{"id":238,"title":"Portretten [Portraits]","dimensions":"00:03:00","date_begin":"1969-01-01","material":"16 mm film, b/w, sound","art_status_id":13,"legal_status_id":47,"category_id":182,"platform_id":1,"deleted":false,"asset_count":3,"stream_count":0,"collection":"Collectie M HKA, Antwerpen / Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap","cached_tag_list":"video","publishing_process_id":1,"annotation":"\u003cp\u003eGuy Mees is placing people on Iton-stones, like a medal ceremony. Two people are elevated on one and two stones; a third person is on the ground at the most important position; in difference this person is free. He's letting the people change, it’s not about winning but offering different possibilities, transcendence; situating itself in the space of a concrete human being. These people are not on a podium, but on a light stone which also marks the unimportance of the material.\u003c/p\u003e","date_end":null,"reference":"BK007207","stream_count_app":36,"permalink":"portretten-portraits","description_ca":"","short_description_ca":"","description_it":"","short_description_it":"","cached_primary_asset_url":null,"cached_actor_names":"Guy Mees","hide_from_json":false,"prev_platform_id":null,"description_uk":"","short_description_uk":"","description_tr":null,"short_description_tr":null,"mhka_works":true,"category":{"en":"Film","nl":"","fr":""},"poster_image":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/mhka_ensembles_production/assets/public/000/001/297/large/Mees,%20Guy,%20%20portretten,%201971%20filmstill%20%2006.jpg?1305188215","poster_credits":"(c)image: M HKA","translations":[{"locale":"en","short_description":"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePortraits\u003c/i\u003e\u0026nbsp;is the second section of the group of works entitled\u003ci\u003e Level Differences\u003c/i\u003e. In the series \u003ci\u003eLevel Differences\u003c/i\u003e, each time three persons appear on three different levels, on a podium of breezeblocks. The platform was movable, which meant that the work could be shown in a wide variety of locations. A series of portraits emerged of a wide range of people, mostly friends and family of the artist, who enact a short, rather absurd performance. By having the actors change position, the hierarchical stance within the group changes: upper, middle and under. Due to their mutual interchangeability this hierarchy is simultaneously disturbed and put into perspective. The idea behind this series is the demarcation of a distinction, a difference, which is demonstrated by the protagonists. The cameras are only there to record this clarification process. In the early 1970s there was detailed debate about power relationships and hierarchical regulation. This theme connects with a leitmotif in the work of Guy Mees: investigations into systems, classification, seriality and standardization. With the principle of\u003ci\u003e Level Differences\u003c/i\u003e\u0026nbsp;and the use of photography and film, Guy Mees moved into unchartered territory.\u003ci\u003e Portraits\u003c/i\u003e\u0026nbsp;consist of film- and video recordings and photographs in wide-ranging formats, from contact sheets and ‘regular’ family photos in black \u0026amp; white and color, to large-size prints of studio quality. The execution in consciously un-artistic, following the principle of anonymity or the consciously amateurish-looking photographs of conceptual photography. The video and films are direct registrations too, made without much in the way of editing and technical understanding.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"locale":"nl","short_description":"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePortretten\u003c/i\u003e\u0026nbsp;is het tweede onderdeel van de groep werken onder de titel \u003ci\u003eNiveauverschillen\u003c/i\u003e. In de reeks \u003ci\u003eNiveauverschillen\u003c/i\u003e\u0026nbsp;verschijnen telkens drie personen op drie verschillende niveaus, namelijk op een erepodium van snelbouwstenen. Doordat de verhoging verplaatsbaar was, kon het werk op de meest diverse locaties getoond worden. Hieruit ontstond een reeks van portretten van uiteenlopende personen, meestal vrienden en familie van de kunstenaar, die een korte, nogal absurde performance uitvoeren. Door het variëren in posities wisselt de hiërarchische positie binnen de groep: boven, midden en onder. Door hun onderlinge verwisselbaarheid wordt de hiërarchie tegelijk verstoord en gerelativeerd. De idee achter deze serie is het markeren van een onderscheid, een verschil, dat door de betrokken personen wordt gedemonstreerd. De camera’s zijn er enkel om dit verduidelijkingproces vast te leggen. In de vroege jaren ’70 werd er omstandig gedebatteerd over het ontstaan van machtsverhoudingen en hiërarchische ordening. Deze thematiek sluit aan bij een leidmotief in het werk van Guy Mees: het onderzoek naar systemen, classificatie, serialiteit en standaardisatie. Met het principe van de *Niveauverschillen* en het gebruik van fotografie en film begaf Guy Mees zich op onontgonnen terrein. \u003ci\u003ePortretten\u003c/i\u003e\u0026nbsp;bestaat uit film- en videoregistraties en foto’s op uiteenlopende formaten, van contactafdrukken, over normale familiefoto’s in zwart-wit en kleur, tot opnamen van studiokwaliteit op groot formaat. De uitvoering is bewust onartistiek, volgens het principe van de anonimiteit of de gewild amateuristisch aandoende foto’s van de conceptuele fotografie. Ook de video en de films zijn directe registraties die zonder veel technische bagage en zonder montage gemaakt zijn.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"locale":"fr","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"ru","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"de","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"es","short_description":"","description":""},{"locale":"el","short_description":"","description":""}],"actors":[{"id":44,"name":"Guy Mees","category":{"en":"Creator","nl":"Vervaardiger","fr":"Créateur"}}]}