In his most well-known works, Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (b. 1966) addresses the familiarity and popularity of moving pictures by manipulating, reframing, and superimposing them to alter viewers’ perceptions. His works provoke feelings of anxiety, recognition, and amnesia with respect to the circumstances of the reception of media today. This retrospective of Gordon’s work presents thirteen significant works by the artist, including 24 Hour Psycho (1993), Between Darkness and Light (After William Blake) (1997), and Play Dead; Real Time (2003). By forcing new encounters with the familiar and confrontations with the willfully forgotten, Gordon exposes the distance between our dimmed, distorted memories and, perhaps, the truth—emphatically demonstrating that what he sculpts is not only media but time itself.
Organized by Klaus Biesenbach, Curator, Department of Film and Media, The Museum of Modern Art.
The exhibition is supported in part by Jerry I. Speyer and Katherine G. Farley.
The accompanying publication is made possible by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art.
Please note: The videos below require the Flash 8+ plug-in. These videos do not contain audio.
Douglas Gordon. Play Dead; Real Time. 2003. Excerpt from video installation with two screens, monitor, and color video, 21 min. loop and 11 min. loop, dimensions variable. The Museum of Modern Art. Gift of Richard J. Massey.
Video courtesy of Douglas Gordon
Douglas Gordon. B-Movie. 1995. Excerpt from video installation with screen
and black-and-white video, 29
min., 50 sec. loop, dimensions variable.
Courtesy the artist; Gagosian Gallery, New York; Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris; and Lisson Gallery, London.
Video courtesy of Douglas Gordon
Douglas Gordon. Scratch Hither. 2001. Excerpt from video installation
with monitor
and color video, 34 min., 45 sec.
loop, dimensions variable.
Courtesy the artist; Gagosian Gallery, New York; Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris; and Lisson Gallery, London.
Video courtesy of Douglas Gordon
Pictured above:
Douglas Gordon. Play Dead; Real Time. 2003. Still from video installation with two screens, monitor, and color video, 21 min. loop and 11 min. loop, dimensions variable. The Museum of Modern Art. Gift of Richard J. Massey. Image courtesy of Douglas Gordon
