Video Installation
The two-channel video work Auf Schritt und Tritt (At Every Step) arose during Marcel Odenbach’s extended stay in New York in the mid-1990s. It reflects his intensive engagement with racism in the USA, including within the gay scene.
For the video recording, he had a camera built that could film him walking from above, while a microphone embedded into the sole of his shoe recorded the sound of his steps and surrounds. Thus equipped, he moved through the historically significant 125th street of Harlem, a center of Afro-American culture and at the same time an important site for the civil rights movement.
Through Odenbach's unmistakable visual language, the camera takes are superimposed with further footage from Harlem, including of children playing or passers-by on the street as well as archival material of street protests. These are additionally combined with a black-facing scene from Alfred Hitchcock's film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).
For the first time, the work is now expanded by a newly produced artistic audio description by the London-based collective SoundScribe. Their descriptions in spoken German make historical and social tensions audible, challenge dominant ways of seeing and hearing, and add a contemporary critical layer to the work.
Digitization: Sophie Bunz
Bios
Marcel Odenbach (*1953 in Cologne) is among an early generation of German video artists who significantly shaped the development of video as an art form. His visual language arises through the collage-like montage of television clips, archival material, film sequences, and his own footage. Recurring themes in his work include addressing German history and colonialism on the African continent.
SoundScribe is a global majority collective of audio describers and accessibility consultants. They develop creative audio description, workshops, and accessible experiences for performance work, arts institutions, and the moving image with a particular sensitivity to cultural contexts and societal barriers.
Venue
Filmwerkstatt Düsseldorf
Birkenstr. 47 40233
Düsseldorf
The entry is free.
Registration is not required, but welcome.
Accessibility
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Artistic audio description in spoken German
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On-site assistance
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Assistant dogs are welcome
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Pick-up service: We are happy to pick you up from the nearest public transport station and can accompany you to the exhibition and event locations. Please contact us in advance to arrange this.
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Early Entry: You are welcome to visit our event spaces before the official start time if needed. Please contact us in advance to arrange this.
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The Filmwerkstatt is only accessible via stairs with a handrail. A limited number of parking spaces are available, and on-site assistance can be provided. A gender-neutral restroom is located directly next to the Filmwerkstatt, and the nearest wheelchair-accessible restroom is in the nearby Philara collection, available on request. Please feel free to contact us in advance if you require assistance. Feel free to get in touch with us beforehand if we can support your visit.
