Stan Douglas
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Title to right of images
Discovering Stan Douglas's series 'Disco Angola' felt like an exciting revelation in relation to the project I am planning to make at the Palace Theatre Melbourne.
Stan works is always very well researched and has layers deeper meaning than what is initially noticed on the surface of the mise en scene.
By being related directly to a specific time in history (1974 going by the title) we are forced to question what was it about this time that was significant. The series pairs photojournalist like images of underground disco New York with images of ordinary people post-independence in Angola . Both cities in a hinge moment in history. New York almost broke and Angola just before the civil war broke out. The pairing of images to show the analogous cities in a time when social structures are breaking down.
The series in someways could also be about the 'Death Of Disco' or some kind of Failed Utopia - but again have these deeper connections with historical moments in time. I find the idea of failed utopia interesting as I'm looking at 'lost pop-culture' within the music industry of Melbourne. Possibly tightening the ideas to failed utopia's in one particular sub-culture of the music scene could be even more interesting to explore in relation to what was happening in history at the time. The images below are in order of the artist pairings.
Aesthetically, posing the imagery as photojournalist he asks the questions that surround photography about 'fact or fiction?' or the questions around 'do photographs tell the truth?'. However disguised as journalistic, the devil is always in the details. Every detail is meticulously planned & placed to allude to the narrative.
A note on production and styling - similar styling could work in my tableau images to show 'transience'. Another idea I'm exploring in relation to the above ideas.
Douglas, S, 2012, Disco Angola, Installation View, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA
Douglas, S, 2012, Disco Angola, Installation View, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA
Douglas, S, 2012, Disco Angola, Installation View, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA