richard

a candle in the shape of a bust of the composer richard wagner burns down to the sound of his music: the famous “feuerzauber” (‘magic fire’) from the 3^rd act of “die walküre” (‘the valkyrie’), the most popular of the ring operas. symphonieorchester des bayerischen rundfunks, conductor: bernard haitink, 1988, herkulessaal der residenz, munich, EMI records 667.

the fascination of fire, the spectacular dissolving of a form and the grandiose music of richard wagner are the central themes of this video. some of the questions it poses are: why richard wagner’s bust is being produced as a candle. and what does the burning down of a human image trigger? how do richard wagner’s music and the burning down of his bust interrelate?

filmed on super 8 time lapse