eternal 80s
Once again, Jan Machacek shows himself to be a virtuoso poet of mixing analog and digital realities. Helmut Ploebst, Der Standard
Ewige 80er is an audio-visual essay that takes aim at a time when the fear of a nuclear catastrophe was growing and a conservative backlash was forming in the capitalist West after the spirit of optimism of the 1960s and 70s. The themes of the performative video range from childhood memories in Austria in the 1980s to the “dream couple” of the conservative turnaround, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, to the beginning of digitalization, a digital becoming that refers to our present. Out of the charming retro atmosphere emerges the unpleasant impression that the 80s have never stopped with their fear and paranoia.
Ewige 80er by media artist Jan Machacek and musician Oliver Stotz is an uninhibitedly gritty music video that is all 80s state of the art. The main roles are played by Pac-Man, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and a Machacek running in front of the backdrop, unable to move forward. “By 1980 the dream was over”, it says. And because there are no new dreams yet, we are still living in the past, or at least in the eternity of neoliberalism. This short 35-minute delight is also such a pleasure because it uses the screen as a stage. Or rather: It uses the “music video” form and addresses the audience as a streaming audience. Corona as the return of watching music. By the way, MTV has been around since 1981. Theresa Luise Gindlstrasser, nachtkritik.de
Credits
Video, space, text, editing, performance Jan Machacek
Music, video, video programming, audio mastering, performance Oliver Stotz
Dramaturgy Sabine Marte
Camera Victor Jaschke
Costumes Anke Philipp, Michaela Landrichter
Collaboration Deborah Hazler, Frans Poelstra
Buildings Frame Wallner