Gary Hill: Hand Heard

Since the 1960’s when Hill was a surfer on the California coast, his work has shown concern for literary and philosophical texts as well as for nature and the instability of the human condition as impulses for artistic experimentation. His video installations serve as tools for interrogating and questioning viewers regarding dense ontological and teleological topics such as the meaning of time and existence. Based on this American artist’s central concerns with poetry, sonorous language, and the relationship between text and image, the MACBA, in 1998, organized a retrospective including three installations: Hand Heard, Withershins, and Midnight Crossing. Through them, the museum tried to provoke reflection on the cultural structures acquired to read both written and audio texts. The catalogue includes the complete documentation of Hill’s projects as well as an exhaustive bibliography about the artist.