February 23 – May 4, 2008
A joint exhibition by
Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart
and Akademie Schloss Solitude
Curated by Hans D. Christ, Iris Dressler
From February 23 to May 4, 2008, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart is presenting the multimedia installation Background Action by the Bulgarian artist Krassimir Terziev. With photographs, graphics, slides and videos, the installation draws attention to 300 Bulgarian extras who were flown to Mexico in 2003 for one of the most expensive Hollywood films at the time, Troy (USA 2004). Recruited as “elite troops” corresponding perfectly to the physiognomic ideal of the ancient Mediterranean fighter, the extras were first of all cheap labour, with a daily wage of US$12. Background Action is a walk-in “Making of” from the viewpoint of those people whose silent bodies create film crowds. The focus is on expectations, hopes, conflicts and disappointments. At the same time, the work critically and ironically traces the global, economic and political interconnections in the film industry. The installation is a further development and three-dimensional translation of the
experimental documentary film Battles of Troy that Terziev produced in 2005. The exhibition is being developed in co-operation with Akademie Schloss Solitude. The publication EXTRA WORK will be available at the exhibition and showcases various of Terziev’s works that deal with the status of extras (2007, ed. Jean-Baptiste Joly, Akademie Schloss Solitude; concept and design: Krassimir Terziev).
