Loretta Fahrenholtz: Two A.M.

The Stedelijk is showing the latest work of German artist Loretta Fahrenholz: Two A.M. (2016). The 40-minute fantasy film is based on the exile novel Nach Mitternacht (After Midnight) by Irmgard Keun—a prophetic, blackly humorous novel about the rise of the Nazis, written after Keuns escape to the Netherlands in 1937. Two A.M. deals with contemporary forms of surveillance and social control and follows the interlocking private passions and crises of a group of people at a moment when the larger social spring is wound so tight it could snap at any time.

Synopsis
Punky, streetwise Sanna (Theadora Davis) bridles at her aunt’s traditional ways. Her adopted family are members of the Watchers, powerful information-obsessives whose unusual telepathic abilities and sociopolitical pretensions only manage to get on Sanna’s nerves. But after she abandons the family home and her young lover for the city, her dream of a brilliant urban life quickly falls flat. From her half-sister Algin (Emily Sundblad), in despair over a faded singing career, to Algin’s love-obsessed partner Lisko (Emile Clarke), to Hedy (Jim Fletcher), the splenetic, paranoid journalist who’s inadvertently caught Lisko’s eye, everyone in the big city seems to be totally wrapped up in their own serial dramas and star-crossed affairs. She quickly acquires a problem of her own when her lover, Franz (Andrew Kerton), reappears in the city along with her unpredictable, sinister Watcher sisters (Mira Partecke, Yuko Torihara). Sanna and her friends bounce from bar to bar towards a party that will bring everyone’s minor ennuis and compulsive intimacies together with unforgettable results. —by Jeff Nagy

Two A.M. is produced by the artist, Fridericianum Kassel and Kunsthalle Zürich.

In 2017 the Stedelijk will publish an artist’s book with Loretta Fahrenholz, in cooperation with graphic designer Bill Hayden.

More about the artist
Loretta Fahrenholz is an experimental filmmaker, often working closely with the actors and extras who perform in her work. The artist’s films are an amalgam of different film genres, fusing elements typical of the documentary with those of the disaster movie, and porno. In her post-cinematic films, Fahrenholz documents the contemporary reality that is shaped by collective fictions, staging, and media communication.

In 2015, the Stedelijk acquired the film Ditch Plains that Loretta Fahrenholz made in 2013, created in collaboration with street dancers and shot while hurricane Sandy tore through New York, as well as the photo series Europa (I and II) from 1996—2013.

Stedelijk Contemporary
The Stedelijk Museum continuously presents dynamic solo exhibitions by a young generation of artists. Many of these are new productions and recent purchases that tie in with the museum’s acquisitions policy. The Stedelijk seeks to respond to current events and stimulate contemporary talent by, in some cases, also taking on the position of commissioner. Its commitment to developing lasting relationships with young artists shapes the future identity of the museum’s collection.

The presentations in 2016 and 2017 are made possible by Ammodo.