ART-PRESENTATION: Tony Oursler -Imponderable

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus

Always rooted in the medium of film, Tony Oursler conjures sculptural and immersive experiences using technologies that hark back to magic lanterns, Victorian light shows and camera, but that also look forward to the fully networked, digitally assisted future of image and identity production. As a pioneer of video art in early ‘80s New York, Oursler specialised in hallucinogenic dramaturgy and radical formal experimentation, employing animation, montage and live action.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: MoMA Archive

The Museum of Modern Art is presents the film “Imponderable” by Tony Oursler. The project’s title, suggests the idea of something that cannot be determined with accuracy. The film offers an alternative depiction of modernism that reveals the intersection of technological advancements and occult phenomena over the last two centuries. Presented in a “5-D” cinematic environment utilizing a contemporary form a 19th Century phantasmagoric device, the Pepper’s ghost and a range of sensory effects, “Imponderable” is an immersive feature-length film inspired by Oursler’s own archive of ephemera relating to stage magic, spirit photography, pseudoscience, telekinesis, and other manifestations of the paranormal. Drawing on these objects, the work weaves together a social, spiritual, and empirical history of the virtual image that overlaps with the artist’s own family history. The cast of characters, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Mina “Margery” Crandon, and members of Oursler’s family, is portrayed by an eclectic ensemble of artists, musicians, and performers, including Kim Gordon, Jim Fletcher, Keith Sanborn, and Constance DeJong. Bringing together Oursler’s ongoing interest in mysticism, psychedelia, popular culture, and media history, the work uses macabre humor and theatrical surrealism to reflect on the irrational relationship between belief systems and the authenticity of images. Imponderable is presented in conjunction with selections from Oursler’s archive relating to the film. The 5-D film-based experience, explores the conflicting and overlapping belief systems implicit within his grandfather’s engagement with the debunking of paranormal activity.

Info: Curators: Stuart Comer and Erica Papernik-Shimizu, The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, Duration: 18/6/16-8/1/17, Days & Hours: Mon-Thu & Sat-Sun 10:30-17:30, Fri 10:30-20:00, www.moma.org

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus
Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus

 

 

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus
Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus

 

 

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus
Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus

 

 

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus
Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus

 

 

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus
Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus

 

 

Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus
Tony OursleR, Still from Imponderable, 2015–16, © 2016 Tony Oursle, The Museum of Modern Art-New York, Acquired in part through the generosity of Jill and Peter Kraus