John Waters
Bad Director’s Chair
February 7–March 8, 2014
Berlin

One of the most celebrated directors in American independent cinema, John Waters is at his vibrant best when flaunting Hollywood’s rules or reveling in bad taste. The director of Pink Flamingos (1972) and Pecker (1998) brings the same wit and audacity to the art gallery. Perched upon his Bad Director’s Chair, Waters has cast his eye over some unlikely corners of the film business, transforming his observations of all the glamour and heartbreak of Hollywood into photographic essays and narrative sculptures that are both ridiculously honest and brutally humorous. Waters becomes the self-appointed press agent for his newly conceived “little movies” who would surely be fired the first day of a shoot by the furious producers.

Waters began making his photo-based work in 1992 by watching movies, using his insider knowledge to stay alert to those telltale moments and details that everyone else overlooks, not least the movie’s director. He snaps a single frame from a film, often from a TV, and recombines these images into a storyboard-like sequence, thus re-directing some of his favorite films through playful acts of appropriation. Cut off from their source, the stills take on a range of new meanings, and the strip sets off a loose, irresolvable set of associations or narratives. Product Placement (2009) features iconic film stills re-photographed and altered to show famous movie stars promoting banal consumer items as if they were magic talismans essential to the story. There’s no room for reverence here: Waters makes Aschenbach, the lovesick composer from Visconti’s Death in Venice (1971), grasp a jar of pasta sauce instead of reaching out for imperishable beauty. Rear Projection (2009) treats a series of actors’ bottoms as if they were cinema screens, or places anonymous backsides in preposterous cameos, looming absurdly in the background. Even the finale of a film is altered forever: after given a new life by Waters, the words “The End” will never mean quite the same thing again.

 

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The same mischievous spirit goes into one-liners such as Epic (2003), where Waters takes the title treatment of 70s disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure and turns it upside down, like the doomed cruise ship that is the movie’s namesake. With an insider’s wink, Waters collapses one of Hollywood’s most beloved disaster movies into a single image. Neurotic (2009) shows four flash cards in a single frame. Are the little title treatments from a documentary about psychiatry? Or are they being shown to a live TV audience, instructing them how to feel about a scene? “Sorrow”, “Anxiety”, “Suffering” and “Disappointment” appear simultaneously as if a sudden reflection of the viewer’s state of mind. But who is being mistreated here, the feelings of the audience or all of show business itself?

Waters brings a darker mood to his sculptures. In Playdate (2006) Michael Jackson, all dressed up in cuddly pink pyjamas, lifts his hand up to a diminutive but fully bearded Charles Manson. “Two famous media villains,” says Waters about his work, “Charles Manson and Michael Jackson, reborn as perfect babies – could they have saved each other if they had met on a playdate before their lives went wrong?” In Bad Director’s Chair (2006), a typical canvas chair demanded by Hollywood auteurs is labeled with words that seem to reflect the deepest doubts of any filmmaker. “Unprepared”, “Hack”, “No Shot List”, among other disasters, all appear printed on the wood or canvas, as if the chair itself was the embodiment of an on-set nightmare.

Also part of the exhibition, three of the artist’s earliest films, Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (1964), Roman Candles (1966) and Eat Your Makeup (1968), will play in loops in specially designed ‘peep’ rooms.

 

Installation Views
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

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Details
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair
Installation view, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, February 7–March 8, 2014
Photo: Timo Ohler

Details
icon_fullscreen
1 of 10
Exhibited Works
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Buckle Up, 2000

John Waters
Buckle Up, 2000
14 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
DWI, 2003

John Waters
DWI, 2003
7 C-Prints
je 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Epic, 2003

John Waters
Epic, 2003
C-Print
8.9 × 12.7 cm
3 1/2 × 5 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Ten Change Over Marks, 2003

John Waters
Ten Change Over Marks, 2003
10 C-Prints
Print dimensions variable

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Swedish Film, 2000

John Waters
Swedish Film, 2000
5 silver gelatin prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Director's Chair, 2006

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair, 2006
Canvas, wood, steel, paint with leather bound script
116.8 × 62.2 × 55.9 cm
46 × 24 1/2 × 22 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Praying is Begging, 2006

John Waters
Praying is Begging, 2006
9 C-Prints and spray paint
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Faux Video Room, 2006

