Dara Birnbaum, Kiss the Girls: Make Them Cry, 1979, Exhibition view: Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, 2021 © n.b.k. / Jens Ziehe

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the n.b.k. Video-Forum, founded in 1971, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.) will host the first solo presentation of Birnbaum’s work in Germany in over 20 years. The focus is on works acquired for the collection of the n.b.k. Video-Forum since the 1980s. Birnbaum’s preoccupation with television, the mass medium of her time, manifests itself in her early works Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978–1979) and Kiss the Girls: Make Them Cry (1979), which have become canonical works of video art. Her work Lesson Plans (To Keep the Revolution Alive) (1977), consisting of 30 image and text panels, premieres in Germany and relates Birnbaum’s early involvement with standardized cinematic techniques. The development of her own video aesthetic with the aid of visual effects is at the heart of her trilogy Damnation of Faust (1983–1987), which can be viewed on the n.b.k. website as an extension of the exhibition.

Curator: Arkadij Koscheew

NEUER BERLINER KUNSTVEREIN

Chausseestrasse 128/129
10115 Berlin
Germany

Originally created in 1977 as a single handmade copy, Note(s): Work(ing) Process(es) Re: Concerns (That Take On / Deal With) gathers sketches, writings, diagrams, contact sheets, and proposals for eight early video works. The publication was originally produced by the artist and exhibited in “Notebooks, Workbooks, Scripts, Scores” at Franklin Furnace in 1977. The book’s vinyl cover and section dividers, hand-folded pages, color images, and red and black typewriter ink have all been reproduced. Alex Kitnick provides a new introduction.

Featured works include Back Piece (1975), Attack Piece (1975), Mirroring (1975), Liberty: A Dozen or So Views (1976), Relationship Perspectives: Perspective Relationships (1976–77), America: Land of Contrasts (A Day of Awakening) (A Shot in the Dark) (1976–77), Pivot: Turning Around Suppositions (1976), and Lesson Plans to Keep the Revolution Alive (1977).

Available to preorder at MGG Shop, and Primary Information.