UNCUT: FROM GORDON MATTA-CLARK'S FILM ARCHIVE
Lecture by Hila Peleg
Artist Gordon Matta-Clark (1943–1978) considered architecture to be dynamic by nature— part of a larger social and political system, conditioned by constantly shifting economic, cultural and environmental factors. His sharp observation of the contradictions taking place in the wake of widespread deindustrialization and so-called urban renewal fuelled his critical artistic response. Matta-Clark's most iconic body of work is a series of meticulous and monumental incisions into abandoned and derelict buildings. These "building cuts" demonstrate the potential of individuals and groups to establish alternative self-determined spaces, structures and systems. Matta-Clark devised an elaborate documentary practice to represent the different phases and dimensions of his architectonic intervention as a means to convey the extreme physical action and energy involved in the transformation and subsequent demolition of the buildings. The curator Hila Peleg will discuss her recent exhibition project and present content of rare original film reels and videos, including rough cuts, outtakes, and working edits from the Canadian Center of Architecture (CCA) Gordon Matta-Clark Archive.
Hila Peleg is a curator and filmmaker. She has previously curated solo shows, large-scale group exhibitions and interdisciplinary cultural events, across the visual arts, film and architecture. Between 2010 to 2014 she was the Artistic Director of the Berlin Documentary Forum. More recently, she was the curator of documenta 14. She directed the documentaries "A Crime Against Art" (2007) and "Sign Space" (2016), and edited the book "Documentary Across Disciplines", and currently works as a curator at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, in Berlin.
