To repeat is to learn, it is how we humans evolve and learn, through the action of repetition, through the gesture, and our five senses. It is also the way information is disseminated and knowledge shared. How fashions are created – through the sheer force of an ever-present visual argument; how political campaigns are fought and their arguments put across – slogans repeated in slightly altered shape and form and broadcasted. Although not the only part of these actions, repetition is nonetheless an integral constituent. However, much time is spent trying to claim the opposite; that everything one must do and think has to be original (even though most thoughts and ideas are just copies imprinted from slogans and clichés). Much more so in the field of the arts, in particular for this case, the visual arts, as these are fields where individuality is frequently taken to the extreme, towards egotism. Any sense of repetition is erased and any apparent novelty is usually exalted and proposed as the new way forward.
The idea of repetition resonates with the idea of a copy in terms of production methods, such as prints or bronze series, something of lesser value, as it is not unique. In terms of ideas, it suggests a lack of moral fiber, linking it to the disrespectful copying of ideas and concepts. But the act of repetition itself does not necessarily have to mean mindless and disrespectful copying or the reproduction of others’ ideas. It is through repetition with small incremental changes that a critical mass can be reached which enables a great leap forward in terms of ideas and their materialization, such that society and therefore art evolves, even though these two aspects are not always concurrent. Digital methods, i.e. digital cameras, printers, film, holographic projectors, etc., were already available long before they started being incorporated into art making; on the other hand many ideas for new ways of filming, object creation, etc., already existed before the technical capabilities to materialize them were available. A very particular example of incremental change can be seen in Gerhard Richter’s painting Rhombus [851-1], based on one of Piet Mondrian’s painting shapes, which was in turn borrowed from the traditional ceiling panels that ornament Dutch churches. Another example is the principle of pictorial grid structures developed by Josef Albers, Theo von Doesburg, Hans Arp and Man Ray in the 1910s and 1920s and later adopted by Ellsworth Kelly in the 1950s. In broader terms, moments where great leaps forward are made (the Renaissance is the most striking example and more recently Marcel Duchamp’s ready-mades) are later used by many other artists as a base for incremental change.
Art making always embraces society’s debates and preoccupations and the new technical specificities that are on offer. It is a circular relationship. Art is a mirror of its time, which gives something back, the best art providing a slightly altered image as it has a strong input from the individual who filters his or her societal landscape.
The use of industrial methods has been incorporated into art’s landscape (after Pop artists had started to borrow techniques, materials and the imagery of mass production) by artists such as Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Dan Flavin, and Carl Andre, among others, and thus there has been a focus on the concept of repetition and art as an industrial object. This has been the most important and prevalent focus in this theme, mostly on the physicality and the process itself, its impact and the embracing of the “factory” in the artist’s consciousness. Digital methods are now being incorporated into the art landscape as well but not with the same focus on repetition. Photography was always already by default a mechanical method, later becoming more industrial-like and automated, before the recent manual method revival (as much as possible) in order to infuse some originality into its practice. Thus, here the sense not only of repetition but also of the copy has always been present, creating new possibilities and problems.
In this project the focus is not on the process of how reproductions are made or the use of industrial materials, techniques and imagery (even though these are taken into account) but on the incremental change brought about by repetition, whether physical or conceptual. The focus is on our learning process as humans and how this affects society, the self and thus art. Repetition is an ever-present aspect of our life, much more so since the powers of industry and advertising have been unleashed. The point here is to focus on its positive and one might say crucial aspect, as it is often forgotten or mistaken for pure originality. If one can already provide some incremental change it is something to be proud of, if one can participate in a great leap forward, it is truly something worth repeating.
Martim Brion
Martim Brion 