30 September through 28 January 1999: Rineke Dijstra (NL), Lothar Hempel (D), Jaap Kroneman (NL), Bob & Roberta Smith (GB), Sidney Stucki (CH), Rirkrit Tiravanija (USA) and billboard: Felix Gonzales-Torres.
International art and its involvement with music in everyday culture was observed as a present phenomen of the cultural status quo. Pop music and its influence on everyday life had became a major topic for contemporary artists who have approached the question in a very individual manner which has since led to a renewed questioning of institutional structures. BüroFriedrich presented six different positions.
The artists approached the meaning and relevance of (pop) music in our daily lives. Rineke Dijkstra presented a first rough-cut of a new video installation: portraits of Berlin nightlife at WMF, one of the most influential clubs in post-wall Berlin. Lothar Hempel’s installation in one of the large windows of the pavilion played with the fictitious character of escape from everyday life into the total experience of a rave, whereas Jaap Kroneman responded to techno-aesthetics with precise but ironic statements. Bob & Roberta Smith created an environment of ‘fan-hood,’ wildly connecting art and music, appropriating songs with their own lyrics and under the slogan of ‘Rock’n’Roll,’ the new gardening promotes a rough and noisy form of amateurism. An audio archive by Rirkrit Tiravanija was presented in one of the smaller rooms of BüroFriedrich: 149 audio tapes recorded in a rehearsal studio, travelling art institutions all over the world. Sidney Stucki transformed the typical flyer with its ephemeral presence and esthetics within the context of the urban club music scene into a large-scale wall painting on the facade of BüroFriedrich announcing the art event, ‘Beige & Sneakers.’
Outsite Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ poster project ‘Untitled (Es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit/It’s Only a Question of Time)’ was presented as a billboard on Friedrichstraße. Like the works of Rineke Dijkstra and Rirkrit Tiravanija, this work was realized in cooperation with the Berlin Biennale.