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Julian Rosefeldt: American Night

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Scathingly political, this dramatic artwork uses the look and language of the Western to deconstruct the great myths of America.

Editorial

When: 21 June - Sunday 31 July, 2011
Where: Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Tickets: Free entry.

Image
Julian Rosefeldt
American Night
2009
5-channel film installation
colour, sound
filmed on 16mm anamorphic
converted to HD-SR and transferred onto MPEG Player
aspect ratio: 2,35:1 cinemascope
40 min 42 sec loop
Courtesy ARNDT, Berlin and the artist

A powerful deconstruction of American mythology, this remarkable video work by German artist Julian Rosefeldt employs the visual language of spaghetti westerns to critique and comment upon recent US foreign policy.

Cowboys huddle around a campfire discussing their right to carry a gun; their dialogue consisting of quotes by rapper 50 Cent and former actor and National Rifle Association President, Charlton Heston. George W. Bush and Barack Obama stage a violent showdown in a dusty saloon. In a lonely log cabin, a woman silently waits to undermine the foundation myths of the USA.

American Night is an ambitious five channel installation, filmed in southern Spain and the Canary Islands on an original Sergio Leone film set. In it, the familiar scenes of cowboy movies are turned on their heads in order to examine and perhaps even exorcise the Great American Dream.

Richard Watts, Citysearch