CHASED) Art and People Berlin

People: Curator Leo Kuelbs

5 Feb

Curator Leo Kuelbs lives in both New York and Berlin and is presenting exciting art projects all around the world.
He is known for curating amazing public events such as “Blueprints and Perspectives” (Dallas, Texas, 2013), “Illuminated Ops” (Washington D.C. 2013), “Codex Dynamic” presented on the Manhattan Bridge in 2012, and “Divine Coalescence” for Dom Perignon in Berlin. Often featuring stunning large-sized video- and light projections on public buildings.

Together with Leo Kuelbs Collection, he also curates gallery video art shows such as the “The Decelerator” and “Submerged!”, which have been shown in various cities and countries since 2011. One of his main aims is for his shows to travel all around the world and to be seen in various cities and countries. Often, this travelling of the shows is an essential part of his artistic concepts.

 


Video Submerged!, Artists: Danielle De Picciotto and Alexander Hacke 

 

Leo Kuelbs will be showing two video exhibitions in Germany this March: “Transflexion — Net of Mirrors” (European House of Art – Schafhof, Freising, Munich) and “Reflective/Perspective” (Frankfurt Film Museum), featuring artists like Alexander Hacke, Danielle de Picciotto and Robert Seidel.
We had the chance to ask Leo Kuelbs some questions about his art projects and what makes video art and public art events so fascinating.

 

 

Curator Leo Kuelbs (c) Photo Travis Manning

Curator Leo Kuelbs (c) Photo Travis Manning

 

 

Interview with Leo Kuelbs

Chased: Why are you so fascinated with video art and projections? Why is it your favourite medium to work with?

L.K.: When collectors and artists talk about video art, they are always concerned about how easy it is to copy and how that impacts its value. That got me wondering about the upside to this ease of replication issue. Once I started down that path, I set up a show called The Decelerator, which opened in New York, Berlin and Budapest simultaneously and went on from there.

Also, video art is really well suited–as opposed to painting, sculpture, performance–for online viewing, etc. And projections onto buildings, public art, is also very well served by the medium….Plus, you can carry a hard drive with dozens of videos on it in your pocket. Video art has a lot of practical things going for it.

Chased: How do you choose the artists for your projects?

L.K.: It has to do with who you meet and the work you see. Often, I will go to fairs and take a lot of notes, or colleagues make recommendations. We also look for people who do not necessarily classify themselves as artists, yet they have special abilities or skills. To give a talented “non-artist” creator a viable platform, like we did in some cases with Submerged! can yield some amazing, magical results.

Chased: Where do you get the inspiration for your projects and your writing from?

L.K.: A lot of my inspiration comes from dreaming, resting, passively considering problems or aspects of projects. There are usually one or two aspects that I start with and I let them, sort of, have time to germinate. A show like Submerged! reveals itself to you in parts. Once you have one part, it inspires the next, and so forth….The projects themselves, the concepts are actually collaborative partners, in a way.

Chased: You are doing a lot of public art installations and marketing art projections. This means that people who usually wouldn´t go to a gallery are able to see your work. What are the reactions of the people to the projections?

L.K.: My colleagues from Glowing Bulbs and I did a very special event for Dom Perignon titled “Divine Coalescence,” with the opera star Nadja Michael, and members of the audience were actually crying. It was amazing. Something similar happened when we presented “Codex Dynamic” in New York City. The audience was totally having a cathartic group response to the work and it was really intense and wonderful to be a part of it all.

Chased: Art projections on public buildings and city icons such as the Manhattan Bridge involve many different layers. There is the history and the symbolism of the building and the physical existence of the building covered with the metaphorical layer of art. All these layers melt together during the projection process. What is it that you want to create with your installation projects?

L.K.: Definitely all concepts for architecturally-related projects take into consideration the site in all its aspects: history, place, style, etc. Again, things like that are the parameters you start with, then the concept, sort of fills itself in around all the initial considerations. You then start considering artists to work with and it really starts falling together quickly at that point.

Chased: Also, projection on different and unusual materials and surfaces must be quite challenging?

L.K.: It can be difficult, but you always try to chose the site which would allow for the most success. If the site isn’t going to work well, it would be a waste of resources to pursue it. We are very upfront with that. We do not want to create a project that we are not proud of.


