Filmoteka Muzeum

Cinema of gestures, contradictory and ironically distanced from its very self. The short form captures the moment of arriving at an idea. A dark space, lit by a spotlight, reveals the author – artist and thinker – for a moment, just to let him vanish immediately leaving behind a mere vapour trail, the immortal sediment – the idea and the work of art in one.

On the other hand, the cloud going out of his head mocks the very act of arriving at an idea or thinking. Training is an ambiguous game played in the space between a mere joke and a genuine message. As the artist himself underlines, it is also about a commentary to Dancing with Tears in My Eyes, somewhat of a suggestive note meant to provoke reflection.

For Rumiancew, hitting his own forehead is a meaningful gesture towards the viewer, who’s thus discouraged from focusing merely on the emotional (highly deceitful) level of the film and urged to look into its content.

References: J. Zielińska, Daniel Rumiancew, in: New Phenomena in Polish Art after 2000, CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw 2007; J. Baudrillard, The Conspiracy of Art, MIT Press, 2005; M. Nieludcew, Tańcząc ze łzami w oczach. Daniel Rumiancew w Goldex Poldex, http://cojestgrane.pl.

(AH)