John Waters
Faux Video Room, 2006
iPod, speakers, painted wood, synthetic velour and chromed pole
279.4 × 243.8 × 15.2 cm
110 × 96 × 6 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Sound of a Hit, 2006

John Waters
Sound of a Hit, 2006
iPod and speakers with wood box
27.3 × 57.2 × 12.1 cm
10 3/4 × 22 1/2 × 4 3/4 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
I Accuse, 2006

John Waters
I Accuse, 2006
7 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Bad Trip, 2006

John Waters
Bad Trip, 2006
7 C-Prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
9/11, 2006

John Waters
9/11, 2006
2 C-Prints
each 35.6 × 50.2 cm
14 × 19 3/4 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Reckless Eyeballs, 2006

John Waters
Reckless Eyeballs, 2006
C-Print
10.2 × 15.2 cm
4 × 6 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Boys Beware, 2006

John Waters
Boys Beware, 2006
6 C-Prints
each 10.2 × 15.2 cm
4 × 6 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
21 Pasolini Pimples, 2006

John Waters
21 Pasolini Pimples, 2006
21 Uniquely cut C-Prints
90.2 × 90.2 cm (framed)
35 1/2 × 35 1/2 inches (framed)

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Shoplifter, 2006

John Waters
Shoplifter, 2006
4 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
It's a Deal, 2006

John Waters
It's a Deal, 2006
2 C-Prints
each 10.2 × 15.2 cm
4 × 6 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Playdate, 2006

John Waters
Playdate, 2006
Silicone, human and synthetic hair, cotton flannel and polar fleece
Manson: 48.3 × 35.6 × 27.9 cm
Jackson: 38.1 × 33 × 68.6 cm
Manson: 19 × 14 × 11 inches
Jackson: 15 × 13 × 27 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Study Art Sign (For Prestige or Spite), 2007

John Waters
Study Art Sign (For Prestige or Spite), 2007
Acrylic urethane on wood and aluminum
106.7 × 142.2 × 11.4 cm
42 × 56 × 4 1/2 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
John Jr., 2009

John Waters
John Jr., 2009
C-Print
82.6 × 66 cm
32 1/2 × 26 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Neurotic, 2009

John Waters
Neurotic, 2009
4 C-Prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Shooting Script, 2009

John Waters
Shooting Script, 2009
C-Print
114.3 × 71.1 cm
45 × 28 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Control, 2009

John Waters
Control, 2009
Fiberglass, silicone, urethane, acrylic, human and synthetic hair, fabric and wood
ca. 121.9 × 76.2 × 76.2 cm
approx. 48 × 30 × 30 inches

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Look Out!, 2009

John Waters
Look Out!, 2009
21 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Rear Projection, 2009

John Waters
Rear Projection, 2009
9 C-Prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Product Placement, 2009

John Waters
Product Placement, 2009
7 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
The Rope Collection, 2009

John Waters
The Rope Collection, 2009
5 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Hetero Flower Shop, 2009

John Waters
Hetero Flower Shop, 2009
10 C-Prints
each 35.6 × 35.6 cm
14 × 14 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
A Cold Wind, 1996

John Waters
A Cold Wind, 1996
4 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Dorothy Malone's Collar, 1996

John Waters
Dorothy Malone's Collar, 1996
10 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, 1964

John Waters
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, 1964
8mm film, black and white, 17:00 min

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Eat Your Makeup, 1968

John Waters
Eat Your Makeup, 1968
16mm film, black and white, 45:00 min

John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin
John Waters
Roman Candles, 1966

John Waters
Roman Candles, 1966
Three 8mm color reels projected side by side onto one screen, 40:00 min

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Details
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Buckle Up, 2000
14 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters
Buckle Up, 2000
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
DWI, 2003
7 C-Prints
je 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters
DWI, 2003
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Epic, 2003
C-Print
8.9 × 12.7 cm
3 1/2 × 5 inches

John Waters
Epic, 2003
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Ten Change Over Marks, 2003
10 C-Prints
Print dimensions variable

John Waters
Ten Change Over Marks, 2003
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Swedish Film, 2000
5 silver gelatin prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Swedish Film, 2000
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair, 2006
Canvas, wood, steel, paint with leather bound script
116.8 × 62.2 × 55.9 cm
46 × 24 1/2 × 22 inches

