Dive with us into Leipzig back in 1985, by watching this historic art film Beiwerk on the topic of work by Jörg Herold.
This film documents an action in a closed room in which "employees" had planned to re-enact a working day. The task is to clean and whitewash an empty factory building in Leipzig during 8 hours, as well as to take a break with a cultural programme. For all protagonists was a ban on talking. All in all, a pointless and exhausting activity that surrounded the heroic aura that justifies the term "work". However, the ban on speaking was avoided through gestural and onomatopoeic communication. Instead of subjecting oneself to the effort of mindless work, one immediately began to let the creative imagination run its course and to create a kind of common environment. The aim was not to rebel against the ban alone, but to go behind it and ultimately leave it to itself. The raising of the white flags ended the action.
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Jörg Herold
Beiwerk, 1985
Super 8, Black and White
8:40 min
Edition of 12
courtesy Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig/Berlin
Concept: Jörg Herold
Actors: Gerd Harry Lybke, Jörg Herold, Frank Behrend, Götz Lehmann, Torsten Schilling, Jan Raue,Thomas Krüger
Camera: Uwe Walter