franz biberkopf

günter zehetner | germany, 2019 | 1140' (loop)

günter zehetner reads a book to himself for 19 hours. berlin alexanderplatz by alfred döblin. he reads for one hour at a time, then the mini-dv cassette ends. at another time, in another room, the reading continues exactly where it ends. there is no actor sitting there, there is no lighting director, no cameraman, no sound man, no director, just the artist himself and his mini-dv camera, which was already out of date at the time of the recording. when you see and hear the artist, you see and hear imperfection: an upper austrian who tries to "berlinern" (speak like a person from berlin, döblin use this in some parts of the book) and who often struggles with the demanding text, which is completely new and unknown to him, reads somewhat stolidly, but then again with enthusiasm and fervor. it is about the act, the artist's desire to appropriate the book, to read it aloud to himself, and the camera follows this appropriation in all its facets.

the 19-hour work will run in the unika gallery as two parallel loops playing at two different points. günter zehetner will be present for the duration of the festival, and will also give an artist talk about the work on friday, may 31, at 16:30.

concept & realization günter zehetner | distribution / copy source günter zehetner