strategy
by Morten Friis /1996
translation from danish text for the book "Strategies d' existence "
colonel formulates this liberation of the exhibition
in his manifeste
- les differents types de moving exhibition. bordertransgressing and
as such is in accordance with the working conditions dictated to the artist
by our time. the moving exhibition is a military strategy which simultaneously
pays hommage to the sensibility of the artist.
moving exhibition, the bourgeois type, pays this hommage to the private,
introverted room. the artist is protected against the eyes of the public
or in company with “the understanding”.
the semi-bourgeois takes place in an environment where the artist is
already accepted. in this type the integration of the public is a central
idea. colonel insists upon the existence of a creative potential within the
public. the provocation of this potential is central to the extrovert universe
of colonel.
the offensive type underlines the penetrative. the penetration. it
is here that the artist agressively manifests himself within the world of
art. the artist’s dynamism attracts attention. the artworld is deprived of
its monopoly. an exhibition, fernissage, conference looses its substance,
when the offensive moving marches in.
flying exhibition is likewise offensive. the works of art are hurled out
as paper aeroplanes. this is the most striking visual image of strategy,
tactic and means in colonels exposition-method moving exhibition.
the vagabond type attacks the public space in all its entirety. it
is democratic. humble. mobile.
the exhibitionistic type is based upon the aforementioned fascination colonel
has for the potential of the individual. this type also represents the movement
from the inside and out. from the interior to the exterior. the private is
exposed into the public.
l’impermeable is a sublime construction. onto which is printed a thematic
exhibition. the exterior part of l’impermeable can be wiewed by all. the
interior is hidden. in its totality l’impermeable forms an accumulation of
works. l’impermeable pierces all borderlines, surmounts all obstacles and
reaches its goal. at the same time as its carrier: the artist.
sport art denotes an expansion and an acceleration of moving exhibition.
sport art elevates the competition to an ideal with the motto: sport art
is a competition. the direct, physical, social communication becomes accentuated.
the work of art exists in the midst of a direct confrontation. moving surpasses
its own dynamic nature by being able to follow the acceleration of sport
art.
la valise. the suitcase, is a type of exhibition with an integrated, automatic
mobility. colonel broadens the concept of “exhibition” by filling the suitcase
with works of art. the suitcase is thus exhibited as a piece of art, whereas
its contents remain hidden. however, colonel leaves the possibility of a
breakthrough into the private sphere of the artistic universe open -
the visa. in modern mythologi, as in reality, the visa represents the
solution that can open doors to new worlds. at the same time it has the means
to keep the unwanted out. access to the interior of l’impermeable, the suitcase
or other intimate exhibitions requires a valid visa, this is given by the
artist. as an exhibition strategy this underlines the demands of the artist
to his audience - that of undivided attention and passion. the traditional
artistic presentation is turned around by means of the visa. art becomes
the chased. the object of passion.
transport. the unpenetrable surface of the media stands as a wall between
the artist and his public. colonel has perforated this wall and created a
series of surprising loopholes. entrances through which manifests, works
of art and statements can step through. colonels media strategy is simple.
the birthday section, which is reserved for personal greetings, is used to
announce new artforms e.g. the conclusionism. ad-papers are used in the same
way to exhibit works of art. like a guerillasoldier of the media colonel
places his messages and works undercover. the mediaimages are thus elevated
to works of art. presented as such they obviously become integrated in the
medias treatment of the artist. they are reproduced in the reviews and articles
and is thereupon transported from media to media. on their way they become
victims of reduction and change. they live an autonomous life in the media.
this transition and transformation becomes an integral part of a work
of art and acts simultanously as an analysis of the media’s consumption of
the work of art.
strategy. the penetrating is a standard theme in the exhibition strategies
of colonel. colonel proposes a frontal attack on the world, where artist
and exhibition fuse together in a veritable warmachine, where all surfaces
are assaulted. coloned proposes a fusion of artist and public. a common movement
which also leads to a revealing of the mechanisms that lock the creative
in a rigid position. yet at the same time one continuously discovers a most
personal, emotionally based train of thought in colonel’s strategic
work. a work based on existentialistic considerations. it is in this point
of intersection, between the inner and the outer, that we discover colonel.
morten friis