There are many falling men (it seems always to be men) within the arts. A special subject, however, is the falling artist: Daedalus and Ikarus, Buster Keaton, Yves Klein and of course Bas Jan Ader.
The video performances re-performs 15 famous falls. ranging from Peter Paul Ruben‘s The Fall of Icarus (1636) to Sebastian Stumpf‘s Abraum 01 (2014). The works not only appear in a new, sporty splendour, but also pose the question of why it is historically actually only male artists who fall? Is there an inner connection between all these jumps and falls, a common force – perhaps a common fear – that finds expression through this specific action.
Video performance, 2:02min, commissioned & produced by Die Putte, Ulm, 2021

Buster Keaton, Failed Building Jump, 1923

Exhibition view, Putte, Ulm, 2021

Chris Burden, Sculpture in three parts, 1974

Keiichi Ikemizu, Sky Diving, 1976

Exhibition view, Putte, Ulm, 2021

Bas Jan Ader, Fall, 1970