At the heart of Palais de Tokyo, in a space unexplored by artists until now, Michael Riedel, invited by The Absolut Company, will take over a strange platform, an architectural oddity overlooking the Galerie Basse and offering an unconventional point of view of the building’s exhibition spaces. This space, called the Point Perché (High Perch), is the headquarters of the Events program and hosts concerts, performances, conferences, projections, etc. Reinvented by the artist, the “Point Perché,” viewed as a space for exchanges and discoveries, becomes an integral part of  Palais de Tokyo.

Taking inspiration from a folded paper band (the pop up system), Riedel develops an architecture consisting of floors and partition walls that are built in this room and are inscribed with the “O” text. “O” is based on a 6h 17min. 32sec. sound recording that reports on the disassembling of the “Giacometti. Playing Fields” exhibition in the Hamburger Kunsthalle (2013). The sounds that were produced there when moving and packing up the works of art are transformed into text by Riedel thanks to a voice recognition program. The text generated, which is grammatically unintelligible – “There are too many grammatical errors in O.docx to continue displaying them” (Word) – reflects, in a sense, the handling of the works of art as they are subject to transport-contingent displacement after the end of the exhibition. To meet the prerequisites of a lounge, objects are rearranged in the room by Riedel, and can be used by the visitor as seating material or a stage. These are displays that were also taken from the exhibition in the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Originally used there to present the works of Giacometti, the pedestals and the display cases are turned in this case into artistic objects that present art thematically, exactly as Riedel’s whole artistic practice (Popped Pop) consists of continuous reproductions that reintroduce the art of the system into the system of art.

The production of text through a voice recognition program is a logical continuation of Riedel’s previous text production, which, beside transcriptions of sound recordings, the alphabetical reorganization of existing texts, the copying of whole Web sites (HTML text), as well as the doubling and tripling of single letters into information, aims at the automation of textual material. During the Palais de Tokyo opening hours, the visitor has the opportunity to witness the live production of text, the sounds of the art center being transformed into text and projected.

Michael Riedel, b. 1972 in Russelsheim (Germany). Lives and works in Frankfurt.

“Jacques comité [Giacometti]” is the first of two installations that Michael Riedel will set up at the Palais de Tokyo in 2013/2014.