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Yael Bartana: Two Minutes To Midnight : 5 September, 2024 -20 October, 2024

Bartana, Yael LU (2024)
Abstract
What if Women Ruled the World? Yael Bartana stages this question in her performative piece Two Minutes to Midnight. The all-female government of a fictional nation is tasked with addressing an imminent nuclear threat posed by a foreign power. A panel composed of actresses and real-life experts in defense, law, politics, and psychology gathers in a democratic “peace room.” This space reflects the toxic masculine “war room” portrayed in Stanley Kubrick’s classic Cold War satire, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The women must decide how to respond to the volatile situation.

Bartana’s visionary work synthesizes an interdisciplinary, four-year process that critically examines... (More)
What if Women Ruled the World? Yael Bartana stages this question in her performative piece Two Minutes to Midnight. The all-female government of a fictional nation is tasked with addressing an imminent nuclear threat posed by a foreign power. A panel composed of actresses and real-life experts in defense, law, politics, and psychology gathers in a democratic “peace room.” This space reflects the toxic masculine “war room” portrayed in Stanley Kubrick’s classic Cold War satire, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The women must decide how to respond to the volatile situation.

Bartana’s visionary work synthesizes an interdisciplinary, four-year process that critically examines geopolitical power dynamics—offering an alternative to the macho discourse of power. The film material is drawn from recordings of the hybrid-experimental live performances What if Women Ruled the World? in Aarhus and Berlin (2017 and 2018) and Bury Our Weapons, Not Our Bodies! (Philadelphia, 2018).

Through monumental video installations, Yael Bartana creates multi-layered reflections on the present relevance of history. She experiments with the visual language of power and propaganda, pushing its boundaries and deliberately reinterpreting traditional associations. The result is the creation of alternative presents and unsettling future scenarios.

For the presentation at the interim building of the Villa Stuck museum, Bartana responds to an invitation to juxtapose one of her video works with the turbulent history of the building at Goethestraße 54. During the Nazi era, the house, under the name Pension Patria, served as a forced shelter for Jewish individuals awaiting deportation. Two Minutes to Midnight brings this historical context into the present, posing the question: What kind of political future do we want to create? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
artist
LU
organization
publishing date
type
Non-textual form
publication status
published
subject
publisher
Villa Stuck
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2f2b7fd9-0388-45dd-b7e9-5eed5829430d
date added to LUP
2024-12-16 16:14:22
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:13:15
@misc{2f2b7fd9-0388-45dd-b7e9-5eed5829430d,
  abstract     = {{What if Women Ruled the World? Yael Bartana stages this question in her performative piece <i>Two Minutes to Midnight</i>. The all-female government of a fictional nation is tasked with addressing an imminent nuclear threat posed by a foreign power. A panel composed of actresses and real-life experts in defense, law, politics, and psychology gathers in a democratic “peace room.” This space reflects the toxic masculine “war room” portrayed in Stanley Kubrick’s classic Cold War satire, <i>Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb</i>. The women must decide how to respond to the volatile situation.<br/><br/>Bartana’s visionary work synthesizes an interdisciplinary, four-year process that critically examines geopolitical power dynamics—offering an alternative to the macho discourse of power. The film material is drawn from recordings of the hybrid-experimental live performances<i> What if Women Ruled the World?</i> in Aarhus and Berlin (2017 and 2018) and <i>Bury Our Weapons, Not Our Bodies</i>! (Philadelphia, 2018).<br/><br/>Through monumental video installations, Yael Bartana creates multi-layered reflections on the present relevance of history. She experiments with the visual language of power and propaganda, pushing its boundaries and deliberately reinterpreting traditional associations. The result is the creation of alternative presents and unsettling future scenarios.<br/><br/>For the presentation at the interim building of the Villa Stuck museum, Bartana responds to an invitation to juxtapose one of her video works with the turbulent history of the building at Goethestraße 54. During the Nazi era, the house, under the name Pension Patria, served as a forced shelter for Jewish individuals awaiting deportation. <i>Two Minutes to Midnight</i> brings this historical context into the present, posing the question: What kind of political future do we want to create?}},
  author       = {{Bartana, Yael}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  publisher    = {{Villa Stuck}},
  title        = {{Yael Bartana: Two Minutes To Midnight : 5 September, 2024 -20 October, 2024}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}