Through his use of audiovisual media, Coleman situates the subject at the centre of his work inviting the viewer to consider how intrepretation shapes our understanding of what we see. The “photographic” (still and moving image) plays an essential role in these investigations, which are articulated and accompanied by a certain poetic hermeticism and meticulous use of language.
DATES: 24 April – 27 August 2012
PLACE: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Sabatini Building, A1, Sala de Protocolo and Sala Bóvedas
ORGANISED BY: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
CURATED BY: Manuel Borja-Villel
COORDINATED BY: Rafael García
Incorporating synchronized projections of slides, films, audio narrations and soundtracks, Coleman creates mise-en-scène with references taken from daily life, literature, painting, theatre and cinema. Proposing visual scenarios which remain open to interpretation (double images, repetitions, dissociation of image and text, different narrative rhythms and tempos, alternation of past and present) Coleman ́s work solicits viewers to participate in the unfolding of meaning. This exhibition, the most comprehensive retrospective to be devoted to Coleman’s long and illustrious career, brings together a wide selection of his work that includes his early pieces from the 1970s, his work of the '90s like Lapsus Exposure and I N I T I A L S, and important pieces like Fly, Box, Untitled: Philippe VACHER and Retake with Evidence. A special selection of material from his personal archives is also on view to the public for the first time.
Conference and guided visit.
Rachel Haidu (professor at the Rochester University, New York, and author of The Absence of Work: Marcel Broothaers, 1964–1976) will impart both activities, organised by the Museum around James Coleman, his figure and work. Under an attentive reading of certain key works by the artist, Rachel Haidu will talk on the importance of analyzing not only the mise en scène in Coleman’s projects, but also the dramatic narratives and the actor’s role in his works.
Conference
Date: 25 April
Time: 19:30 h
Place: Auditorio 200. Museo Reina Sofía. Free entrance until full capacity
Guided visit to the exhibition
Date: 26 April
Time: 19:30 h
Place: Edificio Sabatini. Exhibition. Free pre-registration indispensible via email: programasculturales2@museoreinasofia.es. 25 available places
![John Baldessari (American, b. 1931). Hands Framing New York Harbor from Pier 18. 1971. Photograph by Shunk-Kender (Harry Shunk [German, 1924–2006] and János Kender [Hungarian, 1937–2009]). Gelatin silver print, 7 3/8 × 9 15/16" (18.8 × 25.2 cm). Museo Reina Sofía, MNCARS. Gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in honor of Jennifer Winkworth and Kynaston McShine and in memory of Harry Shunk and János Kender. © 2015 John Baldessari. Photograph.- Shunk-Kender](/sites/default/files/styles/mopis_home_news_category_slider_desktop/public/lead-images/metalocus_baldessari-pier_18_0_0.webp?h=29b58320&itok=KoXnNl1u "John Baldessari (American, b. 1931). Hands Framing New York Harbor from Pier 18. 1971. Photograph by Shunk-Kender (Harry Shunk [German, 1924–2006] and János Kender [Hungarian, 1937–2009]). Gelatin silver print, 7 3/8 × 9 15/16\" (18.8 × 25.2 cm). Museo Reina Sofía, MNCARS. Gift of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in honor of Jennifer Winkworth and Kynaston McShine and in memory of Harry Shunk and János Kender. © 2015 John Baldessari. Photograph.- Shunk-Kender")
