''Flex'' is a 2000
video installation
Video installation is a contemporary art form that combines video technology with installation art, making use of all aspects of the surrounding environment to affect the audience. Tracing its origins to the birth of video art in the 1970s, it has ...
by the British
video artist
Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...
Chris Cunningham. It consists of a 15-minute film loop that endlessly depicts a naked man and woman floating in darkness, who by turns embrace and furiously beat one another, culminating in an act of
anal sex during which they disappear in a blast of light. The film is set to an electronic soundtrack by
Aphex Twin.
It was first displayed to the public in 2000 as part of the ''Apocalypse: Beauty and Horror in Contemporary Art'' exhibition at the
Royal Academy of Arts, and subsequently at the
Anthony d'Offay Gallery and other art galleries.
It was given an
18 certificate by the
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...
, with no cuts from its original form.
A 3.5-minute excerpt of the 17-minute film was released on the DVD ''
The Work of Director Chris Cunningham
''Directors Label'' is a series of DVDs devoted to notable music video directors.
First released in 2003 by Palm Pictures, the series was created by Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, and Michel Gondry, the subjects of the first three volumes. Fou ...
''.
It was also re-edited for the back-drop screen projection during Madonna's performance of "
Frozen" during her
Re-Invention World Tour
The Re-Invention World Tour (billed as Re-Invention World Tour 2004) was the sixth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, in support of her ninth studio album ''American Life'' (2003). The tour began on May 24, 2004, in Inglewood a ...
.
An excerpt of the video was shown in the
Barbican's exhibition ''Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now'' curated by
Martin Kemp
Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''.
He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also ...
, Marina Wallace and Joanne Bernstein. alongside other pieces by
Bacon,
Klimt,
Rembrandt,
Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
and
Picasso.
The man and woman are depicted by combining the performances of a number of performers and body doubles, including actors Jon and Jo Hadfield, and dancers Rob Tannion and Desiree Kongerod.
[ archived at the Internet Archive] Post-production work was done at
Glassworks
Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass.
Glass container ...
and the
Moving Picture Company
The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is a multinational company providing visual effects, CGI, animation, motion design and other services for the film, TV, brand experience and advertising industries.
Their artists have produced Academy Award W ...
.
[
]
References
External links
Anthon d'Offay Gallery press release
Review in CIRCA art magazine, featuring stills from the film loop
*
Music videos directed by Chris Cunningham
2000 films
2000 short films
British short films
2000s English-language films
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