KRZYSZTOF WODICZKO : THE ART OF UN-WAR a film by Maria Niro
The Art of Un-War documentary chronicles the life and political work of the internationally acclaimed artist Krzysztof Wodiczko. Considered one of the pioneers of large scale projection art, Wodiczko's lifelong investigation of the relationship of war and trauma is intimately explored through his public urban art interventions created over the past fifty years. Wodiczko's unique public projections onto monuments and facades challenges our complacency towards war, xenophobia and displacement. Filmed with unprecedented access, this rare glimpse into the artist’s world stands as a permanent document of his thought-provoking and inspiring work.
The film reveals the inner workings of Wodiczko's mind and his process of collaborating with war veterans, refugees and the homeless who share their plights in public space as their voice and likeness are projected onto historical monuments. Wodiczko's personal struggles with war, trauma, and authoritarianism emerge in parallel shedding light on himself and on the social and historical forces that helped shape him.
The film journeys from his first public intervention created in his birth land Poland in 1968, in response to censorship, to his early large scale slide projections in Canada, Europe and Asia in the 1980s and 1990s to expose the hidden meaning behind architectural structures and historical monuments. The film also delves in his recent works created across the globe using 3D projection mapping exploring war, trauma and xenophobia.
The trajectory of the narrative is driven by Wodiczko’s quest to realize his most monumental proposal to date- to temporarily transform Paris’ Arc de Triomphe into a site for war abolition.
Narrated by the Krzysztof Wodiczko, and in conversations with Art Historian Rosalyn Deutsche, Curator Bozena Czubak of Fundicia Profile, Curator Micaela Martegani of More Art, Artist Activist Dread Scott, Artist Activist Gregory Schollette, Media Artist Ani Liu and Mary Sabatino of Galerie Lelong. Through colleagues and fellow artists activists, we come to know Wodiczko as an empathetic media artist with a deep commitment to exposing the travesties of war and its aftermath.
The film reveals the inner workings of Wodiczko's mind and his process of collaborating with war veterans, refugees and the homeless who share their plights in public space as their voice and likeness are projected onto historical monuments. Wodiczko's personal struggles with war, trauma, and authoritarianism emerge in parallel shedding light on himself and on the social and historical forces that helped shape him.
The film journeys from his first public intervention created in his birth land Poland in 1968, in response to censorship, to his early large scale slide projections in Canada, Europe and Asia in the 1980s and 1990s to expose the hidden meaning behind architectural structures and historical monuments. The film also delves in his recent works created across the globe using 3D projection mapping exploring war, trauma and xenophobia.
The trajectory of the narrative is driven by Wodiczko’s quest to realize his most monumental proposal to date- to temporarily transform Paris’ Arc de Triomphe into a site for war abolition.
Narrated by the Krzysztof Wodiczko, and in conversations with Art Historian Rosalyn Deutsche, Curator Bozena Czubak of Fundicia Profile, Curator Micaela Martegani of More Art, Artist Activist Dread Scott, Artist Activist Gregory Schollette, Media Artist Ani Liu and Mary Sabatino of Galerie Lelong. Through colleagues and fellow artists activists, we come to know Wodiczko as an empathetic media artist with a deep commitment to exposing the travesties of war and its aftermath.