Ultima goes dada

‘Fümms bö wö tää zää Uu!’

It’s hard to believe a century has passed since dada exploded onto Europe’s avant garde art scene, an anarchic impulse which would change the course of modern art and performance forever. One of its strangest products was the greatest sound poem of the twentieth century, Ursonate, by German artist Kurt Schwitters.

In 2018 Ultima is delighted to welcome South African artist William Kentridge for a European premiere of his acclaimed Performa 2017 rendition of Ursonate at Den Norske Opera & Ballett, and a lecture at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.

Multimedia artist William Kentridge has developed a special relationship with Ursonate, complete with violent body gestures and projected images. On September 15 and 16, he will perform it twice at Ultima, in a unique, hour long version accompanied by American soprano Adriadne Greif and the two Norwegian musicians, bassist Håkon Thelin and saxophonist Rolf-Erik Nystrøm.

The visual display ranges from collaged newspaper pages and floating words to abstract shapes and images that recall the apartheid regime in his own country. In Ursonate, Kentridge brings a highly personal element to his interpretation, dragging it kicking and screaming into the 21st century where its apparent insanity and incomprehensibility remain vital and relevant.

As Kentridge says: ‘Aberration, the absurd, paradox and contradiction are not disturbances at the edge of the rational, but, in fact, are the centre of how the world operates.’

(Photo: Marc Shoul)

In addition, Kentridge will give a talk about Ursonate, Schwitters, and his own wide ranging work in a variant of media, at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter on Sunday 16 September. Throughout the festival, Sentralen will host a small exhibition focusing on the Ursonate of Kurt Schwitters, who lived part of his life in exile in Norway, drawing on Sparebankstiftelsen DNB’s and Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter’s collections and archives.

In collaboration with DNO&B and Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.
Supported by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.

Ursonate: 15 + 16 September, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, Scene 2
Tickets available at operaen.no on 28 May

William Kentridge – Director, Libretto based on Kurt Schwitters. Sabine Theunissen – Set Designer. Janous Fouche – Video Editor. Performers: William Kentridge – Artist/Performer. Ariadne Greif – Soprano. Håkon Thelin – Double Bass. Rolf-Erik Nystrøm – Saxophone. William Kentridge’s Ursonate was commissioned by the Performa Biennial and premiered at the Harlem Parish in New York City as part of the Performa 17 Festival. Produced by: THE OFFICE performing arts + film. European Partner: QUATERNAIRE.

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