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.
notes art phil_collins reblog