A play by Pierre Bal-Blanc, staged by the author with Andrea Büttner, Esther Ferrer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Sanja Ivekovic, Ben Kinmont, Jirí Kovanda, Marcello Maloberti, Teresa Margolles, Emilie Parendeau, Martha Rosler, Santiago Sierra, Slaven Tolj, Isidoro Valcárcel Medina.

© Slaven Tolj

“The story of de-creation reminds us that art is anti-technique. If I have organized this de-creation as a theatre, it is not only to extend the theatrical stage of disfigurement, described by Jacques Rancière in his history of abstract painting, to all artistic practices. It is also to demonstrate the reversibility of creation and de-creation, which are part of artwork in any circumstance, at the moment in which the creative process is qualified as a work of art and at its disqualification as a product or cultural fetish.
The title ‘Reversibility’ lays down the bases of this thought, to which Marcel Duchamp proposed a solution long ago in the form of a question: Can you make works that are not of art?
‘Reversibility – A Theatre of De-creation’ proposes a reverse process of Duchamp’s statement: Can you make art that is not a work?” (PBB)

Reversibility is a project in three parts. The first stage, which took place at Frieze Art Fair in London in 2008, was framed by David Lamelas’ historical piece Dos Espacios Modificados (1967). It was followed by a second stage at CAC Brétigny in 2010, organized around Floating Wall, one of the last pieces produced by Robert Breer. The third one, presented at Peep-Hole, Milan, in 2012, will follow the rhythm of Isidoro Valcárcel Medina’s piece, No Necesita Titulo (1990–2012), which is based on the delivery of daily meals coming from charity organizations from the city in which the work is presented.

Site: Peep-Hole

Title: Reversibility. A Theater of De-Creation. Chapter III
Place: CAC Brétigny.Centre d’art contemporain de Brétigny
City: Milán
Country: Italy
Date: 11 April – 19 May 2012