Julian Rosefeldt makes breath-taking, visually stunning film installations. In music and film, his work Euphoria presents in two hours a wide range of statements about capitalism, from Socrates and Karl Marx to Donna Haraway and Cardi B, and makes both the ‘euphoric’ and destructive sides of consumerism tangible.
The large-scale, immersive film installation can be seen in Amsterdam’s enormous Central Market Hall. Texts about economy and capitalism are spoken and sung by critically acclaimed performers like Giancarlo Esposito, Virginia Newcomb, filmed at impressive locations. Cate Blanchett provides the voice for a talking, singing tiger. They are musically supported with original music composed by Samy Moussa with an additional composition by Cassie Kinoshi, performed, in surround video, by life sized projections of a hundred and forty young singers from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and further aided by five celebrated contemporary jazz drummers, including Terri Lyne Carrington, Peter Erskine and Antonio Sanchez. The music is written by acclaimed composer Samy Moussa, with additional music by Cassie Kinoshi.
Rosefeldt incorporates existing texts from literature, politics and pop culture in his installations, which include the successful Manifesto with actress Cate Blanchett (Holland Festival 2017), and brings these to life in a new context. The real and imagined scenes play out in unexpected settings full of subtle cinematographic details, which invariably results in surreal sequences that leave a deep impression on the audience.
Commissioned and Produced by Park Avenue Armory
Co-Commissioned by Holland Festival, Ruhrtriennale Festival of the Arts, RISING Melbourne in Association with Sydney Festival, and Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte
Now on sale: unique photo work edition from Euphoria - read more
full credits of Euphoria - click here
dates
June 10-25: 11.40-19:40 walk-in every 20 minutes
prices
- default € 16
- HF Young € 10
- CJP/student/scholar € 8
- series ticket € 14,40
information
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English surtitles: Dutch
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1 hour 53 minutes
Practical information for your visit to Euphoria
Preferably come by public transport or bike to the Centrale Martkthal. Parking facilities nearby are very limited.
The Centrale Markhal grounds cannot be entered on your own. You will be taken from the site entrance (near the Holland Festival flags) to the Centrale Markthal by a little train. The train leaves every 20 minutes, and will also take you back. Ticket control takes place when boarding the train. The time on your ticket is the departure time of the train, so arrive on time! If you arrive late, you can possibly join the next train if there is enough space.
A limited number of seats are available in the Centrale Markthal. The floor is carpeted, which is also good for sitting/lying on.
The film lasts almost 2 hours and is shown in a 'loop'. The film is not a chronological narrative. You can enter and leave the film space at any time.
Please note that it can be hot in the screening room.
There is no air conditioning. Put on airy clothes, and bring water.
The Centrale Markthal has a café with a small menu of drinks and snacks.
This café also has a reading table with a selection of books from which the quotes used in the film are taken. These books can also be ordered online on site.
The Centrale Markhal is wheelchair accessible. In order to ensure proper guidance on site, please contact the Holland Festival box office prior to your visit to Euphoria: [email protected] or tel 085-773 77 93 (Mon, Wed, Fri, 3-7pm, from 1 June all days of the week).
Meet Julian Rosefeldt, Sat 10 June, 10,15 pm
Do you have a burning question to ask Julian Rosefeldt? Then this is the moment. You can meet the artist after his performance. Under the guidance of moderator Léon Kranenburg, the audience can ask questions about Euphoria, other work or the maker’s background. There will also be room to share your experience after seeing the performance. The Meet the Artist sessions are a great opportunity for both seasoned visitors and newcomers to get to know the Holland Festival’s makers better. Other artists in this series include Lukas Avendaño, Romeo Castellucci and Nadia Beugré.
Background
After the world premiere of Euphoria, the new musical film installation from artist and filmmaker Julian Rosefeldt, had to be cancelled for the 2022 Holland Festival – some of the filming was being done in Ukraine and had to be suspended because of the Russian invasion – the piece will feature at the Holland Festival in 2023 after all.
‘It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.’
– philosopher Frederic Jameson
Rosefeldt’s new film installation asks why, to this day, there seems to be no alternative to capitalism. Why does it remain so difficult to resist, even for people aware of its destructive nature? Rosefeldt: ‘Capital, money and greed are key concepts of our time. Today, the destructive potential of a euphoric, unlimited consumption binge and the seldom questioned motto of continual economic growth unfolds globally and limitlessly.’
Texts
For his previous work Manifesto, Rosefeldt drew from the various artistic manifestos written in the 20th century. With Euphoria, he is making a kind of cinematic montage of both pro- and anti-capitalist texts. He put together a script with one-liners and longer passages from original texts by well-known economists, writers, philosophers and poets. Persons quoted include Donna Haraway, Ayn Rand, Karl Marx, Socrates, Albert Einstein and many others. These are presented in real and imagined scenes of euphoric production and consumption, including a bank lobby that fills with surreal dance choreographies and acrobatics, five homeless men discussing economic theory, and an empty supermarket with a prowling singing tiger. .
Ecstatic music
For this project, Rosefeldt is working with composer Samy Moussa to create original music with an additional composition by Cassie Kinoshi, and five of the best contemporary jazz drummers: Terri Lyne Carrington, Peter Erskine, Antonio Sanchez, Eric Harland, and Yissy Garcia. The youth choir, composed of a hundred and forty children from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, surround the audience in a circular, life-size projection, serves as the commenting chorus in classical Greek theater as they echo fragments of text from the dialogues and monologues in the central film. The drummers represent the restless machinery behind capitalism. Sometimes this results in a synchronous pulsing beat, and at other moments in a multitude of interwoven rhythmic patterns. The large circular set-up in the impressive Central Market Hall provides a powerful, fully immersive experience for the audience.
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© Julian Rosefeldt
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© Julian Rosefeldt
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© Julian Rosefeldt
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© Julian Rosefeldt
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© Julian Rosefeldt
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Julian Rosefeldt, director
© Veronika Bures
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© Ada Nieuwendijk
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© Ada Nieuwendijk
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© Janiek Dam
