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In the current social-political setting, in which movement is more limited than ever, and human bodies are restricted by physical distancing, 'ULAY: From Berlin to Paris' focuses on two different displays of ULAY's physical and mental stamina – one in Berlin and one in Paris.
Irritation - There is a Criminal Touch to Art (1976), the documented theft of painting from the Neue National Galerie, Berlin, marked a temporary end to ULAY's career as a solo artist and the beginning of his collaborative practice with Marina ABRAMOVIĆ. Invited to exhibit Irritation – There is a Criminal Touch to Art as part of the 10th Biennale de Paris in 1977, ULAY and Abramović arrived in their Citröen van and clandestinely performed Relation in Movement, driving round and round in a circle for 16 hours straight.
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ULAY
Irritation - There is a Criminal Touch to Art, 1976
Single channel video, 16 mm film transferred to digital, B&W, sound, 27 min 51 sec.
Courtesy ULAY Foundation, LIMA, Amsterdam and Richard Saltoun Gallery, London.Full video available upon request.
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One of the most iconic works of ULAY and undoubtedly one of the most radical actions in a public space in art history, Irritation – There is a Criminal Touch to Art documents ULAY stealing Carl Spitzweg’s famous painting The Poor Poet from the Neue National Galerie and relocating it to a Turkish immigrant family's living room in Kreuzberg, a district of Berlin then home to large Turkish immigrant population.
The action developed from ULAY’s urge to respond to the social-political, cultural, and artistic state of the time and is a decisive break from what he had done in the early seventies, performative photography. With this action he simultaneously critiques the contested 'value' of art while addressing the marginalised position of immigrants in post-war Germany and his own struggle with his German origins and the Nazi legacy (with Spitweg’s painting renowned for being a particular favourite of Hitler and the German populous). Irritation received a huge amount of press and media attention, thus succeeding in ULAY’s attempt to show that art has the potential for a broader impact; art can directly 'touch', it can be subversive.
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“ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GET THIS PAINTING, STEAL IT, RUN OUT OF THE MUSEUM WITH MY HANDS AND FEET, NO TECHNIQUE OR ASSISTANCE FOR DOING THIS.”
- ULAY
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ULAY
Irritation – Da ist eine Kriminelle Berührung in der Kunst / Irritation – There is a Criminal Touch to Art, 1976
Single channel video, 16 mm film transferred to digital, B&W, sound, 27 min 51 sec
Set of 11 gelatin silver prints
Each: 61.5 x 45 cm
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Ulay / Marina Abramović
Relation in Movement, 1977
Video, black and white, 35 min, 26 sec
Courtesy Marina Abramović Archives, ULAY Foundation, LIMA, Amsterdam and Richard Saltoun Gallery, LondonFull video available upon request.
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Like other works by ULAY and Abramović from the Relation series, epically important in the history of performance art, Relation in Movement is focused on pushing the physical limitations of mind and body. Performed in the outdoor marble courtyard of the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris, with ULAY driving at the wheel, Abramović shouts out the number of completed laps through a megaphone. At night, only the lights from the headlights are visible and when the sun comes up, a black circle of tyre marks has appeared, the ground further stained by leaking fluids. Lasting for 16 hours without food, water, or sleep, this was an act of physical endurance and concentration for the duo. Eventually, the van’s engine gave up - overheated and out of fuel - ending the performance. Described by Ulay as cathartic and minimalistic, the performance is groundbreaking in its sobriety and intensity, a manifestation of the urge to continue, to go on and on.
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ULAY/Marina ABRAMOVIĆ
Relation in Movement, 1977Set of 6 gelatin silver gelatin prints mounted on board, printed 2019, with a letterpress performance’s instruction leafletEach: 51 x 61 cm -
Q&A WITH ULAY ON 'RELATION IN MOVEMENT (November 2019)
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'ULAY: From Berlin to Paris' is held in conjuction with the critically-acclaimed exhibition and largest-ever retrospective 'ULAY WAS HERE', at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Comprising approximately 200 works, some never exhibited before, the show examines ULAY’s entire oeuvre, focusing on four key themes: his attention to the performative aspect of photography; his research into (gender) identity and his body as a medium; his engagement with social and political issues; and his relationship with Amsterdam, the city where he lived and worked for four decades.
ULAY: From Berlin to Paris: Curated by HANA OSTAN OŽBOLT
Current viewing_room
