Friedl vom Gröller

Im Wiener Prater

Friedl vom Gröller

Im Wiener Prater is not about the amusement park that one normally associates with this name. The spectacle in the film takes place in a much more basic sense. Right at the start, we see a camera tripod left standing, and instead, the filmmaker has set off to track down a woman (artist Martina L.). Carefully, concealed—with a thoroughly male-coded gaze—she approaches the unsuspecting woman who is out taking a walk. What we are then shown, a close-up of a woman urinating, activates a quasi-childish delight in investigating taboos: Evident here are both a conscious reference to Viennese Actionism and the counterpart to one of Gröller´s early films, Boston Steamer (2009) about the process of anal excretion. Yet rather than the close-ups of anatomical details and the associated sexualization, what is actually `unsettling´ about Im Wiener Prater is the gaze forced upon the viewer: this woman looks at us, questioning and self-confidently—now that´s pure cinema of attraction.

Psychoanalyse ohne Ethik

Friedl vom Gröller

Poetry for Sale

Friedl vom Gröller

Friedl vom Gröller's Poetry for Sale is a portrait of a young man peddling verse on the Paris metro. Reinforcing the antiquated nature of his actions, vom Groller constructs a classical scene then cedes control to her subject, with his seductive confidence, beau-laide looks and incantatory offer.

The Paris Poetry Circle

Friedl vom Gröller

Time for Outrage!

Friedl vom Gröller

The natural law of capitalism as expressed by a hungry boa constrictor.

Me too, too, me too

Friedl vom Gröller

Past the newsstand, the hairdressers, by the dry cleaners. A door opens into a sick room. A very old woman lies there in her bed. Her body is lusterless and haggard. But her gaze is firm, withstanding that of the camera.

Paris Episoden

Friedl vom Gröller

Portraits and fragmented views of Paris intertwine.

Polterabend

Friedl vom Gröller

Five older women, loosely grouped in two rows, gaze into the camera. At times only details of their faces can be seen, a sixth woman walks through the picture, joins the others. The image flickers briefly, disappears, and the scene begins again from the start, this time with a slightly displaced camera perspective.

Kirschenzeit

Friedl vom Gröller

A salon piece in black and white. The filmmaker circles the amorous play. Gestures and blurs, intuitively precise in-camera edits condense the situation of debauchery and digression.

Vue tactile (Four Women)

Friedl vom Gröller

Sacrificio per la sirena

Friedl vom Gröller

A cheerful ritual in praise of Mami Wata, a mermaid-like water spirit of life, sex and healing. A joyful show of Friedl vom Gröller's particular sense of humour as well as another short song of praise for the unique beauty to be found only in 16mm film.

La Bacchante

Friedl vom Gröller

It's composed of multiple jump-cut close-ups of a beautiful Roman Bacchante bust with garland braid and vacant eyes in the Louvre, as students and patrons mill about in the grand gallery flooded with light, casting their gaze upon the classical figure holding a basket of grapes.

Erwin, Toni, Ilse

Friedl vom Gröller

Filmed photo portraits Erwin, Toni, Ilse, is one of Friedl Kubelka’s first films. Influenced by the Nouvelle Vague and Existentialism, it was shot in the late 1960s at 16 frames per second and have not been edited.

Ma Peau Précieuse

Friedl vom Gröller

16mm short film

Graf Zokan (Franz West)

Friedl vom Gröller

The focus narrows to short cuts relating to the place were the footage was shot, then moves to the portrait´s subject, Franz West, sitting at a wine tavern´s table. From this point on the film deals with the process of shooting film itself and the distribution of positions in front of and behind the camera. What does it mean, filming someone whose position of power is linked to the role behind the camera? The film shows what normally isn´t visible - the "layman´s" uncertainty when being filmed.

My Precious Skin

Friedl vom Gröller