A puppet opera by Dan Graham
29 November–16 December 2018

Premiere Thursday 29 November
Doors open 7pm with bar & music
Screening starts 7.30pm

Welcome to the last chapter of our season of presents where we celebrate our 20th birthday by asking new and old friends to give us a gift; a perfect opportunity for us to shed light on shared artistic intentions and values.

Final guest and giver of gifts is artist and Aries Dan Graham. The infant sign of the zodiac, the Aries possesses a vanity that stems from the child’s desire for eternal youth. This can make birthdays rough. However, the Aries is good at transitions.

In a setting reminiscent of revival cinemas we present to you the video documentation of Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30, a live rock ‘n roll puppet show by Dan Graham, with puppet master Phillip Huber, music by Japanther, a theme song by Rodney Graham and video projections by Tony Oursler.

Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30 is set in the late ’60s to early ’70s when the “hippie” tribes moved their “counter culture” settlements to the bucolic “wilderness” of the countryside. When Neil Sky is voted American president, he moves the White House to Camp David, where he does his press conference in a rustic hut/”go-go” cage. His first action is to abolish foreign alliances, mandating that all Senators and Congressmen be re-located to a “concentration camp” where they are forced to take LSD with their drinking supply. The voting age for youthful voters and the lowest age qualification to be US President are both lowered to 14. Don’t Trust is a satiric entertainment continuing Dan Graham’s cultural analysis of the ’60s, which began with the video Rock My Religion (1981) dealing with the evolution of youth culture during the ’50s, ’60s, and after.

Don’t Trust Anyone Over 30 (2004), 35 min
In English

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Installationsvy/installation view. Foto/Photo: Lotten Pålsson

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Installationsvy/installation view. Foto/Photo: Lotten Pålsson

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Installationsvy/installation view. Foto/Photo: Lotten Pålsson

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Installationsvy/installation view. Foto/Photo: Lotten Pålsson

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Installationsvy/installation view. Foto/Photo: Lotten Pålsson

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