Whitechapel Gallery, UK
Anthony Spira, curator
Chomskian Abstract, 2007
(41’48”)
DVD
Courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London.
Filmed on 9 March 2007 at Massachussets Instiute of Technology.
Co-commisioned by Sharjah Biennial 8, 2007, UAE and Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
Parker recently interviewed the influential theorist Noam Chomsky and produced a video commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial. In the video, only the replies to Parker’s questions are heard, preceded by long, silent pauses. He speaks of the failure of governments, major corporations, institutions, and complicit media in looking after the planet. At the same time, Chomsky urges us to take responsability, to change our lifestyle and to engender serious socio-economic change.
Cornelia Parker was born in 1956 in Cheshi re, Inglaterra. She lives and works in London. She studied at the Gloucestershire College of Art and Design, the Wolverhampton Polytech nic and at Reading University.
She is best known for her large-scale installations, as well as her ongoing series of smaller formats. Her work is characterised by a forensic enquiry that often unearths and transforms disregarded substances, finding new currency for old as well as familiar objects.
“Parker has always been fascinated by humanity’s response to natural and cosmic phenomena. In a recent triptych of films titled Old Faithful, Parker turns the camera away from the famous geyser in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming in order to capture expectant sightseers, cameras at the ready, excitedly anticipating the natural eruption of water. The raw, unharnessed power of nature gradually turned the artist’s attention towards global warming, which she calls the ‘quieter apocalypse … [the] increasing chance that the planet may not be able to sustain human life by the end of this century’.
In an attempt to engage directly with important ethical and political issues in her work, Parker recently interviewed Noam Chomsky and produced a video commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial.”
“A static single camera angle fixates on the philosopher in close-up, inviting intense scrutiny of this iconic figure as he blinks, licks his lips, leans forward to hear a question, nods and strokes his chin.”