Bingo
Gordon Matta-Clark
Bingo, 1974
Film, 16mm, transferred from Super-8-film, color, silent, 9 min 40 sec Edition 1/10
GF0000196.00.0-1995
Artwork text
In August 1974, as part of the open-air exhibition Artpark ’74, Gordon Matta-Clark was given free use of a house due for demolition in Niagara Falls, New York. However, he had no more than ten days to carry out his project. He divided the façade of the typical American small-town family house into nine segments of equal size, namely nine feet by five feet and removed one piece after the other (Been-Gone by Ninth). Thanks to a worker who had postponed the demolition of the house until the next morning, Matta-Clark was also able to cut out the final, central piece. The nine segments were loaded in boxes, five of which were simply tipped into the countryside while three parts of the house front were later exhibited by Matta-Clark in the John Gibson Gallery, New York. The title Bingo refers to a game of chance which is typical of the region. (Sabine Breitwieser)