Krzysztof Wodiczko: Projections

Transforming Façades of Buildings into Political, Public Art

The image of a homeless person materializes on a Boston war monument. A swastika suddenly appears on the South African Embassy in London. A city watches skeletal hands play a tuneless dirge on a war museum in Pittsburgh. These are just some of the controversial `projections' created by Polish artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, who transforms buildings and structures into political, public art. This documentary intercuts scenes of Wodiczko preparing a public projection in Jerusalem in 1991 with other projections in Europe and North America. Each reflects the artist's involvement in a broad range of political issues: a blistering attack in Edinburgh on Margaret Thatcher's economic policies; a reflection on American-Canadian free trade at a Toronto water filtration plant; a street-level protest against the problem of homelessness in New York through a controversial prototype mobile shelter. Interestingly, the only site where Wodiczko is denied permission for a projection is Montreal, at the Promenades de la Cathédrale, despite his participation in the city's Cent Jours d'Art Contemporain. This innovative film reflects the personal and political aspects of Wodiczko's art.

© 1998-2008 The Roland Collection & Pira Intl.