roman-signer – PLAYTIME

Trevor Smith on Roman Signer: Transcript

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Rebecca Bednarz

Roman Signer applies the forces of nature to everyday objects in highly unusual ways. Each of his works begins with him asking himself, what would happen if . . . ? What would happen if I drove a kayak down the middle of a country road? What would happen if I took my work truck and ran it down a ramp as if it were a toy?

Every day, in moments of quiet reflection, I sit down in my office chair and slowly spin myself around. Roman Signer sits down, asks what if? and spins himself around using rockets. He takes a small, ordinary action and makes it extraordinary, even cosmic.

Return to the artist page.

Roman Signer

Posted on January 30, 2018March 5, 2019 by Rebecca Bednarz

“One’s childhood experiences and adventures are important for every artist. That’s what you feed on. Everything is there already. One only gives it shape.”

WHO

Roman Signer (born 1938, Switzerland) works in a variety of media, including sculpture, video, and performance—although he refers to his work as “action sculptures” or “time sculptures.” Signer previously held jobs as an architect’s draughtsman, a radio engineer apprentice, and a worker in a pressure cooker factory. These experiences led him to experiment with elemental forces, materials, and objects from the world immediately around him.

WHAT

Signer often works with everyday objects, as in Kajak (Kayak) and Bürostuhl (Office Chair). He uses these materials in strictly planned and controlled experiments, often involving explosions and collisions, which he documents on film.

WHY

Signer attempts to make emotional connections between his materials by fusing them together in different ways. Often he goes to absurd lengths to produce a seemingly impossible image or uses the functional aspects of an object in a completely unexpected way.

LISTEN

PlayTime curator Trevor Smith considers how Roman Signer’s work plays with the question, what if? Read the transcript.

WORKS

Bürostuhl (Office Chair), 2006
Video (1 minute)
Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Kajak (Kayak), 2000
Video (5 minutes, 20 seconds)
Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Rampe (Ramp), 2007
Video (30 seconds)
Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Punkt (Dot), 2006
Video (1 minute, 40 seconds)
Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Play Digest: Robin Rhode and Roman Signer

Posted on April 20, 2018March 4, 2019 by Eugenia Bell

The common practice linking the work of Robin Rhode and Roman Signer—this week’s highlighted Playtime artists—reveals the playful interaction the artist can have with their own work.

South African artist Robin Rhode has a favorite wall in Johannesburg, where he has painted more than twenty murals since 2011. While Rhode has lived in Berlin for the past fifteen years, his connection to the Newclare neighborhood of Johannesburg is strong. He visits often and stages his performative drawings on the wall there regularly. Inserting himself (or a performer) into his drawings has become his trademark. It is said that his practice is, in fact, derived from a hazing ritual that occurs in South African schools “in which newcomers are made to draw and interact with a figure as if it were real.” Rhode’s approach as it intersects with PlayTime is summarized perfectly when he says, “If you grow up in a volatile society—under apartheid, for example—you start to develop very interesting, humorous takes on the world. You begin to use humor as a coping mechanism. Humor becomes a means of destabilizing a reality that is much harsher. Humor becomes subversion.”

Playful experimenter Roman Signer says “art is a game.” In response to the question, “Do you think a lot about the meaning or background of your works?” he said: “No. I read a lot, about avalanches, dams, volcanic eruptions, fire fighters, architecture, weather. . . . I am neither a craftsman nor an intellectual. Something in between—a game-player.” Working with everyday objects, Signer manages to uses the functional aspects of these objects in a completely unexpected way.

In the spirit of PlayTime, Signer freely admits that he utilizes with multiple elements (wind, water, sand) that play together in concert in his “useless inventions” that are “completely pointless.”

Signer’s reputation as the “explosion artist” is justified, but his engagement with the human need to experiment—a sort of risk and play exercise in itself; a lived experience.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.)

The Works

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Rebecca Bednarz

Cory Arcangel

Image of Cory Arcangel, still from Totally Fucked, 2003, handmade hacked Super Mario Brothers cartridge and Nintendo NES video game system. Courtesy of the artist.

Cory Arcangel, still from Totally Fucked, 2003, hacked Super Mario Brothers cartridge and Nintendo NES video game system. On loan from the artist. Photo by Maria Zanchi. © Cory Arcangel

Cory Arcangel, still from Self Playing Nintendo 64 NBA Courtside 2, 2011, hacked Nintendo 64 video game controller, Nintendo 64 game console, NBA Courtside 2, game cartridge, and video. Courtesy of the artist.

Cory Arcangel, still from Self Playing Nintendo 64 NBA Courtside 2, 2011, hacked Nintendo 64 video game controller, Nintendo 64 game console, NBA Courtside 2 game cartridge, and video. On loan from the artist. Photo by Maria Zanchi. © Cory Arcangel

Learn more about Cory Arcangel.

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford, Practice

Mark Bradford, Practice, 2003, video (3 minutes). Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Learn more about Mark Bradford.

Nick Cave

Nick Cave, clip from Bunny Boy, 2012, video (14 minutes). Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Nick Cave

Learn more about Nick Cave.

Martin Creed

Martin Creed, Work No. 329, 2004, balloons. On loan from Rennie Collection, Vancouver. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Martin Creed, Work No. 798, emulsion on wall, 2007. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Martin Creed.

