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Recognizing childhood as an independent phase of life and imbedding within it a magical element, is an achievement of our century. In a popular-scientific view, indications of a non-existent division of nature, the truth, substance and certain perpetuity are to be found in Fromm exciting adults who retained "the childlike", or those that ?never wanted to grow upÓ as a reply to envy, intolerance or ignorance. The point of departure for the project is a view from "the status of an adult" onto childhood, discussing and examining the mentioned stereotypes: mit vorgehaltener hand (with an upheld hand).
The ' upheld hand ' addresses the self-control of an "adult", explaining the constant consciously controlled behavior of external perception as the general status Quo.
I often asked myself, and I still ask myself today, whether they simply chase an image: that is to be grown-up, and I fulfill this... this is a cycle of reason, in which you don?t exist, but you do not even notice.(discussion taken from the video)
Holub held conversations with people from specific (artistic) surroundings and during a project with Porsche enterprise employees, where she examines desire in the form of a game. She leads the conversations as an artist, a position generally considered to be a childlike, playful approach or also an (dis) approved of one. The participation in the discussions developed spontaneously and the selection was coincidental; Holub would not like to meet the requirements of a sociological investigation. Instead of a survey she is much more interested a reflection of stereotypes and the possibilities dealing with these, questioning such roles or also not. To be an artist would be a possibility in making up for this deficit. Create something with fantasy.
But somehow my fantasy has been misplaced.
(discussion taken from the video)
In the installation "with an upheld hand", two video projections are next to each other, allowing two 45 minutes loops to resemble a large canvas. One half of the picture shows segments of discussions with adults and sequences of the Porsche coworkers playing with a Carrera toy motorway, which was arranged by Holub. The other half of the picture shows children, executing certain activities according to Barbara Holub?s directions: covering each others mouths,
whispering into each others ears...
Both half screens do without color and benefit from the high-contrast black and white picture presentation. The shots of the children are committed to the adult perspective though the constant use of slow motion, retrospectively declaring childhood as a secret. (In the picture) alongside the thinking person: the adult, the glance directed toward those simple children, the person speaking
wrapped in words, is sitting on the sofa. Language is not trimmed to the slow speed through the use of a specific technique, but through the topic and Holubs ability to produce intimacy. All seem to fit into the childlike perception, the adult revels, fascinated by childhood dreams and longs for the liberties of childhood. While on the other hand despite slow motion, certain aggressiveness becomes noticeable during the play or while completing the activity. The intermediate scenes allow the pieces to blend into one picture.
The multiple layers of content which Holub produces in the discussions, allow us to experience how many emotions are set into motion when preoccupied with thoughts on being a child and playing and how much rationality is used, in order to build this knowledge into one?s own experienced world. Children have very humanlike behavior and this gets lost. (discussion taken from the video)
The reception of the project as transit space is based on the possibility to dispense of role behavior, and support the Holub?s interest in questioning the categories grown-up and childhood. Holub installs airplane seats in front of the video picture, dividing them into two parts and places them in a right angle to the wall projection. The seating in the space not only places the viewers
close to the screen, but also determines the position of the sitting viewer, to opposite the chair or its user. Barbara Holub: ....the questioning of authority... that is interesting for me, that we permanently accumulate more
authority. And now it becomes difficult for us to suddenly question ourselves as an authority. (discussion taken from the video)
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