David Vostell
Encyclopedia
David Vostell is a German-Spanish composer
and film director
.
and his Spanish wife Mercedes Guardado. His father and his father’s art
have formed his view of the world from his earliest childhood onwards. The artistics movements of the 1960s and the
early 1970s, as well as his father’s circle - people such as Nam June Paik
and Joseph Beuys
, with whom he often sat together as a teenager - marked him deeply.
From 1977 until 1980 he made apprenticeships at the TV and radio station Sender Freies Berlin
, as well as
at the publicity agency TBWA
in Frankfurt am Main. He worked an assistant cutter, as a film projectionist, in a photolab, in a photostudio
and as photographer. In 1979, together with some of his former school mates, he made 36574 Bilder (36574 pictures),
an experimental film in Super 8
. In 1980 he shot the documentary Endogen Depression
about the making of an environment by Wolf Vostell.
In 1982 he shot the short film Ginger Hel starring Mark Eins, founder of the band DIN A Testbild, and with
the actress Panterra Hamm. The film tells a bizarre love story set in the Berlin underground movement. In Norse mythology Hel is the name
for both the netherworld and its goddess
. This allusion to mythology is conveyed in some scenes of the film by the
roles of the actors as they blur into mythological figures. From his early short films onwards, his special affinity
for music is in evidence. The film is marked by long, rhythmic passages of music, long shots and action and dialogue
between the actors which are reduced to elementary scenes. This creates an idiom in which the music accompanies the
scenes and is on equal terms with the images. In the years between 1985 and 1989, he produced 8 music videos.
In 1990 David Vostell directed the feature film The Being from Earth in Los Angeles. This feature,
with German title Das Wesen der Erde, tells the fantastic story of a being/creature, a mixture between animal and plant,
born out of the sands of the Mojave desert
. The film title alludes mainly to this being born from earth, but it
can also be seen as a metaphor. In its metaphorical sense, it could refer to the state of the planet Earth, to its
being or to existence itself. Long camera takes, scenes which are designed to show the acting pared down to the essential,
dialogues only as necessary and lots of music show his individual directing style, but often leave the cinema audience
puzzled. After the premiere on 8 December 1991 in the Babylon cinema in Berlin, Lars Olav Beier wrote a review
of The Being from Earth in the magazine Tip Berlin number 25/1991, the only one to be published. The film was a box office flop.
In 1992 the documentary Vostell 60-Rückblick 92 (Vostell 60-Review 92) about Wolf Vostell’s retrospective in
Cologne was created under his artistic direction. The scant success of his film projects forced him to work
as an art dealer from 1993 onwards. Since 1995 he worked on a series of drawings, sketching his cinematic visions,
which led to the publication of the Sketch Book 95/96 and Sketch Book 97/98.
After Wolf Vostell’s death in 1998, David Vostell took responsibility for his father’s legacy.
From 1998 until 2001 he organised the Vostell Archive and put it in chronological order.
Since 2002 David Vostell has worked as a composer in Spain. In 2003 he created the Sinfonía nº1,
in 2004, the Sinfonía nº2 and in 2005 he composed El Universo es Música (The universe is music):
16 pieces of music to go with the video sequences of faraway galaxies transmitted by the Hubble space telescope
.
The digital information accompanying the CD shows 26 digital photomontages, visualising travel in time
and the search for alien life forms in the universe in a concrete way. In 2006 David Vostell composed Fórmulas de la Vida
(Formulas of life): 24 suites associated with 24 key words, such as birth, love and dream. The digital information accompanying the CD
shows all 24 words as digitally visualised photomontages which are in directly linked to his compositions.
The Being from Earth, just like his short film Ginger Hel, is an extremely enigmatic film.
It asks the question Why again and again, but very rarely comes up with an answer.
The viewer's expectation of finding a clarifying, conventional narrative structure quickly
gives way to the search for insight. But even this is difficult to find. Various interpretations
of the action are possible and it is probably meant to be that way. The film develops its own obscure dynamic.
The Being from Earth appears to invite the viewer to let themselves drift and to recognise perfection in
life and in film as an impossible idea. The being in the film is extremely passive. It does not bite,
nor does it eat or kill. In character it can only be compared with the being in Eraserhead
by David Lynch
.
David Vostell’s music videos are far from the technical perfection of music videos of the 1980s.
His music videos are an experimental mixture of pictures and music. Blurred, uneasy and repetitive
shots form a characteristic trait with a style of its own, which breaks with all conventions.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Biography
David Vostell is the first child of Wolf VostellWolf Vostell
Wolf Vostell was a German painter, sculptor, noise music maker and Happening artist of the second half of the 20th century. Wolf Vostell is considered one of the pioneers of video art, environment-sculptures, Happenings and the Fluxus Movement...
and his Spanish wife Mercedes Guardado. His father and his father’s art
have formed his view of the world from his earliest childhood onwards. The artistics movements of the 1960s and the
early 1970s, as well as his father’s circle - people such as Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
and Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
, with whom he often sat together as a teenager - marked him deeply.
From 1977 until 1980 he made apprenticeships at the TV and radio station Sender Freies Berlin
Sender Freies Berlin
Sender Freies Berlin was the ARD public radio and television service for West Berlin from 1 June 1954 until 1990 and for Berlin as a whole from German reunification until 30 April 2003...
