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    abc art berlin contemporary 2010 light camera action abc art berlin contemporary emerged three years ago as a free, new format between exhibition and gallery event, in response to shifts within the discourse of contemporary exhibition practice as well as out of a desire to experiment and innovate. The founders of the annual Gallery Weekend Berlin initiated the event. Just as in the previous years, abc is once again the place, during Berlin’s Fall art season, in which not only outstanding positions in contemporary art are showcased, but also where questions about specific developments in contemporary art and art discourse, as well as issues pertaining to the art market, are highlighted and problematized. Bearing the title „light camera action“, this year’s show investigates the complex influence that film has exerted upon contemporary art practice. Marc Glöde, Berlin based curator, critic, and film historian, is the curator of the abc 2010.

    Over the past 15 years, approximately corresponding to the 100th anniversary of the medium of film, the in- timate interweaving and important role that film has played in the arts has become increasingly clear. This is visible not only in the growing number of internati- onal exhibitions featuring video or film installations, but also through a growing preoccupation with the as- pects of film as translated into other mediums: slide projections, for example, concerned with questions of filmic narrative, staged photography, or film as a cen- tral discursive element in performance. Furthermore, problems explored in the arts have conversely effected change on film as well, providing an impetus for new sculptural and performative explorations within the fil- mic medium itself.

    One can firmly assert that film, alongside the classi- cal artistic disciplines of painting and sculpture, has become a central component of current artistic dis- course. Film can no longer be ignored or dismissed from contemporary art practice, but, rather, we are challenged to consider and understand how film has introduced dynamic new elements into our understan- ding of the categories of image, space and performati vity.

    In light of this development, the goal of abc this year is not to present an exhibition that treats film as a cano- nized art form, showcasing an endless stream of vari- ous black boxes. On the contrary, the exhibition’s goal is to present international productions that engage the complexity of questions posed by film, investigating the rich aesthetic exchange that has developed bet- ween artistic mediums. Today’s expectations and re- quirements can no longer be met by setting up a con- frontation between singular media. Instead, aesthetic phenomena such as film must be examined and pre- sented so that their dynamic influence and variety are exposed. The breadth of artistic positions that will be shown at this year’s abc is, therefore, wide-reaching, extending from classical projections to film happe- nings, videos and projection installation, collage, pho- tography, light sculpture and performance.

    In bringing together works which explore the full ran- ge and subtleties of questions relating to movement, light and performance, this exhibition presents a field of aesthetic investigation that reveals the intimate, fully imbricated role that film has played in artistic thought and production for quite some time. In this regard, abc 2010 once again sets new standards in its investi- gation and presentation of converging aesthetic discour- ses.