"The Golem" , Video, 6:52 minutes, 2009.

To watch the video in Youtube go to Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imYth1D1aZo

 

 

The Golem

"The Golem" is an old Jewish tale about a monster made out of mud and been brought to life.

This legend reminisces of the biblical story in which God creates Adam out of mud. It also reminds us of the artist

who craetes images out of clay and other material. It came from the Hebrew word "Hitgalmot"which mean that parts

of god are coming alive in something else, but also from the word "Gelem"which means raw material.

 

Gal Kinan is fascinated by the makeability of the human being and creatures that resemble human beings, for instance

robots. She is particularly interested in the way movement can be controlled when the body is no longer attached to

the mind and becomes a tool capable of repetitive movement only.

 

The video installation “The Golem” shows images of a 19th century automaton (Fridrich Kaufmann's famous automaton

the "Trumpet Players" ,made in 1810-1812, presented now in the Deutsches Museum Munchen),  resembling a human

being that was once capable of playing a trumpet. It is briefly brought back to life by the texts about this legendary

figure that Gal Kinan, is reading as if they were a conjuration.

 

Sascia Vos

curator of Moira Expositieruimte.