Jürgen Fritz
Ringing a bell in dialogue with 10 bagpipe players
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performance: duration 28 mins; video documentation above – 28 mins
In cooperation with members of the the Johnstone Pipe Band
From the original Festival website:
“The challenge of this performance is to develop a performative image from the simple physical action of ringing a bell with increasing intensity. I performed this action solo but also as a dialogue with traditional musicians, as for example in 2008 in Bali with two gamelan players. Such a dialogue gives a new quality and dimension to this performance, as traditional music and performative actions meet and creates a space of physical and musical exchange.”
“With only a single prop (what looked like a town crier’s bell) Fritz created an incredibly controlled, physically extreme performance, which emblematised the BMI’s collective interest in the investigation of forms of attention. The simple gesture of ringing the bell with increasing vigour provoked an avalanche of possibilities for reflection on themes ranging from self-expression, futility, isolation and, given the intensity of the artist’s action, embodiment.” RealTime issue #88
Jürgen Fritz was born 1958 in the Black Forest, Germany. He studied theatre and the science of music. Between 1982-1990 he worked as a theatre director, curator and actor and since 1984 as a performance artist, lecturing in Performance Art at different Universities in Germany. He is co-founder of Black Market International and has been working with this international Cooperation of Performance Artists since 1985.
He has shown his performances across Europe, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Asia and Australia. Since 2005 he has lived as freelance artist in Hildesheim, where he co-founded the International Performance Association (IPAH, registered association) and is artistic director of the annual Festival of Performance Art ZOOM!
This performance at NRLA has been supported by the Goethe Institute, Glasgow.
Ringing a bell in dialogue with 10 bagpipe players
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From the original Festival website:
The challenge of this performance is to develop a performative image from the simple physical action of ringing a bell with increasing intensity. I performed this action solo, but also as a dialogue with traditional musicians, as for example in 2008 in Bali with two gamelan players. Such a dialogue gives a new quality and dimension to this performance, as traditional music and performative actions meet and creates a space of physical and musical exchange.
“With only a single prop (what looked like a town crier’s bell) Fritz created an incredibly controlled, physically extreme performance, which emblematised the BMI’s collective interest in the investigation of forms of attention. The simple gesture of ringing the bell with increasing vigour provoked an avalanche of possibilities for reflection on themes ranging from self-expression, futility, isolation and, given the intensity of the artist’s action, embodiment.” RealTime issue #88
Jürgen Fritz was born 1958 in the Black Forest, Germany. He studied theatre and the science of music. 1982-1990 he worked as a theatre director, curator and actor and since 1984 as performance artist, lecturing in Performance Art at different Universities in Germany. He is cofounder of Black Market International and has been working with this international Cooperation of Performance Artists since 1985. He has shown his performances across Europe, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Asia and Australia. Since 2005 he has lived as freelance artist in Hildesheim, where he co-founded the International Performance Association (IPAH, registered association) and is artistic director of the annual Festival of Performance Art ZOOM!
This performance has been supported by the Goethe Institute, Glasgow.