Celebration

[This page by Michael Wood]

Goetz published this selection of photos, newspaper cuttings, interviews, and short articles in 2000. The title of the volume refers to American artist Jeff Koons’s collection of works from 1994. Celebration is subtitled ‘90s, Night, Pop’, and this is indicative of the theme of most of the material within it. Goetz combines conversations with artist Albert Oehlen, DJs Sven Väth and Westbam, with interviews with publications such as Texte zur Kunst, an article written for Die Zeit in 1997, arguing why the Love Parade is a significant cultural movement, and his own photography from these experiences.

On one level, Celebration is a celebration of 90s nightlife, and the opportunities it holds for embracing the present, and hedonistically losing oneself in the moment. Koons’s interest in banality and the surface quality of objects feeds into Goetz’s aesthetic here: Goetz’s photos often depict the most banal of moments, and appear to lack depth. Nonetheless, Goetz’s project of celebrating the present and freezing it is clearly questioned from the outset.