BLACK BOX

With a hint of Descartes, camera obscura, the black box with flight data,... argos is launching a new initiative: black box. In a brand-new auditorium offering room to some fifty viewers screenings will be set up on Wednesdays and there will be room for debate. Unconventional works will get a chance; premieres will take turns with historical work and rarely shown productions will be brought under attention. Introductions and lectures will fit in with the programming. Afterwards there will be a possibility to talk things over at the bar.

A first series of six presentations illustrates the hybrid character of the video medium to its full extent. There will be crossovers with music, experimental theatre, literature/philosophy, the visual arts and current events in politics. Jan Florizoone follows artist Koen Theys while he is researching for new photo work. Johan Pas will tend to the introduction. The intricate nature of the Israelite nation is the topic of a selection of recent Israelite video work, introduced by curator Sergio Edelsztein. From The Wooster Group we will bring you ’The Emperor Jones’, a self-willed video-interpretation of Eugene O’Neill’s play on the power structures of colonialism and slavery. Previously Johan Callens will situate the tape within their body of work. ’Broken Music’, assembled by New York curator Astria Suparak, will shed a light on musical deconstruction. In their video-essay ’Europe from Afar’ Eva Meyer and Eran Schaerf try to fathom the possible/impossible identity of Europe. The series will be closed with a survey of personalistic videos by the Canadian duo Vey Duke & Battersby.