Lara Favaretto

Lara Favaretto, Coppie Semplici / Simple Couples, 2009, seven pairs of car wash brushes, iron slabs, motors, electrical boxes, and wires. On loan from Rennie Collection, Vancouver. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Lara Favaretto.

Cao Fei

Cao Fei, Rumba 01 & 02, 2016, cleaning robots and pedestals. Photo courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Cao Fei, still from Shadow Life, 2011, video (10 minutes). On loan from the artist and Vitamin Creative Space. Courtesy of the artist and Vitamin Creative Space.

Learn more about Cao Fei.

Brian Jungen

Brian Jungen, Owl Drugs, 2016, Nike Air Jordans and brass. On loan from the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong.

Brian Jungen, Horse Mask (Mike), 2016, Nike Air Jordans. On loan from the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong.

Brian Jungen, Blanket no. 3, 2008, professional sports jerseys. On loan from the artist and Casey Kaplan, New York. Photo by Jean Vong.

Learn more about Brian Jungen.

Teppei Kaneuji

Teppei Kaneuji, Teenage Fan Club (#66–#72), 2015, plastic figures and hot glue. On loan from the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery, New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Teppei Kaneuji, White Discharge (Built-up Objects #40), 2015, wood, plastic, steel, and resin. On loan from the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery, New York. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Brian Jungen.

Paul McCarthy

Paul McCarthy, Pinocchio Pipenose Householddilemma, 1994, video (44 minutes). On loan from the Marieluise Hessel Collection, Hessel Museum of Art, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. © Paul McCarthy

Learn more about Paul McCarthy.

Rivane Neuenschwander

Rivane Neuenschwander, Watchword, 2013, embroidered fabric labels, felt panel, wooden box, and pins. On loan from the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, São Paulo, Brazil; and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.

Learn more about Rivane Neuenschwander.

Pedro Reyes

Pedro Reyes, Disarm Mechanized II, 2012–14, recycled metal from decommissioned weapons. On loan from the artist and Lisson Gallery, London. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Pedro Reyes.

Robin Rhode

Robin Rhode, still from He Got Game, 2000, digital animation (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, detail of Four Plays, 2012–13, inkjet prints. On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, Double Dutch.

Robin Rhode, Double Dutch, 2016, chromogenic prints. On loan from the David and Gally Mayer Collection. Photo courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, See/Saw.

Robin Rhode, See/Saw, 2002, digital animation (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Robin Rhode, Street Gym, 2000–2004, digital animation (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong.

Learn more about Robin Rhode.

Roman Signer

Roman Signer, Kayak.

Roman Signer, Kajak (Kayak), 2000, video (6 minutes). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Roman Signer

Roman Signer, Punkt (Dot), 2006, video (2 minutes). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Roman Signer

Roman Signer, Bürostuhl (Office Chair), 2006, video (1 minute). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Roman Signer, Rampe (Ramp), 2007, video (30 seconds). On loan from the artist and Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, Switzerland.

Learn more about Roman Signer.

Gwen Smith

Gwen Smith, from the series The Yoda Project, 2002–17, sixteen inkjet printed photographs. On loan from the artist.

Learn more about Gwen Smith.

Angela Washko

Performing in Public: Ephemeral Actions in World of Warcraft, 2012–17, three-channel video installation. Courtesy of the artist.

Performing in Public: Four Years of Ephemeral Actions in World of Warcraft (A Tutorial), 2017, video (1 minute, 44 seconds). Courtesy of the artist.

The Council on Gender Sensitivity and Behavioral Awareness in World of Warcraft, 2012, video.

Nature, 2012
7 minutes

Healer, 2012
4 minutes

Playing A Girl, 2013
21 minutes

Red Shirts and Blue Shirts (The Gay Agenda), 2014
24 minutes

We Actually Met in World of Warcraft, 2015
52 minutes

Safety (Sea Change), 2015
44 minutes, 19 seconds

Courtesy of the artist.

/misplay, from The World of Warcraft Psychogeographical Association, 2015, video (1 hour, 15 minutes). Courtesy of the artist.

Learn more about Angela Washko.

Agustina Woodgate

Agustina Woodgate, Rose Petals, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the Benjamin Feldman Collection. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Galaxy, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the Collection of Charles Coleman. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Royal, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the Collection of Alan Kluger and Amy Dean. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Peacock, 2010, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from the artist and Spinello Projects. Courtesy of Spinello Projects, Miami.

Agustina Woodgate, Jardin Secreto, 2017, stuffed animal toy skins. On loan from Alex Fernandez-Casais. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Agustina Woodgate.

Erwin Wurm

Erwin Wurm, 59 Stellungen (59 Positions).
Erwin Wurm, 59 Stellungen (59 Positions), 1992, video (20 minutes). On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Courtesy of Studio Erwin Wurm.

Erwin Wurm, Double Piece, 2002, from the series One Minute Sculptures, ongoing, sweater, instruction drawing, and pedestal, performed by the public. On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Erwin Wurm, Organisation of Love, 2007, from the series One Minute Sculptures, ongoing, utensils, instruction drawings, and pedestal, performed by the public. On loan from Tate Modern. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Erwin Wurm, Metrum, 2015, from the series One Minute Sculptures, ongoing, shoes, instruction drawing, and pedestal, performed by the public. On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Erwin Wurm, Sweater, pink, 2018, cotton-acrylic blend fabric and metal. On loan from Studio Erwin Wurm. Photo by Bob Packert/PEM.

Learn more about Erwin Wurm.