Harun Farocki: Art/Work and the Invisible Hand

On View
December 14, 2012–February 24, 2013

Overview
Harun Farocki: Art/Work and the Invisible Hand explores the impact of automation on various forms of human interaction—work, culture, war—in the art of Harun Farocki. The exhibition consists of a video installation (a two-channel video and a single-channel video) that investigates the implications of the increasing autonomy of machines. Farocki's work traces the history of some technological advances that have brought the world to this juncture of man versus machine but leaves open the question of where it might lead.

Farocki (born 1944) is a filmmaker, critic, editor and curator who has lived and worked in Berlin for more than 40 years. Working primarily in television and cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, he subsequently turned his attention to video and installation and began exhibiting his work in museums in the 1990s. His development of the film essay and critical engagement as editor of the journal Filmkritik (1974–84) have had a decisive influence on a generation of artists and filmmakers. Recent solo exhibitions have been mounted by the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Beirut Art Center, Lebanon; Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria; and the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, Scotland.

Organization
This exhibition is organized by Mary Leclère, associate director, Core Residency Program; and Gabriel Martínez, Core critical theory programming assistant.

The Core Exhibition Program of the Museum of  Fine Arts, Houston, merges the Glassell School of Art exhibition program with that of the museum’s Core Residency Program. Established in 1982, the Core Residency Program at the Glassell School of Art offers postgraduate residencies for art critics and visual artists. Visit www.mfah.org/core for more information.

The Core Program at the Glassell School of Art receives generous funding from the Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Foundation; the Andy Warhol Foundation; and the National Endowment for the Arts. 2012–13 Core fellowships have been underwritten by the Dickson-Allen Foundation; Jill and Dunham Jewett; Hamptons Expo Group, LLC; the Scurlock Foundation; Joan and Stanford Alexander; Leslie and Brad Bucher; Barbara and Michael Gamson; the Francis L. Lederer Foundation; Meredith Long; McClain Gallery; the Powell Foundation; Karen S. Pulaski; and the Arch and Stella Rowan Foundation, Inc.

Location
The Glassell School of Art, 5101 Montrose Blvd.

Media Contact 
Amy Lowman, Publicist, ALowman@mfah.org