Afterall Presents : Phonokinetoscope by Rodney Graham

24 Sep-9 Nov 2013

Overview

To coincide with the publication of the latest in Afterall’s One Work series, Afterall presents Rodney Graham’s Phonokinetoscope (2001). Phonokinetoscope is a 16mm film installation in which the artist is seen riding his bicycle through Berlin’s Tiergarten while taking LSD, to the soundtrack of a song (written and performed by Graham) recorded on a vinyl LP. Inspired by Thomas Edison’s invention of the kinetophonograph, the turntable drives the projection of the film. Graham’s ride evokes the Swiss scientist Albert Hofman’s famous 1943 bicycle ride home after an experimental dose of LSD as well as Paul Newman’s backward-facing ride in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. As the images and visual details repeat, the artist’s sometimes-playful observations and references become increasingly complex. Phonokinetoscope refers to a surprising number of works of art and literature, displaying a world rich with subtle meaning.