Good Morning Mr Bloomberg
DVD, 6mins, 1999

»The fields of art and economy not only have different players, values and functions but also different forms. However, they are coming closer together and starting to overlap. With the economy's increasing use of culture, and culture becoming more a question of economics, today eonomic growth is often achieved through the manipulation of symbols. The way corporations are represented is becoming more and more important to their market value. The design or rather the staging of business events plays no small part in the aesthetic component of the economy. When the artist group Szuper Gallery celebrates a business deal and records the event on video in Good Morning Mr. Bloomberg , the primary meaning is the representation of a successful business transaction, even if the champagne being poured is real. The camera focuses on gestures, ritual actions, artificial friendliness and smart clothes. From these details the viewer begins to sense that here the world of art and the world of economics are meeting on the same ground. The artists play themselves, more or less successfully, while the businessman is completely at ease in his role. For him the situation is ordinary and he manages it with professional aplomb. Finally, the title of the work refers to a particular line of business. Mr. Bloomber is the owner of the international financial television company Bloomberg Business News - the MTV for brokers. This video can also be seen as a deliberate provocation, in that it shows artists happily becoming partners with a media corporation - does this refer to art selling out?«

Justin Hoffmann