I was born in the studio Of Fischli/Weiss
With Nav Haq
Intro
- Nav Haq (a curator) interviews Hans Obrist to discuss ideas about interviews as a research methodology, how they have played an inherent role in his curatorial practice, and why he believes they can generate cross disciplinary dialogue (108).
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This interview comes at a time where Hans Obrist became co-director of Exhibitions and Programs, and Director of International Projects at the Serpentine Gallery, located in London. This was the site of the first “24-Hour Interview Marathon” (108).
Serpentine Gallery London
Established in 1970
The first “24-Hour Interview Marathon”
Interest in Interviews
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Nav Haq asks the question, can you recall how you first became interested in giving interviews? (109)
- As a teenager, Hans visited many artists regularly, but Fischli/Weiss (Peter Fischli & David Weiss) were the ones he visited the most. It wasn’t that he was born in the studio of Fischli/Weiss, but rather “reborn” in their studio (109).
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It was after visiting their galleries, and watching them work on a film, “The Way Things Go”, that Hans decided it was time to begin working more directly with visual art and to present work in a domestic setting.
David Weiss & Peter Fischli
Start of Interviews
- After viewing “The Way Things Go” and researching visual art, he did his first “Kitchen Show” which consisted of 7 artists and was viewed by 30 people. This marked the beginning of his first interview process (109).
- Hans was given a grant to go to Paris to live and work as a curator. This led him to conduct many studio visits with artists as well as lots of interviews (109).
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He conducted interviews in television studios with artists, however, he preferred doing interviews in more informal settings, like over coffee or in a taxi, and thought it would be interesting to find a way to record the interviews without dragging people into a recording studio.
Conversation Vs Print
- Hans has an archive of 1,600 filmed conversations. Most videos are transcribed (110).
- Nav discusses there always being a discrepancy between an actual interview conversation and what eventually appears in printed form (114).
The Art World
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In order to understand the forces effective in the art world, it is important to look at other fields of knowledge(110).
Art - Architecture, Music, Sculptures, Poetry, Animation...
The Relationship of Art and Other Subjects
- “Two is company, and three is a crowd” (111).
- Hans started interviewing with other curators which allowed for different formats and different ways of approaching the interview process (111).
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He then started interviewing 3 people at a time and what that created was a mutual curiosity among the people in the interview to ask questions regarding the other fields.
He used to do specific interviews by categories: Art interviews, science interviews, architecture interviews...
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If you only interview a single field, cross fertilization between the fields is missing (112).
Diversity of the Art World
- There are curators, artists, critics, gallerists, and collectors, all of whom are forces. The art world is a polyphony of these different forces which homogenize and ultimately have an impact on the art world (113).
- Unlike exhibitions where you have deadlines, conversations are where I can forget about time, or liberate time (113).
A different view
Nav asks if Hans edits his own interview texts? (114)
- Different Languages - Transcription is not always logically connected or coherent.
Nav asks: Have you had the experience of revisiting one of your own previous interviews and developing a different understanding of an artist’s practice? (115)
Frequently, perceptions change over time!
I Was Born in the Studio
By Nic Stevens
