Nicolas Ceccaldi at Meyer Kainer
Artist: Nicolas Ceccaldi
Venue: Meyer Kainer, Vienna
Exhibition Title: Knock knock
Date: January 17 – March 7, 2020
Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.
Images:
Images courtesy of Galerie Meyer Kainer, Vienna. Installation images by Marcel Koehler. Photos by Kati Göttfried.
Press Release:
Knock knock is an exhibition by Nicolas Ceccaldi about
Joker,
a 2019 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by
Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix. Set in early-1980s Gotham
City, the film provides an origin story for Batman’s infamous arch
nemesis never seen before on the big screen, following Arthur Fleck
(Joaquin Phoenix), a social outcast and aspiring stand-up comedian who
lives alone with his mother and who suffers from many mental illnesses
including one which causes him to laugh uncontrollably when he is
nervous. The film embarks us in Arthur’s descent into insanity and
nihilism, inspiring a downward spiral of crime and violence, setting off
a revolutionary uprising in the decaying metropolis; a path which
brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.
Joker is
not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.
The film and its main character are treated figuratively and
metaphorically as subject matter, making the exhibition both an homage
and a commentary. Every artwork takes various themes, narrative tropes,
or visual elements from the film, and references them either in the form
of personal interpretations or direct quotation.
The exhibition title references the opening of a popular joke format (
“knock
knock – who’s there?”) a variation of which is delivered by Arthur
Fleck in his Joker make-up during an awkward appearance on a talk show
hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), a TV presenter he idolizes.
Despite having repeatedly rehearsed this moment in his living room and
in his fantasies, Joker’s timing is off and after tediously rummaging
through his “joke book”, he finally delivers the opening line “knock
knock” prompting the host to quip “and you had to look that up?”
Everything must go is an aluminum copy with added wings of a
coroplast sign held by Arthur Fleck outside a shop dressed as a
clown-for-hire in the opening scene of the film. A group of youths
subsequently steals the sign and break it over his head. His boss not
only doesn’t believe his story, but demands Arthur pay for the missing
sign: an injustice that confirms Arthur’s impression that the world
really is out to get him.
All I Have are Negative Thoughts is an oil portrait of Joaquin
Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in a scene in where his social service worker
asks him if he ever has any negative thoughts to which he answers “all I
have are negative thoughts.”
Make obzervashins about audieense, is the abstract rendition of
a clown face, with the foam nose held up by iron wires shaped into the
outline of a face. The title is a quote taken from Arthur’s notebook, in
a list of things he should be doing in order to succeed as a stand-up
comedian. Besides making “observations about [the] audience” he also
lists “dressing casual but nice” “making eye contact” or “slick hair.”
Always make funny obzervashins is a title taken from the same
list. This piece is a store-bought print modified with cut-and-paste
letters to spell out one of the film’s memorable quotes, “I just hope
that my death makes more cents than my life.” This pun, authored by the
aspiring comedian, is read out loud by Arthur’s visibly concerned social
worker as she flips through his notebook.
On his way out of his workplace after being fired, Arthur stops halfway
down the stairs beneath a sign that reads “Don’t Forget To Smile.” He
then reaches out with a black marker and crosses the words “forget to”
only leaving “Don’t Smile.”
Werk The Croud is a “combine-painting” where a clown face is
seen smiling while a plastic toy gun is pointed to its head, against a
mustard background. The misspelt title is another quote from Arthur’s
notes while the piece is an allegory of the concept of tragicomedy, a
dramatic genre that blends aspects of tragedy and comedy.
1980s credits displays the Warner Communications logo used in
the 1970s and early 1980s, in tune with the film’s 1981 vintage
aesthetic. The logo covers an urban landscape meant to represent
Gotham, approximating Joker’s opening credits.
Disclaimer is made of a laminated card floating across a dark
green background. It is assumed that Arthur carries such a card on him
at all time to clarify the situation in case he suddenly bursts into a
fit of laughter. The card explains that he suffers from a condition akin
to what is known as Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), a type of emotional
disturbance characterized by episodes of laughter or crying without an
apparent motivating stimulus. Video recordings of such symptoms were
studied by Joaquin Phoenix in preparation for his role.
Nicolas
Ceccaldi (b. 1983, Montreal, Canada) lives and works in New York.
Recent exhibitions include Going to the Movies, Haus der Kunst, Oslo
(2019); The Stroke of Midnight, Greene Naftali, New York (2019); Hymne à
la Joie, Le Consortium, Dijon (2017); Les Chemins de la Honte, House of
Gaga, Mexico (2016); Red Wine, Kunstverein Muenchen, Munich (2014);
Wearables, Real Fine Arts, New York (2012).
