A R C H I E F1 9 9 8  
16th
  Peter Stel
Blind Date
  The Netherlands 1998
Installatie
 
The Blind Date project is about five confrontations of five pairs of artists. During a short period prior to the World Wide Video Festival they react to each other's work and thinking. This will result in five combined presentations.
In the media and in everyday matters Stel 'finds' situations that surprise, disturb or attract the attention in some other way. The images stay glued to his retina and are converted into installations with a strong sensory appeal. The location or space where he presents his work is, thus, very important to Stel. He prefers to make a work for a specific location or he adapts an already existing space so that he directs the perception of the image. This directed perception of the image is actually the reliving of an image that Stel has encountered himself. Like that of the girl who totally lost herself in her admiration of The Backstreet Boys during a performance. The 16mm film 'Look at me' (1998) uses slow motion to show the few seconds in which the girl figures, like happens with the shorts at the cinema. Stel passes his amazement on to the viewer. He likes to create situations where he can draw the viewer into his work and share his own fascination for everyday phenomenon. 'Van Gogh en Mulder' (1996) fulfils this need. This work had a location on the busiest shopping street in the small town of Oosterbeed. The passers-by were surprised at night by an unusual spectacle. Stel asked the two oldest inhabitants of the town to dance for the camera in an empty bank building. He later projected the footage onto the ground floor windows and it looked like the elderly couple were caught up in an endless, nocturnal dance. Stel mixes art with daily life and gives his work a function in public space.
Stel's blind date is Irish artist Carol Murphy.

Production: W139, World Wide Video Festival

Peter Stel ° 1964, Vlaardingen (The Netherlands)
Lives and works in Amsterdam (The Netherlands)


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