Self-Portrait as a Fountain
2000
Mixed Media
Variable dimensions
In his installation Self portrait as a Fountain, Philippe Pfeiffer recreates the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Around the confined shooting space, a dense network of CCTV cameras is linked to a screen in order to emulate the viewing angle. Here, the figure of the murderer is replaced by a threatening and intrusive video surveillance system.
The title Self portrait as a Fountain references the self-portrait genre and the cameos Alfred Hitchcock frequently performed in his films. The fountain, which echoes the shower, reminds of Marcel Duchamp's iconic piece Fountain, to which Bruce Nauman also pays homage in the title of his self-portrait. In its title and installation scheme, this artwork by Philippe Pfeiffer is a great mise en abyme.
Philippe Pfeiffer's Self portrait as a Fountain was first shown by the Pinault Collection in the exhibition The Passage of Time at the Tri Postal in Lille, in 2007-2008.
The title Self portrait as a Fountain references the self-portrait genre and the cameos Alfred Hitchcock frequently performed in his films. The fountain, which echoes the shower, reminds of Marcel Duchamp's iconic piece Fountain, to which Bruce Nauman also pays homage in the title of his self-portrait. In its title and installation scheme, this artwork by Philippe Pfeiffer is a great mise en abyme.
Philippe Pfeiffer's Self portrait as a Fountain was first shown by the Pinault Collection in the exhibition The Passage of Time at the Tri Postal in Lille, in 2007-2008.
Exhibitions
© Paul Pfeiffer.
Photo: Erma Estwick.
Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.
© Paul Pfeiffer.
Photo: Erma Estwick.
Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.
© Paul Pfeiffer.
Photo: Erma Estwick.
Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.