John Waters
Bad Director's Chair, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Praying is Begging, 2006
9 C-Prints and spray paint
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Praying is Begging, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Faux Video Room, 2006
iPod, speakers, painted wood, synthetic velour and chromed pole
279.4 × 243.8 × 15.2 cm
110 × 96 × 6 inches

John Waters
Faux Video Room, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Sound of a Hit, 2006
iPod and speakers with wood box
27.3 × 57.2 × 12.1 cm
10 3/4 × 22 1/2 × 4 3/4 inches

John Waters
Sound of a Hit, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
I Accuse, 2006
7 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters
I Accuse, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Bad Trip, 2006
7 C-Prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Bad Trip, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
9/11, 2006
2 C-Prints
each 35.6 × 50.2 cm
14 × 19 3/4 inches each

John Waters
9/11, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Reckless Eyeballs, 2006
C-Print
10.2 × 15.2 cm
4 × 6 inches

John Waters
Reckless Eyeballs, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Boys Beware, 2006
6 C-Prints
each 10.2 × 15.2 cm
4 × 6 inches each

John Waters
Boys Beware, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
21 Pasolini Pimples, 2006
21 Uniquely cut C-Prints
90.2 × 90.2 cm (framed)
35 1/2 × 35 1/2 inches (framed)

John Waters
21 Pasolini Pimples, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Shoplifter, 2006
4 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Shoplifter, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
It's a Deal, 2006
2 C-Prints
each 10.2 × 15.2 cm
4 × 6 inches each

John Waters
It's a Deal, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Playdate, 2006
Silicone, human and synthetic hair, cotton flannel and polar fleece
Manson: 48.3 × 35.6 × 27.9 cm
Jackson: 38.1 × 33 × 68.6 cm
Manson: 19 × 14 × 11 inches
Jackson: 15 × 13 × 27 inches

John Waters
Playdate, 2006
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Study Art Sign (For Prestige or Spite), 2007
Acrylic urethane on wood and aluminum
106.7 × 142.2 × 11.4 cm
42 × 56 × 4 1/2 inches

John Waters
Study Art Sign (For Prestige or Spite), 2007
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
John Jr., 2009
C-Print
82.6 × 66 cm
32 1/2 × 26 inches

John Waters
John Jr., 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Neurotic, 2009
4 C-Prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Neurotic, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Shooting Script, 2009
C-Print
114.3 × 71.1 cm
45 × 28 inches

John Waters
Shooting Script, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Control, 2009
Fiberglass, silicone, urethane, acrylic, human and synthetic hair, fabric and wood
ca. 121.9 × 76.2 × 76.2 cm
approx. 48 × 30 × 30 inches

John Waters
Control, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Look Out!, 2009
21 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters
Look Out!, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Rear Projection, 2009
9 C-Prints
each 20.3 × 25.4 cm
8 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Rear Projection, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Product Placement, 2009
7 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters
Product Placement, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
The Rope Collection, 2009
5 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters
The Rope Collection, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Hetero Flower Shop, 2009
10 C-Prints
each 35.6 × 35.6 cm
14 × 14 inches each

John Waters
Hetero Flower Shop, 2009
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
A Cold Wind, 1996
4 C-Prints
each 17.8 × 25.4 cm
7 × 10 inches each

John Waters
A Cold Wind, 1996
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Dorothy Malone's Collar, 1996
10 C-Prints
each 12.7 × 17.8 cm
5 × 7 inches each

John Waters
Dorothy Malone's Collar, 1996
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, 1964
8mm film, black and white, 17:00 min

John Waters
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, 1964
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Eat Your Makeup, 1968
16mm film, black and white, 45:00 min

John Waters
Eat Your Makeup, 1968
John Waters – Bad Director’s Chair – Berlin

John Waters
Roman Candles, 1966
Three 8mm color reels projected side by side onto one screen, 40:00 min

John Waters
Roman Candles, 1966
Details
icon_fullscreen
1 of 33

 

Selected Press

John Waters
AnOther, interview by Cath Clarke, Spring – Summer, 2014

„Humor ist eine Rüstung“
Deutschlandfunk Kultur, interview by Susanne Führer, February 6, 2014