Fastest! Tallest! Marxist! The visual art of Phil Collins | Art and design | The Guardian
Halfway through Phil Collins’s new film, a statue of Karl Marx is winched out of a Berlin square. It recalls Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, in which a statue of Jesus is airlifted over the roofs of Rome before the shenanigans begin. Both sequences invite similar questions. What happens when the key symbol of a culture is run out of town? Does life become sweet? Does it leave an icon-shaped hole?
The Runcorn-born, Berlin-residing, 2006 Turner prize-shortlisted artist wanted to address these questions in his film, called marxism today.
a great article about Phil Collins’ work and the revival of Marxism (also includes passing references to Slavoj Žižek’s latest effort “The Idea of Communism” - I know he’s got some fans here).
Phil Collins’ work on film/video can be seen for free at the British Film Institute Gallery in London (BFI South Bank) until 10 April 2011.
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