Chased: Which art project did you enjoy particularly?

L.K.:Well, Submerged! is great. I love it. The show is alive and moving around. I am very proud of Submerged! I also love the others mentioned above: The Decelerator, Codex Dynamic and Divine Coalescence. The one in Dallas was also great, “Blueprints and Perspectives…”

Chased: You work both in the United States and in Germany and you do art shows in both countries. Where do you see similarities in the perception of your shows, where do you see differences?

L.K.: I have yet to do a big public art event in Germany and that would really be interesting and I hope to have the opportunity soon. When it comes to single-channel installation shows, I think Berlin is more open than New York. People spend more time with work in Germany, in general. I also love to see children at art events in Germany. That doesn’t happen as much in America. Arts are still a part of the education system in Germany and it is always being pared back in the USA. Its something Germans should be proud of, I think.

But the public art audience in the USA is quite amazing. I am certain that people need non-commercial public art everywhere in the world. Having seen the reactions that some of our public art events have received really makes it clear that public art is underfunded and under represented. It’s almost appalling. We just did New York Festival of Lights and so many people turned out to see the work that the show was shut down by the police. The message was clear: We want more public art in New York City. And I think that goes for almost every major city on earth.

Chased: You spend a lot of time in Berlin. What are your favourite places in Berlin?

L.K.: I used to love Engelbecken and Oranienplatz but now there are so many condos…I like the gardens and the parks. Everything is changing so fast…a lot of places I used to like in Mitte are gone now, or moved. I still go to Z-Bar quite a bit and June in Prenzlauer Berg is a favourite. There are too many good restaurants to name, but Café Obermaier is a real favourite and I wind up at The Bird probably more than I should.

Chased: Who are your favourite artists?

L.K.: In Berlin, I am a big fan of the painter Kai Teichert. He’s a little over the top with some of his “penis-related” stuff, but I like his other paintings and he did a complete room at the Leo Kuelbs Collection site in Hudson, New York. I am also fascinated by the work from the Glowing Bulbs artist team, and 10-24 Architects are also very interesting. The fact that groups of artists are emerging is really cool and something that I am obsessed with. The future of art is in collaboration…Which supports the role of a curator and that is really exciting for me. I am also watching Danielle de Piccioto’s work getting stronger and stronger; Gary Hill, John Ensor Parker…there are so many.

Chased: Who is your favourite musician?

L.K.: I am getting into Alexander Hacke and all the different things he is doing, along with his wife Danielle de Picciotto, as mentioned above. I still like rock and roll and real drums, though!

Chased: What are your next projects?

L.K.: There is a new project just about finished titled “Attachments,” which is three short films from three different cities. There are a couple more projects like “Submerged! also in the works. In March we are doing a show at the German Film Museum, titled “Reflective/Perspective,” a five-story projection in their lobby, which is looking GREAT! The work coming in is so exciting! We are also presenting “Transflexion: Net of Mirrors” at the Upper Bavarian Künstlerhaus in Freising in March. This is work reflecting the evolution of consciousness going on right now, regarding how we communicate and see ourselves as individuals within a greater whole.

There are some things also in the works for the USA, and Submerged! keeps going to other cities, Los Angeles and Bangkok are next.

Still from "Divine Coalescence," Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Video by Glowing Bulbs, Projection Mapped Video Installation, Berlin, July 2012

Still from “Divine Coalescence,” Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Video by Glowing Bulbs, Projection Mapped Video Installation, Berlin, July 2012

 

 

 

 

Still from "An Inquiring Age" by Glowing Bulbs and John Ensor Parker, as part of "Codex Dynamic,"  Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Manhattan Bridge Projection, October 2012

Still from “An Inquiring Age” by Glowing Bulbs                      and John  Ensor Parker,
as part of “Codex Dynamic,”
Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Manhattan Bridge Projection, October 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still from "An Inquiring Age" by Glowing Bulbs and John Ensor Parker, as part of "Codex Dynamic," Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Manhattan Bridge Projection, October 2012

Still from “An Inquiring Age” by Glowing Bulbs and John Ensor Parker, as part of “Codex Dynamic,” Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Manhattan Bridge Projection, October 2012

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