Bio
BBB Johannes Deimling uses everyday objects to create a living images (agierte Bilder) reflecting a society full of contradictions, sentimentality, stupidity, creativity and cooperation. Finding ideas and suggestions from the banality of daily life, Deimling transforms topics such as patience, will, war, religion and transportation into physical and poetical images. The artist’s head is often a focus in the work, as an integral part of a living sculpture or as material in a performance. Since 1988, BBB Johannes Deimling has worked as an artist in the fields of performance art, action art, video, installation, drawing and music. His work has been presented at events and festivals in Europe, Israel, Canada, Southamerica and Cuba, a.o. at the ICA in London; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Kiasma – museum for contemporary art in Helsinki; Center for contemporary art in Tel Aviv; Art Hall in Tallinn; Cornerhouse Gallery in Manchester; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein and as well on several international Performance Art Festivals like Interakcje in Poland; 7a11d in Canada; Bone in Switzerland; AccionMad in Spain, … . Since 1998, Deimling has devoted much of his practice to lecturing and teaching on performance art at various academic institutions including: since 1998 at the F+F, school for art and media design in Zürich, Switzerland; since 2004 at the Estonian Art Academy in Tallinn, Estonia; since 2009 at the Akademi for Szenekunst in Fredrikstad, Norway and since 2008 at the TU Dresden in Germany. Based on his teachings he founded PAS-Performance Art Studies, a work project for international art students and young artist’s realised in Canada, Germany, Israel, Serbia, France, Poland, Norway, Czech Republic, … . Since 2011 BBB Johannes Deimling is working at the NTA [Norwegian Thatre Academy] in Norway.
More informations: www.bbbjohannesdeimling.de and www.pas.bbbjohannesdeimling.de
Statement
Under the term 'agierte Bilder’ – acted, or living images, used since 1995 the artist creates living images, which he puts into a pictorial aspect. Based on an idea or a concept a performance will be developed, with which he in an incisive moment the ontic tangible reality solidifies. In the moment of the presentation, constitutes an image that focuses everyday life or social conflict situations. Thereby accrues an acted image, which points beyond the bare experience of sense, because with each action Deimling alienates something from us that is well known. He uses well-known objects in a changed way, twists courses of action right around or remains in a pose, which appear at first sight strange, on the second all the more comes out with a deeper meaning. Here the creative act is the centre of attention. In the ultimately accruing image the precisely planned consistency of the first singular appearing gestures shows up. He conceptualize an image of our society, which shows it full of contradictions, sentimentally, stupidly and badly, but also affectionately, creatively and cooperatively. He observes the world from his characterized point of view. A temporary image remains in the memory of the viewer. Particularly these images of BBB Johannes Deimling, show a nearly sliding transition between usual ordinariness and art. Deimling finds his ideas and suggestions in the banality of the all day life and combines these researches with its own biography. The artist transforms topics such as patience, will, war, religion and transportation into physical images. The head is often a focus and again in the performances whether as living sculpture covered with plasters (band aids) or as material struck against the wall. At the creation of its acted images he works often with simple, poor materials. Performance Art Povera declared the artist a part of its ephemeral works, which gives a clear and concentrated image, because of the austere and purposeful use of the material. The frequent use of food in the performances points a clear aspect to the everyday life, which refers in Deimlings work often humorously to the caducity of our existence. Pretty often the actions or objects made in the performances, are followed up in the form of videos, objects or photography. Beside his well-known works that are based on actions and which have a poetic character, the artist realizes Still-Life performances, endurance-performances, duo-performances and very short actions. The variability of the idiom and the accompanied combination of different media is a characteristic of Deimlings work. Thus Deimling uses the possibilities of painting to create pictures, or he uses the music and extracts for example the moment of repetition or rhythm, or he uses the power of poetry to underline an action, or he uses elements of dance for his actions to compress certain moments. It is impressive that Deimling is again and again able not to define his works by the used elements, but to create its own, multilevel language of images and actions. Performance Art is for BBB Johannes Deimling of artistic and social value, which orients itself more on all day life than the meaning of art at the museum, a radical and honest form of the visual arts, which the creation of a work of art, its presentation, reception and reflection unites in one moment. The centre is the creative act. Not the commercial use of the work is crucial, but the volatility inspired by the impression of the viewer. The absence of a manifested artwork is not a fault, but a quality characteristic. An ephemeral moment happens and unites different personal levels, which the artist offers to his public. Deimling speaks with his body and with its movements and creates a platform of communication. This stands on four columns: The body of the artist, the time, the space and the communication with the viewer. In the moment the creative act merges the four elements into a unique readable sign of general importance, the heart of the artistic act.