Karchi Perlmann

(b. 1961, Budapest, Hungary. Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA)










It’s the Zeitgeist Stupid
Short videos on loop, sound.

Karchi Perlmann’s micro-loop videos are small mirrors angled to reflect the turbulence of American society in 2020, the year of the plague. Perlmann lists some of the themes: “Ripping open the unhealed wounds of racism; the total moral collapse of fascist-leaning leadership; the evisceration of such leadership by a virus; the screaming response on social media of a perfectly divided nation.” The videos’ brief duration is designed for social media consumption, echoing soundbite, clickbait culture, “meant to be viewed in loop, over and over again,” chaotic, disruptive, open to interpretation. They are also cathartic; the artist reports he is driven by “an untamable urge” to confront the zeitgeist of the times. The loops radiate compulsion, anger, struggle, protest, and proposal. Above all, they telegraph compulsive faith in creative expression.