From 8th February 2003 to 11th May 2003, Kunst-Werke Berlin is pleased to present "Animations", an exhibition showcasing the unique ways in which contemporary visual artists address animation as a medium and subject. "Animations" focuses on the implications of living in an age where visual experience is informed by new technologies, and where the "reality" of live action film and the imagined worlds of animation have blurred together. With works by more than thirty artists ranging historically from the early 20th century till today, this exhibition addresses the utopian beginnings of the medium, the relationship between analog and digital, between graphic form and 3-D animation, and between commercial and experimental animation.

Works include New York-based artist Karen Yasinsky’s animation Fear (2001). Her work uses stop-motion animation to tell ambiguous tales of personal interaction, in which her characters seem to be hobbled by their own construction, moving in an atmosphere of wistful emotion. South African artist William Kentridge will present Shadow Procession (1999), which depicts a haunting procession of black puppet-like figures made from cardboard cutouts. A unique new set of drawings, Untitled (Video Reversals) (2002) explore the shift from animation to still drawings. His film Memo ) combines live action film with drawing and recalls the beginnings of animation at the turn of the last century. On the other hand, for their project No Ghost, Just a Shell ) French artists Pierre Huyghe and Phillippe Parreno present videos that address the contemporary corporate context of much animation today. In 1999, Huyghe and Parreno purchased a ready-to-use anime character from a Japanese cartoon agency and made her available for use by other artists, including Liam Gillick and Pierre Joseph & Mehdi Belhaj-Kacem. The artists "saved" Annlee from imminent disposal by the manga comic industry, and then removed her from “circulation” in December 2002.

This exhibition also includes works by: Haluk Akakçe, Francis Alÿs, Peggy Ahwesh, Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé, Jeremy Blake, Angus Fairhurst, Jan Freuchen, David Galbraith, Liam Gillick, Amelie von Wulffen and Michael Graessner, Claudia Hart, Simon Henwood, Martin Honert, Alex Ku, Liane Lang, Zilla Leutenegger, Kristin Lucas, Christine Mackie, Melissa Marks, Jennifer & Kevin McCoy, Jonathan Monk, Juan Muñoz, Sven Påhlsson, Jenny Perlin, Liliana Porter, Possible Worlds, Natascha Sadr-Haghighian, Teresa Seeman, Lawrence Weiner and Florian Zeyfang.

Animations also presents an array of artist-designed rooms that offer unique spaces where visitors can interact with other works. Storm van Helsing and Jimmy Raskin created a room out of paper which evokes life-size comic strip to showcase an interview on the topic of animation and many works by other artists. The Folly, designed by New York-based artist John Pilson and architect Andrea Mason, offers visitors the opportunity to view works selected from hundreds of international animated films. Artists in this section include: J. Tobias Anderson, Ingrid Bromberg, Sarah Ciraci, Maureen Connor, Melanie Crean, Deborah Davidovits, Rory Hanrahan, Tim Hirzel, Avish Khebrehzadeh, Xana Kudriacev-DeMilner, Omar Lewis & Jason Cooper, Daniel Lefcourt, Cecilia Lundquist, Joe McKay, Rupert Norfolk, Diego Perrone, Root R (Shingo Suzuki, Takaaki Sakurai, Tohru Tozawa), Jonathan Rosen, Kathy Rose Jason Schiedel, Matthew Suib, Scott Teplin and Florian Zeyfang. Web artist Paul Johnson makes his own working projectors and computers from the most quotidian of elements. For this exhibition he has designed On the Web, which features a selection of web-based animation, from stand-alone applications to interactive games. Artists include: Natalie Bookchin, YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES, Mark Daggett, Joshua Davis, Andy Deck, Xeth Feinberg, Alex and Munro Galloway, JODI, John Klima, Golan Levin and Casey Reas, Sebastian Luetgert, Panajotis Mihalatos, Mouchette, Mark Napier, and Eric Zimmerman and Word.com. Finally, in At The Cinema, KW features historical programs and film-based hits of animations in a room reminiscent of the cinema experience. This program includes works by pioneering animators such as Emile Cohl, Winsor McCay, Oskar Fischinger, and Norman McLaren.

This exhibition is curated by Castello di Rivoli Chief Curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev in collaboration with Larissa Harris. Web animation: Anthony Huberman. Historical and experimental animation consultants: Giannalberto Bendazzi, John Canemaker, Norman Klein and Karyn Riegel. The presentation at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York was made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional funding was provided by MetLife Foundation, Etant donnés and the British Council.

The exhibition at KW was made possible by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Berlin and Philip Morris Kunstförderung. Special thanks to Deitch Projects, New York and Makom, Berlin.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, which was made possible through the support of Dornbracht Amaturenfabrik, Iserlohn, Germany.