onsen Geisha. 'Sad and Sadie Sack' is a continuation of an earlier performance with Violent Onsen Geisha. 'Sad and Sadie Sack USO Tour' performed in 1996 at P-house Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
"Organs"
'Organs' consits of two plastic chord organs, one owned by Mike Kelley the other by Paul Mc Carthy. Although unacquainted with each other at the time, both Kelley and McCarty loaned these separate but nearly identical organs to Hermann Nitsch for his presentation of the 'Orgies Mysteries Theatre' in Venice, California in 1978. Recently Kelley and McCarthy discovered that they both still owned the organs. 'Organs' re-unites McCarthy's broken organ, with its resulting random drone, with Kelley's organ which has keys taped down to produce a specifically chosen chord. The resulting sounds formed the background drone for Nitsch's performance. Utilizing these instruments the artists accompanied by Violent Onsen Geisha, will perform duets of new organ musik at the opening of the Secession exhibition.
"Fresh Acconci"
'Fresh Acconci' (1995) began as Kelley and McCarthy's response to a then current resurgence in body-art. The video and production stills show Kelley and McCarthy's re-staging of several of Vito Acconci's video performances from the 1970's. Through a series of mass-cultural devices and conflations, Kelley and McCarthy present the Acconci of the 1970's through an approach to the body that has been popularized in the art world of the 1990's. Acconci's performances are re-staged and intentionally mis-represented through contemporary art direction, which mimics soft-core pornography, the use of professional actors, and genre formulations such as the haunted house film.
"Out o'Actions"
'Out o'Actions' was made as a memorial to Kurt Kren and chronicles Kelley and McCarthy's organization of the Visitors' Gallery for the inaugural exhibition of Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object 1945-1979. Kelley and McCarthy have decided to represent this footage using the editing structure of Kurt Kren's documentation of the action 'Mama and Papa' (1964). Seen through the filter of Kren's editing structure, this documentation of Kelley and McCarthy's curatorial preparations can be seen as performative activity itself. Simultaneously, two seperate cuts, both using Kren's editing structure are projected on opposing walls forming a flickering hallway.
The exhibition is sponsored by:
TNT Global Express, Logistics & Mail
Hauptsponsor der Ausstellung
GLAXO WELLCOME
Sponsor der Grafiklinie
ARTPOOL
museum in progess/Secession
.KUNST Bundeskanzleramt
WIENKULTUR
Friends of the Secession
We would like to thank:
ALL COLOR F. WINDISCH GmbH
J. u. A. FRISCHEIS GmbH
GHL Bau Technik
H Bau Technik
Hotel STADT TRIEST
IKERA - Fliesen & Sanitär
SENNA Nahrungsmittel GmbH
| FABIO ZOLLY |
EXHIBITION PROGRAM 1998 |
For further information and photographic material please contact:
Tamara Schwarzmayr
Secession, Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession
Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna
Tel: +43-1-5875307-21, Fax: +43-1-5875307-34
presse@secession.at