Group show curated by Robert Meijer
When the Moon Shines on the Moonshine

September 7, 2006–October 7, 2006
The Breeder, Athens


When the Moon Shines on the Moonshine. Curated by Robert Meijer.

Participating artists: Monica Bonvicini, Martin Boyce, Matt Connors, Jason Dodge, Elmgreen & Dragset, Jakob Kolding, Henrik Olesen, Kirsten Pieroth, Jesse Finley Reed, Kirstine Roepstorff, Willem De Rooij, Mungo Thomson
 
All works are in one way or the other connected to the song that is the title of the show, a song from 1920 made popular by Bert Williams, the first black vaudeville performer that made it onto Broadway. the song itself is about producing alcohol in the time of the prohibition, and is in general an eulogy for illegal activity. so there’s many different sides to the show that all connect to the idea of the blackness that I asked the artists to base upon. first of all it connects to the biographical story of Williams, who was sort of a pioneer for afro-american entertainment, and was important in raising consciousness and opening up possibilities for other black performers in the years after his early death, and also the song which portrays nightly activities, things that have to be done secretly, in the dark. of course, not only do most of the artists in the show work mainly in black/white anyway, they also are friends & acquantances from Berlin that I go drinking with frequently or occasionally. some of the works in the show will be very obviously touch upon this theme (like Thomson, or Elmgreen & Dragset), and some of the works are more abstract interpretations of the ideas behind it (like Dodge).

The Moon Shines on the Moonshine


the mahogany is dusty

all pipes are very rusty

the good old fashioned musty 

doesn’t musty any more



all the stuffs got bum and bummer

from the middle of the summer 

now the bar is on the hummer 

and the rent is on the dole 



how sad and still tonight 

by the old distillery 



and how the cobwebs cob 

in the old machinery



far in the mountain tops 

far from the eyes of cops



oh how the moon shines on the moonshine so merrily



oh for once….


goodness me how misery doubles

ain’t one thing to use for bubbles 

or to drive away your troubles 

now the tide has gone and went 



days and nights are getting bleaker

shivering for an old time sneaker

even water’s getting weaker 

’bout onetenthofonepercent 



how sad and still tonight 

by the old distillery 



and how the moaners moan 

at the logger brewery



so mister if you please 

don’t let no body sneaze 



up where the moon shines on the moonshine so still-erly …. so still-erly