CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI, Überhappy, 2005
DVD, 2’28” min.
composition “Überhappy (1)” by Chiel Meijering
2nd film by counterpart advertising company DDB, Berlin and Chief Creative Officer Amir Kassaei
booklet, 12 pp., English text by Paul Groot
one time limited edition 800
published by the Bifrons Foundation, Amsterdam
menu for both loop and single play
€ 180,-

Basically Christian Jankowski is collaborative in nature and his works are based on interactions with non-artworld counterparts, including bankers, weight-lifting champions, cleaning companies, porn studios, horror film producers and in this case director/founder Thora Johansen of the Bifrons Foundation in Amsterdam. Often incorporating chance, accident, and spur of the moment decisions lead to the finished artwork, Jankowski never fulfils a brief as expected, identifying contemporary phenomena that interest him and inverting their meaning.
In the case of Überhappy Christian Jankowski asked both director and harpsichordist Thora Johansen to let herself musically involved and to dance in her studio which she co-operatively did. Question is whether this is painful for her or the artist. Or both…..