, as well as
at the publicity agency TBWA
TBWA
TBWA Worldwide is an international advertising agency whose headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The Agency is a unit of Omnicom Group, the world's largest advertising agency holding company. It was founded in 1970 in Paris, France, by William G...
in Frankfurt am Main. He worked an assistant cutter, as a film projectionist, in a photolab, in a photostudio
and as photographer. In 1979, together with some of his former school mates, he made 36574 Bilder (36574 pictures),
an experimental film in Super 8
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
. In 1980 he shot the documentary Endogen Depression
about the making of an environment by Wolf Vostell.
In 1982 he shot the short film Ginger Hel starring Mark Eins, founder of the band DIN A Testbild, and with
the actress Panterra Hamm. The film tells a bizarre love story set in the Berlin underground movement. In Norse mythology Hel is the name
for both the netherworld and its goddess
Hel (being)
In Norse mythology, Hel is a being who presides over a realm of the same name, where she receives a portion of the dead. Hel is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...
. This allusion to mythology is conveyed in some scenes of the film by the
roles of the actors as they blur into mythological figures. From his early short films onwards, his special affinity
for music is in evidence. The film is marked by long, rhythmic passages of music, long shots and action and dialogue
between the actors which are reduced to elementary scenes. This creates an idiom in which the music accompanies the
scenes and is on equal terms with the images. In the years between 1985 and 1989, he produced 8 music videos.
In 1990 David Vostell directed the feature film The Being from Earth in Los Angeles. This feature,
with German title Das Wesen der Erde, tells the fantastic story of a being/creature, a mixture between animal and plant,
born out of the sands of the Mojave desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
. The film title alludes mainly to this being born from earth, but it
can also be seen as a metaphor. In its metaphorical sense, it could refer to the state of the planet Earth, to its
being or to existence itself. Long camera takes, scenes which are designed to show the acting pared down to the essential,
dialogues only as necessary and lots of music show his individual directing style, but often leave the cinema audience
puzzled. After the premiere on 8 December 1991 in the Babylon cinema in Berlin, Lars Olav Beier wrote a review
of The Being from Earth in the magazine Tip Berlin number 25/1991, the only one to be published. The film was a box office flop.
In 1992 the documentary Vostell 60-Rückblick 92 (Vostell 60-Review 92) about Wolf Vostell’s retrospective in
Cologne was created under his artistic direction. The scant success of his film projects forced him to work
as an art dealer from 1993 onwards. Since 1995 he worked on a series of drawings, sketching his cinematic visions,
which led to the publication of the Sketch Book 95/96 and Sketch Book 97/98.
After Wolf Vostell’s death in 1998, David Vostell took responsibility for his father’s legacy.
From 1998 until 2001 he organised the Vostell Archive and put it in chronological order.
Since 2002 David Vostell has worked as a composer in Spain. In 2003 he created the Sinfonía nº1,
in 2004, the Sinfonía nº2 and in 2005 he composed El Universo es Música (The universe is music):
16 pieces of music to go with the video sequences of faraway galaxies transmitted by the Hubble space telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
.
The digital information accompanying the CD shows 26 digital photomontages, visualising travel in time
and the search for alien life forms in the universe in a concrete way. In 2006 David Vostell composed Fórmulas de la Vida
(Formulas of life): 24 suites associated with 24 key words, such as birth, love and dream. The digital information accompanying the CD
shows all 24 words as digitally visualised photomontages which are in directly linked to his compositions.
Style
David Vostell’s feature film The Being from Earth differs strongly from the conventional view of cinema.The Being from Earth, just like his short film Ginger Hel, is an extremely enigmatic film.
It asks the question Why again and again, but very rarely comes up with an answer.
The viewer's expectation of finding a clarifying, conventional narrative structure quickly
gives way to the search for insight. But even this is difficult to find. Various interpretations
of the action are possible and it is probably meant to be that way. The film develops its own obscure dynamic.
The Being from Earth appears to invite the viewer to let themselves drift and to recognise perfection in
life and in film as an impossible idea. The being in the film is extremely passive. It does not bite,
nor does it eat or kill. In character it can only be compared with the being in Eraserhead
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
by David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
.
David Vostell’s music videos are far from the technical perfection of music videos of the 1980s.
His music videos are an experimental mixture of pictures and music. Blurred, uneasy and repetitive
shots form a characteristic trait with a style of its own, which breaks with all conventions.
Filmography
- 1979 - 36574 Bilder
- 1980 - Endogen Depression
- 1982 - Das Porträt
- 1992 - E.d.H.R.
- 1982 - Ginger Hel
- 1985 - Homo Sapiens
- 1985 - Lost in Life
- 1985 - She is so nice
- 1985 - Tutila
- 1986 - Cabala Músíca
- 1986 - Blue way in
- 1987 - Blood and Cocee
- 1989 - Coma Amazonica
- 1990 - The Being from Earth
- 1992 - Rückblick 92
- 1992 - Bestia Pigra
Discography
- 2003 - Sinfonía nº 1
- 2004 - Sinfonía nº 2
- 2005 - Fórmulas de la Vida
- 2006 - El Universo es Música
- 2007 - Influences
- 2008 - EEM/Erotic Enlightenment Mythologies
External links
- http://www.truveo.com/search.php?query=david+vostell&uqs=://cinovid.org/person/6678
- http://www.nme.com/video/id/9ZfR2xtLNjg/search/reisen
- http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=david+vostell