Viola Hutten – PenTales Singapore
Viola recently moved from Manhattan to Singapore to take her interest in Asia beyond the borders of NYC’s Chinatown. Unsurprisingly, she’s taking the East by storm: weekends in Bali, Durian hunting trips, and Burmese temples are all common fare for this adventuress. Beyond traveling the world, Viola is passionate about understanding what motivates people, re-working old furniture, and taking pictures of everything that moves. She hails from Germany, has a background in behavioural psychology, and is excited to introduce PenTales to Singapore.
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Studied first at the Municipal Conservatoire of Douai – north of France, then at the Paris Conservatoire Premier in viola in the 1913 Concour. Taught at Middlebury College in Vermont in the 1930s.
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Roc Laseca, a native of the Canary Islands and the curator for this exhibit, talked about his impressions of Viola’s vision during a walk through the galleries. “People have often mentioned the transcendental aspects of the videos,” he said. “But that can imply something going on beyond, or in an afterlife. Viola is showing the transfiguration going on in the here and now, taking place inside us.” And indeed, in many of the videos the actors are moving forward toward the viewer, almost invading our space by the time they are pictured in close-up. Viola wants us to actively experience their emotions, to be unable to remain unattached or unmoved. “The main action takes place in front of us,” Laseca said.