Julika Rudelius
The German artist Julika Rudelius (1968) lives and works in Amsterdam and New York. From 1999 to 2001, she studied at the Dutch Rijksakademie of Arts and in 2006, she was selected to participate in the ISCP residency program in New York. Rudelius was recently awarded the Amsterdamprijs for the Arts.
The work of Julika Rudelius centers on the sentiments the behavior of people evoke in her. Often she feels amazement when recognizing a certain type of behavior in individuals or groups of people, next to feeling uneasiness about the preconceptions she comes across, in herself also. In her work, Rudelius consciously experiments with narrative techniques holding the middle between documentary and fiction. She draws attention to the social codes, which obviously shine through in the characters’ behavior and their way of speaking. The characters are portrayed in their own words, but within the scenario as written by Rudelius.
At this Impakt Event, Julika Rudelius will be interviewed further to a screening of a selection from her own work and several selected film fragments. Featured works of Rudelius include her recent pieces ‘Les rites de passage’ (2008) and ‘Adrift’ (2008). The film fragments shown are taken from ‘Soy Cuba’ (1964) by Kalatozov, ‘La Collectioneusse’ (1964) by Rohmer, ‘Moloch’ (1999) by Sokurov, ‘Dr Death’ (1999) by Morris and ‘Punishment park’ (1971) by Watkins.
NB: The day before this Impakt Event, Julika Rudelius’s work Forever will be shown at the Sunday School ‘Health and Beauty’.
'Tagged' by Julika Rudelius
(2003, 13:17 min)
‘Tagged’ is a group portrait of boys who are using their appearance to break free from the persistent generalizations about ‘immigrants’ as opposed to ‘Dutch people’. But first and foremost, these are boys who, no different from other adolescents in this world, are trying to break out of their puberty by creating security for themselves in a close-knit group, with dress codes that are unintelligible and unfathomable to others.
'Punishment Park' by Watkins
(1971), fragment
‘Dr Death' by Morris
(1999), fragment
‘Economic Primacy’ by Julika Rudelius
(2005, 17:56 min), fragment
‘Economic Primacy’ centers on businessmen. We see a succession of different men, who are almost frighteningly sure of themselves and their business. In this way, they explain to us the meaning of money and what can be achieved with it, what could be the motivations for getting rich, and how money is able to express the value of something. Much is said about the power that money gives you. They also point out that money very certainly makes you happy, that it boosts a man’s image and attracts women and that virtually anything can be bought.
‘Forever’ by Julika Rudelius
(2006, 16:40), fragment
A number of well-dressed American women, lounging by the swimming pool in a deck chair or strolling in the garden, take turns in this double-screen installation. Each individually they tell us what matters to them, what makes them happy and how they see themselves. The women in ‘Forever’ are mostly talking about their outer appearance. And yet, inner beauty is what is most important, says one of them, ‘although that is reflected by someone’s looks,’ she adds.
'Moloch' by Sokurov
(1999), fragment
'Les rites de passage' by Julika Rudelius
(2008, 14:00 min)
‘Les rites de passage’ focuses on the term “charismatic leadership”. The film is a part documentary, part fictional examination of the influence older politicians have on younger aspiring interns.
'Soy Cuba' by Kalatozov
(1964), fragment
'Adrift' by Julika Rudelius
(2008, 05:22 min)
A repetitive, hummed song is the first thing that draws your attention; it immediately sucks you into the enigmatic work ‘Adrift’. This is accompanied by images of sitting people, immersed in their own thoughts, differing in age and background. They constitute a group, but in a vague kind of way. What binds them together is the fact that they are rocking along with the sound, as if the humming came from them – but just like their eyes, their mouths are closed.
