CIRCUS ARTISTS..., 2001, Performance, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London

The performance took place at the lecture theatre of the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Beforehand we had transcribed a text from General Idea’s video Test Tube. In the original, General Idea present themselves in the context of a television programm, standing at the Colour Bar, dispensing cocktails which serve as the departure point for an eccentric, ironic analysis for the art system. We gave our lecture with the text rewritten to deal with a museum context instead of televison. While reading the text we put our voices through a sound modulator, which distorted them and gave us a distinctly strange quality. During the entire procedure a video of Californian architecture, concentrating on the homes of collectors was projected in the background.

Die Performance fand im Vortragssaal der Whitechapel Art Gallery statt. Den Text für unseren Vortrag hatten wir General Idea’s Video Test Tube entnommen. In ihrem Video, das wie eine Fernsehsendung aufgemacht war, stehen General Idea an der Colour Bar und servieren Cocktails, die ihnen als Einstieg in eine exzentrische und ironische Analyse des Kunstsystems dienen. Der Text wurde von uns verändert, indem wir bestimmte Begriffe aus dem Fernsehkontext durch Begriffe aus dem Museumkontext ersetzten. Bei dem Vortrag benutzten wir einen Stimmenmodulator, der unsere Stimmern verzerrte und verfremdete. Im Hintergrund projezierten wir ein Video über Architektur in Kalifornien, in dem vor allem Häuser von Kunstsammlern gezeigt wurden.

Test Tube:
J: Here we are at the Colour bar lounge, which is of course the cocktail bar of the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion. We like to think of the colour bar as a sort of cultural laboratory, where we can experiment with new cultural mixes and serve them up for our friends. Here we isolate members of the art scene as our control group to test the effectiveness of our intoxicating cocktails.

AA: More and more artists are turning to popular media in an effort to examine the effectiveness of their work. Not only in an attempt to reach a larger audience, but also to obtain access to the immediacy of newspapers, magazines, rockn roll and of course, galleries and museum. We think of the art gallery as our Test Tube, not only to test market the colour bar lounge but also to test out new formulae for making art consumable.

F: You know the museum is like a vast pharmaceutical complex, developing new cultural mixes of intoxication. Look at music, psychology, sociology the have all been electronically manufactured in a consumable form. But art remains a curious and elitist drink. Despite its unique flavour and cultural properties, it has never been effectively exploited. Now we have taken the necessary risk to isolate this potent culture and introduce the infectious mutations into the mainstream. These cocktails are the medium in which the culture is grown and transferred to the host. And every one is a host in the colour bar lounge.

J: And we find ourselves not only experimenting with but also inhabit the media we isolate. As we run a gallery, we are aware of its function as a cultural incubator. So, in this show we try to inject into the popular mainstream of culture these germs of art discourse.

AA: And where can we find more information on our culture than in museums. Even the most banal program is loaded with subliminal and not so subliminal hints of how to make our cocktails effective. So lets settle down and see what’s on the air.
Michael more drinks please

Telephone rings: ringgggggggg

Marianne:
Oh hello Hans-Ulrik
I know I’m sorry I’ve been meaning to call you but I’ve been painting. Yes it’s going ok I’m almost finished in fact. The colour is exactly what I want. … That’s well, I’m not sure I want to exhibit right now. … Can I call you back in a few minutes? … No, I, won’t forget , thanks, Bye
Hmm, hmmm hmm,….. I guess they are going to call this my blue period, The am I blue period, the am I this or am I that period. Problems, problems, problems, They’ll think I got problems. But why shouldn’t I desolate a bit, besides I’m not a factory, but it is getting a bit ridiculous. It always seems like something is missing. A missing piece. Or a missing piece of mind. Oh come on honey, get it together. Your motivations going down the drains.
Hello , Hans-Ulrik. ….. I’ve made up my mind.

Male voice:
Fact!, Increased consumption means increased reality shortage. Fact! There is a reality shortage. Fact! Our researchers have isolated members of the art scene as control group in this experiment. Everyone knows the arts scene has always been able to cope with reality shortage, but how… We built the colour bar lounge as our research centre, for these investigations. Here at the colour bar curators, critics and artists are working with our staff, they empty cocktails of meaning and fill them up gain to create a renewable resource of multiple meaning. Our bartenders are learning to create new cocktails to satisfy your complete reality needs. …. Make it a reality at the colour bar lounge. Handreading:
J: And this is the line of effectiveness and this is the line of social responsibility. And the distance between them is trendiness and they all meet here in the mount of artistic endeavour.

AA: You mean it’s in my destiny to become a famous cocktail artist. It’s written on my palm.

F:
Ppplease, it’s not destiny that makes fame these days, it’s the media. The museum for instance can impose anything at once on the public.

J: Well, that a rather fascist view on museums, isn’t it?

F: Well, that’s what everyone says. The museum is THE great dictator. No matter how many shows there are , there’s still no choice. Solo exhibitions, group shows, Biennials, they’re all geared towards the consumption of repressive role models. The only thing, that sort of social control needs, is a captive audience and its got them.

AA: Come on that conspiracy rant is so popular - it should be on in the museum. There is, let’s see, there's public access exhibitions. There are community exhibitions, there are ethnic exhibitions, there’re even artist’s exhibitions itself. We all know there’s exhibition space for anyone who wants it. J: And besides, if a museum developed overly fascist content, it will become a hot news-story for the other networks.

F. I’m not talking of the content of the programming, it’s the format, the format as well the program.
AA: so what format is this program in then.

F: The ''I can’t believe it’s a format, format.

We’re using a combination of group shows, historical exhibitions, events and architecture. And why to put our content into a consumable context?

J: But is it just a gallery parody or still making art. Would you rather be welcomed into a cosy gallery lounge or be painting away in your unheated garret.

TRANSCRIBED FROM: TESTTUBE by GENERAL IDEA