Returning to Berlin: A symposium, publication and exhibition on repetition and photography

@ Motto Berlin, August 11, 2013, 3-6 PM

We are pleased to announce that RETURNING TO BERLIN, a symposium on repetition and photography, is happening Sunday, August 11, 2013. Hosted by MOTTO Berlin, the event will take place in the courtyard, beginning at 3 p.m. Becky Beasley, Leslie Dick, Ulrich Gebert, Vanessa Place, Kim Schoen, Olivier Richon, Olga Fernandez Lopez and Duncan Wooldridge will be speaking. There will be a short intermission of 30 minutes and the event will end at 6, drinks to follow. Surrounding the talks in the vitrines at Motto there will be an exhibition of photographs by Becky Beasley, Zoe Crosher, Ulrich Gebert, Christian Hagemann, Rosalind Nashashibi, Olivier Richon, Kim Schoen, and Duncan Wooldridge.

The title of this symposium and publication comes from a venture in ‘experimental psychology’ that Kierkegaard undertakes in his book Repetition. He writes: “You can, after all, take a trip to Berlin; you have been there once before, and now you can prove to yourself whether a repetition is possible and what importance it has.” He embarks on this repeat trip to Berlin, somewhat absurdly, as a foil to start to question repetition as a concept.

This performed ‘return’ is the subject of the day—the return in relation to photography. What does it mean to have ‘seen it before?’ The nostalgic qualities of photography always seem to position the photograph as an aide de memoir, the ultimate ‘recollection.’ And photography as a medium itself embodies repetition. But Kierkegaard asserts that genuine repetition is recollected forward, the opposite in movement to recollection, which is remembering backwards. What might photography’s function be if not for recollection? Can there be a different, as Gertrude Stein might say, insistence for a photograph? The participants will bring forth the dislocations, problems, and pleasures that repetition can perform.

We are also pleased to announce a Limited Edition Box Set of Photographs in conjunction with this symposium. There are five box-sets available with eight 8×10 prints from Becky Beasley, Zoe Crosher, Ulrich Gebert, Christian Hagemann, Rosalind Nashashibi, Olivier Richon, Kim Schoen, and Duncan Wooldridge.

http://www.materialpress.org/rtb/

Motto X KesselsKramer @ Motto Berlin
Opening reception: 08.08.2013
from 7pm

After last month’s stop in London, we are happy to welcome KK Outlet, the London outpost of KesselsKramer, an international publisher and communications agency. The KesselsKramer Publishing catalogue hosts a vast collection of vernacular photography books as well as titles encapsulating short stories, advertising, graphic design and unusual art works. The KesselsKramer catalogue will be available at Motto, Berlin throughout August.

New Release: Useful Photography #11

The Useful Photography series is a collection of magazines which focus on overlooked and supposedly underwhelming images taken for practical purposes. The latest publication, Useful Photography #11 rifles through the history of human targets culled from US shooting ranges. With the gun debate still raging in the USA, this unsettling collection of images throws up all kinds of questions about the attitudes towards guns in America.

A selection of images from this latest publication will be on show at Motto/Chert Gallery throughout August.

Exhibition runs 09-31.08.2013

http://www.kesselskramerpublishing.com/

Starship @ Motto Berlin. 04.08.2013
from 6pm

Annette Wehrmann : Luftschlangentexte
Reading from the book by Judith Hopf and Ina Wudtke
Music by HC Dany and Nedalot

About the book:

Annette Wehrmann – Luftschlangentexte

Dieses Buch, das bisher nur in wenigen handgebundenen Exemplaren existierte, versammelt drei der Texte, die die Grundlagen für Annette Wehrmanns Performances bildeten.

Annette Wehrmann, die jung 2010 starb, lebte vor allem in Hamburg. Sie war ein wichtiger Teil der Künstlergeneration, die in den 90er Jahren in Erscheinung trat, und mit einem wenig akademischen und weitgefassten Kunstbegriff zu dem beitrugen, was die Kunstszene Berlins nach dem Fall der Mauer ausmachte, und bis heute zum Bild Berlins als Kunstzentrum beiträgt.
Die Texte kommentieren diese Jahre, wie sie es auch selbst in ihren Performances tat. Ihre Beobachtungen reichen von der politischen Entwicklung, über alltägliche Begebenheiten, zu den Ausstellungen und Kunstaktionen dieser Jahre. Mit trockenem Humor und unvorhersehbaren Wendungen verwebt sie diese Beobachtungen in ihre eigentlichsten Interessensfelder, utopische Gesellschaftsentwürfe, Sci-Fi und Feminismus.
Dieses Buch gibt einen ersten Einblick in ihr Schreiben. Der Text hat die Form eines Tagebuches, war aber immer an eine Öffentlichkeit gerichtet. Es konfrontiert die Leser mit den Bedingungen eines Künstlerlebens, mit einer Künstlerin, deren Aufmerksamkeit zur Grundlage für ihr Werk wird.

Anlässlich der Präsentation in Berlin lesen die Berliner Künstlerinnen Judith Hopf und Ina Wudtke, nahe Freundinnen der Autorin, aus dem Buch.

Annette Wehrmann Luftschlangentexte

This book, having been until now available only in a few hand-bound copies, distributed directly by the artist, consists of three texts, basis of three of Annette Wehrmann‘s performances. In these performances the texts, typed on paper blow-outs, would be read aloud by Annette Wehrmann, climbing and crawling through the space.
Annette Wehrmann, conceptual sculptor, political artist, activist for useless time and space died young, in 2010. She had an important position in her generation, among the artists who emerged in the 90ies and who with their un-academic and widespread activities formed what became the art-scene of post-wall Berlin, where she was a frequent visitor, while mostly living in Hamburg.
The texts, as did her performances, comment on these years. With dry humour and unexpected twists Annette Wehrmann observes the political development, the daily live and the exhibitions and art events of the 90ies and reflects them through her own fields of interest, utopian literature, sci-fi and feminism.
The book presents a first insight in her writings. While the texts take the form of a diary, they were always intended to be published. They speak to the reader about the life of an artist, for whom every observation becomes material for her work.

