Death at a 30 Degree Angle
2012 - Film & Video (Film & Video)
14:59 minutes
Bani Abidi
The perceived effortlessness of power, projecting above experiences of labored subordination is examined in Death at a 30 Degree Angle by Bani Abidi, which funnels this projection of image through the studio of Ram Sutar, renowned in India for his monumental statues of political figures, generally from the post-independence generation. In a contemporary Indian society beholden by strongmen, Abidi uses Sutar’s studio to fictionalize a sculptor producing commemorative works for populist, preening figures, surrounded by the likenesses of idolized politicians of the post-colony. Abidi’s video presents one such aspirational bureaucrat, trailed by a cadre of lackeys who fawn over the varying statues that are laboriously carted out for his approval. Never satisfied with his depiction, he works his way through a variety of increasingly ridiculous poses, the work a biting critique of the infallible facade produced through monumental imaging. Using the active mechanisms which concretize the reification of political figures, Death at a 30 Degree Angle intimately dissects the nationalist construction of political identity in India, to reveal the labor and profound inanity that lies beneath. All the while, scattered prototypes of Gandhi take in the bluster of the politician and the chaotic action of the shop assistants, invoking Gandhi’s own humanist reputation and famous image as aspirational. A complex doubling specter emerges over the actions of the politician, registering larger questions about India’s increasingly populist turn in juxtaposition with the lionization of early figures in the independent nation, which was notably marred by ethnic violence. Set in an uncertain state of action, Death at a 30 Degree Angle paints a scathing, cautious picture of the visual rhetoric of contemporary Indian politics. Death at a 30 Degree Angle mobilizes the searingly critical direct address that motivates portions of Abidi’s work. In its fictionalized account that dramatizes a disturbingly probable event, it radiates uncertainty about the efficacy and direction of apparatuses of power and control in India. Focused on an overtly political resonance, Death at a 30 Degree Angle highlights the emphasis on transformative, critical approaches to potentiality that her work has recently employed to grapple with politics, inequalities, and cultural differences in South Asia.
Bani Abidi’s practice deals heavily with political and cultural relations between India and Pakistan; she has a personal interest in this, as she lives and works in both New Delhi and Karachi. The artist’s subject matter ranges from border tensions to immigration conflicts, cultural diversity, and the relationship between private and public space. She works in the media of video, photography, and drawing.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » KADIST
Subas Tamang
2018Study of History III by Subas Tamang is an etching and aquatint print based on photographs taken by German photographer Volkmar Wentzel in 1949...
© » KADIST
Lisa Oppenheim
2003The Damaged series by Lisa Oppenheim takes a series of selected photographs from the Chicago Daily News (1902 – 1933) as its source material...
© » KADIST
Book Fair 12pm-7pm, Events 1pm-6:30pm Book Fair Participants: The Basement, Colpa Press, EGGY PRESS, Juana Berrio, LEAP ??? magazine (magazine in residence at Kadist), Matt Borruso, Owl Cave Books, Pier 24 Photography, Publication Studios, Rite Editions, 2nd Floor Projects, San Francisco Cinematheque, TBW Books, and THE THING Quarterly...
© » THEARTNEWSPER
Under the bonnet: €300,000 Ferrari-funded restoration completed on 13th-century Cimabue fresco Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Conservation news Under the bonnet: €300,000 Ferrari-funded restoration completed on 13th-century Cimabue fresco Maestà di Assisi, located in the saint's home town, which survived a deadly earthquake in 1997, has been returned to its original luminosity James Imam 8 February 2024 Share Cimabue’s Madonna Enthroned with the Child, Four Angels and St Francis underwent two previous restorations: in the late 19th century and again in 1973 Tecnireco A fading fresco by the 13th-century artist Cimabue that survived a deadly earthquake 25 years ago has been returned to its original splendour following a €300,000 restoration funded by the luxury car manufacturer Ferrari...
© » KADIST
Kristen Morgin
2008Donald of Doom Tank (2008) is a replica of a vintage metal toy with Donald Duck’s image one side and a soldier on the other...
© » ARTNEWS RETROSPECTIVE
Howardena Pindell on the Exclusion of Black Artists in the 1980s – ARTnews.com Skip to main content By Alex Greenberger Plus Icon Alex Greenberger Senior Editor, ARTnews View All January 14, 2021 1:13pm ©ARTnews Over the past several years, museums and galleries have made concerted efforts to show work by Black artists, responding to growing calls for equity...
