Ratatouille at Shanaynay

Artists: Tatjana Danneberg, Anna Fehr, Simon Lässig, Philipp Reitsam, Halvor Rønning

Exhibition title: Ratatouille

Curated by: Felix Gaudlitz

Venue: Shanaynay, Paris, France

Date: September 18 – October 10, 2015

Photography: Alexander Nussbaumer, images copyright courtesy of the artists and Shanaynay

FG: You once told me that you don’t like to read comics or watch cartoons because they’re too boring at some point, too flat, yet you somehow never include Lustiges Taschenbuch – the German version of Disney Comics – into that division. What is it that makes you want to read and watch this but not the others?

FG: There is a certain speed in regular comics, like in ‘The Naked Gun’ where they have a joke every 30 seconds! Cartoons somehow function the same way. But if you have colorful non-realistic characters plus absurd stories, it can be too much—whereas Disney Comics are more subtle. They resemble real history. Historical pop culture so to speak, like Charlie Chaplin.

FG: When you were in Paris, you went directly to Disneyland…

FG: Disneyland is the best! It combines everything you want. Childhood memories with highly elaborated ideas and technical development. It is very detailed on a high conceptual level. When we were there, we could see small plastic spiders creating webs in the endless queue of the Indiana Jones ride. To make the wait more agreeable, they try to set up scenes that you can follow. For instance you can follow archeological digs, where you see tents, rail tracks and all kinds of historical items. There was one very interesting observation: either they found original parts from the 1930s (that’s when Indiana Jones takes place), such as spades, tents, or lamps or they re-produced them. Same with the found sculptures. So, either Disneyland buys old material or they have someone to re-create all these things. In any case, it’s like a museum. They have someone who knows about this very topic and who is researching on this time for either buying or for re-creating the items – both extremely elaborated. And I mean, we are only talking about the queue, which people barely even acknowledge. Going into the ride is the actual attraction.

FG: What about ‘Ratatouille’ then?

FG: Ratatouille is a 4D-animated ride based on the movie ‘Ratatouille’. It is so special, we went twice in a row! Basically you slip into the role of Rémy the rat, who becomes a three-star-Michelin chef thanks to his olfactory sense. Of course the guides don’t make it easy on him, as a rat still is the worst to find in a kitchen. The ride accompanies all difficulties and excitements of Rémy, including being hunted in the kitchen, straying through the fridge and finally partying with his rat friends with champagne and music. As I said. it is a 4D ride, so you don’t only see everything in 3D through the glasses they give you, but you also feel and smell the heat or the cheese for instance. The excitement not only is indebted with the highest technological standards, but furthermore through psychological incarnation: ass soon as you enter the wagon you are Rémy, you have to be careful not to be seen, not to be heard. All whilst still trying to reach the endless desire of becoming a worldly chef. In Daft Punk’s ‘Giorgio by Moroder’ Giorgio tells his story about becoming a musician: ‘It was almost impossible, because the dream was so big.’If you compare this to Rémy you see a lot of parallels. The difference is that Rémy is a rat, so in fact it is really impossible. With Moroder you only have to categorize in good or bad. Remy doesn’t seem to have a chance even though he is a fantastic cook.