On the occasion of the presentation of Annette Wehrmann – Luftschlangentexte, Berlin based artists Judith Hopf and Ina Wudtke, close friends of Annette Wehrmann, will read from the book. (book and reading are in german)

9.99 €
Buy it

‘Study’

Go Itami
Photo exhibition and book launch at MOTTO Berlin
2-6 August 2013
Opening: 2 August 2013, 7pm
www.rondade.jp/study/

Launch night of the photo book »Study« by the Japanese
photographer Go Itami, published by the Tokyo based
music and art label RONDADE. It also marks the kick-off of
RONDADE’s pop-up shop at MOTTO.

‘Study’
Photography: Go Itami
Publisher: Rondade
Design: The Simple Society
Published: August 2013
Printed in Japan

Go Itami

1976: Born in Tokushima, Japan / 2011: Sraunus / 2012:
The 2012 Unpublished Award, Unseen Photo Fair, Offprint,
Offprint Paris (Paris Photo), KiOSK (Paris Photo), 10×10
Japanese Photobooks at ICP (NY Art Book Fair), Space
Cadet Actual Exhibition#1 / 2013: sktnkyshi at Vacant
Tokyo, Compilation Tokyo

goitami.jp

RONDADE

Independent music and art label based in Tokyo. RONDADE
was founded with the intention to bring various artforms
back to their original basic drive of creation and publish
them without the limiting restrictions of established
structures. Latest projects: ‘COMEDY BOOK’ (2012) was
selected into MoMA’s zine collection, pop-up shop NEW
DELHI in CLASKA Gallery & Shop ‘Do’, Tokyo (2013)

Join us to celebrate Claudia Wieser’s FURNITURE book release, tomorrow Saturday July 27, in Berlin.
Start 7pm

About the book:

FURNITURE

“This publication appears on the occasion of Claudia Wieser’s exhibition FURNITURE in KIOSK (6 October – 18 November 2012). The title refers directly at issues that lie at the very heart of Wieser’s work: what is the status of sculptures that were designed as objects? The artist’s body of work is built around this question and explores the boundaries between autonomous and applied art. FURNITURE brought together an ensemble of drawings, ceramic and wooden sculptures, and a spatial collage, instigating a dialogue between them and explicitly relating them to the architectural context of the exhibition space.” – Liene Aerts & Wim Waelput

Edited by Wim Waelput and Claudia Wieser
Authors include Liene Aerts, Alexander Garcia Düttmann, Zoë Gray, Wim Waelput

Published by Motto Books
Language: English
Pages: 32
Size: 19 x 25 cm
Weight: 150 g
Binding: Softcover
ISBN: 9782940524068
Date Published: July 2013
D 13€

Pages: 39
Size: 28 x 20 cm
Binding: Softcover

Price: €9.00
Buy it

Performance tomorrow July 13 at Chert Gallery
More info: http://www.chert-berlin.com/ita/mostre.asp

The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2012 @ bruno

July 13 – 18
Opening/Saturday July 13th 6 – 8 pm
Tuesday – Friday 10 am – 7 pm
Monday + Saturday 2 – 8 pm

C\o bruno
dorsoduro 1621/A,
calle dell’Avogaria
30123 – Venezia

Mario Pfeifer / Markus Weisbeck / Spector Books @ Motto Berlin.
TALK: 7:30 Sharp!

Mario Pfeifer’s publication “A Formal Film…” is a critical reader that is part of his film project of the eponymous title — an innovative expansion of the genre. The complex exploration of the intercultural, film-historic, political and urban issues that are discussed in Pfeifer’s film not only surface on the level of texts, they also become manifest in the materiality of the book itself and its production process. The artist’s book was produced in Mumbai in collaboration with local producers and created using six different local printing techniques on nine different, locally sourced paper stocks. In March 2012 Mario Pfeifer and designer Markus Weisbeck set out the formal aspects of the publication in collaboration with local manufacturers and the authors of the texts in Mumbai, India.

The publication was recently selected as one of the best 50 international artists book and will be presented at Kaleid 2013, London.

During the book launch a collector’s edition with hand-painted dust-jackets will be on view besides originally commissioned illustrations and print related materials from the production in Bombay.

Designer Markus Weisbeck and artist Mario Pfeifer will be present to introduce the conception, production and reception of the publication that served previously for panel discussions on issues of cross-cultural labor representation, collaborative strategies and knowledge production at MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt am Main, Artists Space New York, Studio X Mumbai and Khoj New Delhi.

Mario Pfeifer: A Formal Film in Nine Episodes, Prologue and Epilogue –
A Critical Reader

Edited by Susanne Gaensheimer, Bernd Reiß – MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt am Main, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and KOW

Form by Markus Weisbeck in collaboration with Kurnal Rawat and Anand Tharanay of Grandmother India

With Contributions by Suprio Bhattacharjee, Kaushik Bhaumik, Amira Gad, Susanne Gaensheimer, Nikolaus Hirsch, Ranjit Hoskote, Shanay Jhaveri, Kurnal Rawat, Bernd Reiß, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Anand Tharanay, Ragunath Vasudevan, Markus Weisbeck and Mario Pfeifer
Hardcover, 300pages, numerous color illustrations w. Bookmark and Dust-jacket
Offset, Letterpress, Xerox, Silkscreen
Published in Hindi and English by Spector Books, 2013
ISBN 978-3-940064-60-8