John Bock

A performance artist and sculptor whose three dimensional works have often served as props for his performances, John Bock creates entire universes using a wildly eclectic range of materials, described in multiple languages, and presented with an antic energy that is equal parts mad scientist and Buster Keaton. A dizzying mix of pseudo-scientific, aesthetic, social, and political commentary, Bock's works defy logic. This view of the world has various precedents, notably in the post World War II Theatre of the Absurd, a movement whose goal was to shock audiences into facing up to life "in its ultimate, stark reality." Bock believes the pre-conscious associations inherent in words are unavoidable and that only through experience and empathy can we penetrate what he terms the "heavy numb dumb world" of daily life. Bock's lectures seduce and confound, simultaneously proving perhaps, the inexplicability of the interrelationship of man and his universe. Meechfieber is a three-dimensional manifestation of Bock's 30-minute film, which shows continuously in the Museum of Art Theater. The installation allows viewers to step into the movie and experience it in space as well as time.

Selected Bibliography:

Dziewior, Yilmaz. "John Bock: The Receiver's Due." Artext, no. 68 (February–April) 2000: 62–65.

John Bock. Exhibition catalogue. Basel: Kunsthalle Basel, 1999.

John Bock: Koppel. Exhibition catalogue. Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, in association with Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, 2004.

Jones, Ronald. "Openings: John Bock." Artforum 37, no. 10 (Summer 1999): 142–3.

Parkett, no. 67 (2003): 18–53. Special section, including essays by Jan Avgikos, Daniel Birnbaum, and Jens Hoffman.

Links:

Klosterfelde Gallery

ArtForum