Keren Cytter

Born in 1977,
Lives and works in New-York (United States)

Drawing primarily on video, Keren Cytter’s work stands out for the uniqueness of her artistic style. To date, the artist has also published three short stories (The Man Who Climbed Up the Stairs of Life and Found Out They Were Cinema Seats, The Seven Most Exciting Hours of Mr Trier’s Life in Twenty-Four Chapters* and *The Amazing True Story of Moshe Klinberg). Through its plots, dialogue, the ambivalent role given to the narrators and the blurred boundaries between fiction and autobiography, her work could be described as "auto-fiction". By involving her family and friends and using domestic settings, the artist further emphasises the personal nature of her films.

Biography

Si l'économie des films construits par Andy Warhol à partir de son entourage pourrait être évoquée, la comparaison tourne court. Les outrances de Cytter se basent davantage sur des sentiments exacerbés que sur le glamour et la sophistication des acteurs. L'artiste décrit des figures et des situations archétypales (le couple, l'adultère, le meurtre) et met en scène des dispositifs évoquant des schémas psychanalytiques. Mais ceux-ci s'expriment dans des décors ordinaires, avec des acteurs amateurs et dans un style cinématographique direct.

La manière de Cytter évoque aussi bien la vidéo-amateur que le"dogme" de Lars Von Trier. Sa filmographie se place sous le parrainage de figures tutélaires comme John Cassavetes ou se réfère directement aux travaux de Michelangelo Antonioni (Les ruissellements du diable, 2008), Roman Polanski (Repulsion, 2005) ou de Pier Paolo Pasolini et Federico Fellini (Alla ricerca dei fratelli et Una forza che vienne del passato, diptyque de 2008). Enfin, même si leurs trames narratives impliquent un début et une fin, les œuvres de Cytter sont portées par une dynamique du montage et un recours fréquent à la boucle qui refusent la linéarité. Les sentiments de "déjà-vu" ou "déjà vécu" abondent dans ses courts métrages au rythme soutenu et d'apparence fragmentaire. Les séquences qui les composent s'emmêlent à mesure que le film est répété à l'écran, tandis que des références cinématographiques multiples impliquent le spectateur dans la construction d'un hors champs narratif.

Bibliographic resources

Whilst one might draw parallels with the films Andy Warhol made featuring people from his own circle, the comparison falls short. Cytter’s excesses are rooted more in heightened emotions than in the glamour and sophistication of the actors. The artist depicts archetypal figures and situations (the couple, adultery, murder) and stages scenes that evoke psychoanalytic patterns. Yet these are expressed in ordinary settings, with amateur actors and in a direct cinematic style.

Cytter’s approach is reminiscent of both amateur video and Lars von Trier’s "Dogme". His filmography is influenced by key figures such as John Cassavetes or refers directly to the works of Michelangelo Antonioni (The Devil’s Drippings, 2008), Roman Polanski (Repulsion, 2005) or Pier Paolo Pasolini and Federico Fellini (Alla ricerca dei fratelli and Una forza che vienne del passato, a 2008 diptych). Finally, although their narrative structures imply a beginning and an end, Cytter’s works are driven by a dynamic editing style and frequent use of loops that reject linearity. Feelings of "déjà vu" or "déjà vécu" abound in his fast-paced and seemingly fragmentary short films. The sequences that make them up become entangled as the film is repeated on screen, whilst multiple cinematic references draw the viewer into the construction of a narrative beyond the frame.

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