Netherlander Guido van der Werve is a jack of many impressive trades: accomplished pianist, composer, chess player, and student of archaeology and industrial design. No wonder he chose himself to play the intrepid protagonist of a film that pushes the limits of human capacity.
COURTESY HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN
Nummer Acht (#8) everything is going to be alright depicts the artist trudging through an ice-covered gulf in Finland, seemingly oblivious to the large ship that follows close behind. The video centers on the romanticized, isolated individual to depict an extreme metaphor for human struggle, which is both comical and exhausting to watch.
Given his musical background, van der Werve’s video seems as much about the sound effects as it is about the singular movement he captures. The strong gusts of wind pull the viewer into the icy scene in an uncomfortable way. I found my own legs growing tired just watching the artist stride against the wind and chilling ice, while a lurking ship makes the possibility of a pause harrowing, lengthening the epic journey through an almost barren icy seascape.
Van der Werve describes his short films as “possible scenarios of imaginary realities,” and many of them address themes of nature and a grander universe that man must come to terms with. Still, this film is fairly static and becomes frustrating to watch as the artist seems to make little progress in the grand scheme of a much larger landscape. The camera only once begins to shift its perspective to give a hint at the monumental size of the ship but returns again to an action that is at once fearlessly epic and mundane.
Films by Guido Van der Werve are on view at the Hirshhorn Museum now through October 11, 2009.
