In his videos, using digital technology Josh Kline has late pop stars rise from the dead. In doing so, he not only speculates about what Whitney Houston would think about her death today. He also makes reference to a society obsessed with self-optimization and impermanence.
The current twofold presence of Whitney Houston at the SCHIRN is almost eerie. Among the photographs of other deceased stars there is one in the exhibition "Paparazzi!" of her laid-out corpse. In the exhibition "Infinite Jest" a couple of spaces further on, Whitney plays the leading role in a video. The New York-based artist Josh Kline used digital technology to transplant the face of the singer, who died in 2012, to the body of an actress in his work "Forever 48". Reborn as a digital zombie, the pop star is being interviewed in a convivial daytime talk show. She is sitting in front of a white wall on a white armchair and is wearing a white T-shirt bearing the word "SWAG" in capital letters. At the end she is allowed to sing a song of her choice and decides in favor of "After Hours" by Velvet Underground.
At no time, of course, can man indulge in the illusion that the real Whitney had survived her death in early 2012: her facial expressions are jerky, her facial features are pixelated, and the computer animation is occasionally interrupted so that only the actress's face is visible. A real-time face substitution program makes the uncanny dance of death possible, in which an actress lends her body to the pop star. In general, the questions awkwardly posed by the interviewer often revolve around Whitney's body: is there any truth to the rumors about her eating disorder, and don't the drugs and endless parties take their toll? And how about her love life?
And the fun never ends
It seems absurd to pose such questions to a dead woman brought to life by means of algorithms, but on closer examination perhaps not: after all, in the case of pop stars the person behind the mask rarely plays a role, as much as fans and the press try to chivvy up to the celebrities. "What is it really like to be Whitney Houston?" the hostess asks--but Whitney does not really want to reply. She ultimately self-confidently maintains: "I will always be a young person!" And the fun never ends.
Josh Kline, born in 1979, deals with the contradictions of a society that is obsessed with eternally young pop stars and one's own death in equal measure. There is a counterpart by him to the interview with Whitney. For his exhibition "Quality of Life", Kline had a Kurt Cobain raised from the dead talk about his own death in a talk show. The artist's material includes the smooth surfaces of digital animation, making him a member of a group whose works were subsumed under the term "post-Internet" a couple of years ago, which refers to artists who work with the subjects and methods of their everyday digital life.
The step from the brand name to the well-known face is not so big as it may seem
Josh Kline's themes are pop stars, brand names, and occasionally a critical look at the creative industry. In 2012 he parodied the obsession by wealthy middle-class bohemians to optimize themselves in his installation "Café Gratitude", which included inconsumable smoothes made out of flip-flops and patchouli oil. Kline, almost as a matter of course, furthermore uses brand-name sneakers and fabrics from expensive outdoor clothing as material for his installations. The step from the brand name to the well-known face is not so big as it may seem, as both of them serve the purpose of identification, intentionally or unintentionally. And one associates something apparently personal with both. The faces of celebrities are just as readily recognizable as the Nike logo. And retro sneakers sell just as well as yesterday's pop stars.