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Two people in festive clothing sit at a table with a red tablecloth. On the table are a candle and a single fir branch. In the background, heavy curtains, a model ship, and a lamp with a marble base can be seen.

Eine Rede

Mirko Martin

  • Year 2005
  • Edition Edition 1/5 (+ 2 a. p.)
  • Material/Technique single-channel video installation (color, sound)
  • Length 7' 32''
  • Category Media Art
  • Collection Sammlung Goetz, Medienkunst, München

Every year, the German president gives his Christmas speech on public television. In it, he calls on his "dear fellow citizens" to perform volunteer work, be tolerant of foreigners, or to make donations, depending on the political situation. In Mirko Martin's film Eine Rede, amateur actors –the very adressees of the message –recite passages from former Federal President Horst Köhler's 2004 Christmas speech. By reversing the roles, the artist exposes the staged proximity of the President's Christmas appearances to the public as well as the banality of their messages.