A BETTER WORLD:
TUE GREENFORT, SAN KELLER, KLAUS WEBER
November 17 2008 – January 18 2009
Opening: Sunday, November 16 2008, 11 am
Hochstadenring 22,
53119 Bonn, Germany
In their work, artists TUE GREENFORT (*1973, Copenhagen / Berlin), SAN KELLER (*1971, Zurich) and KLAUS WEBER (*1967, Berlin) humorously reinterpret existing societal and ecologic circumstances for their own purposes. They redirect commercial, ecologic and economic cycles and give them better purposes than those permitted by their worldly existence.
In the last few years, fine arts have made more newspaper headlines than ever before. But the debate is increasingly shifting away from feuilleton pages and towards the people- and marketplace sections where lifestyle and record-breaking sales prices are highlighted. Up until the seventies, art was largely received as a critical impulse from society which was often meant to provoke. But these days, at least according to some contemporaries, it has lost its critical edge by becoming part of an element that simply caters to today’s lifestyle. Has art itself lost much of its effect on society, or have we in today’s media-driven culture simply become unable to hear, see or read certain critical ideas?
By referencing our reality, the pieces of the exhibition A BETTER WORLD are renewing art’s claim to critical relevance while proving wrong those who are willing to write it off all too quickly. The point that not art itself but the society viewing it, has become de-politicized is one worth examining. What is the societal purpose of fine art in today’s world, where civic society has given way to globalized society? How can fine art today appear political, critical or committed? Should these expectations be dismissed as mere romantic notions in light of our global media society and if so, what can be expected of today’s art? In a recent interview, Beat Wyss claimed that in today’s globalized world, art has the chance to be a system of communication. Provocation is no longer art’s domain, but instead that of the mass media[1]. Contrarily, Jan Verwoert introduces the expression “good life” into the analysis of today’s art education. He views the teachings of art as a potential battleground for the humane and socio-political struggle of the individual in a society increasingly threatened by economization[2].
The exhibit A BETTER WORLD marks the beginning of a dialogue about art and politics in today’s world. The examples of three young artistic positions help assess whether or not art still has the ability and the will to be relevant as critique. The symposium which is planned to accompany the exhibit will revolve around the issue of contemporary forms of critique in art and other cultural fields.
SYMPOSIUM
Friday, November 28 2008 3pm – 7pm
Low voter participation, little commitment within social communities and only few activities for public welfare, instead of that a distinct individualism, egoism and believe in economics – these are corporate phenomena which were carried into cultural debates in the past years. The youth of today is “conformistic” one could read in the weekly German magazine DIE ZEIT (29 August 2008).
How about contemporary art? Is it still able to impact on politcs? Does it want or even shall it at all? How can political activity be defined in these days? And how could contemporary art contribute? These questions are basic for the interest of the Symposium.
Prof. Beat Wyss (*1947 in Basel, since 2004 professor for art science and media theorie at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe). The role models of nowadays global media society differs from past days. Beat Wyss will emphasise on the question how art, politics and media propartionate today.
Jürgen Harten (*1933, lives in Berlin), curator, 1967-1968 chief clerk of documenta 4, 1972-1998 director of the Düsseldorfer Kunsthalle, 1998-2000 founding director of the museum-kunst-palast Düsseldorf, 2003 “Berlin-Moskau /Moskau Berlin 1950-2000″, 2006 “Caravaggio” mkp Düsseldorf.
His lecture titled “The grant format – incident painting, momument, installation, iconic media” asks how contemporary art deals with themes of compelling or shattering impact on society at all.
Jan Verwoert (*1972, lives in Berlin), contributing editor at FRIEZE and teacher at the Pit Zwart Institute in Rotterdam. Author of “Bas Jan Ader – In Search of the Miraculous”, 2006 released at Afterall Books / MIT Press and Co-curator of the 2008 Sheffield Biennale of Art “Yes, No & Other Options”. Verwoert’s lecture derives from Robert Barry’ s “Marcuse Piece”: “a place to which we can come and for a while be free to think ‘about what we are going to do’”.
Reception, introduction and moderation: Prof. Anne-Marie Bonnet und Christina Végh.
GUIDANCE
FOR CHILDREN
Saturday, 29 November 2008, 3pm KunstStück: FLYER for children aged 7-13
Sunday, 30 November 2008, 3pm KunstStück: SEATING STICK for children aged 3-7
Saturday, 6 December 2008, 3pm KunstStück: SEATING STICK for children aged 3-7
Sunday, 7 December 2008, 3pm KunstStück: WOLFS CHOIR for children aged 7-13
Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 7pm Students from the Art Historian Institute guide through
the exhibition. With Felix Zimmer (TUE GREENFORT), Jennifer Rabe (SAN KELLER), Ewa Knitter (KLAUS WEBER).
Thursday, 18 December 2008, 6pm Guidance with Anna Dietz
Contact Anna Dietz a.dietz@bonner-kunstverein.de
“JAHRESGABEN”
SPECIAL WORKS AT SPECIAL PRICES!
FIKRET ATAY, THOMAS BAUMANN, NICOLAUS BODDE, ANNE COLLIER, NATALIE CZECH, PHILIPPE DECRAUZAT, RYAN GANDER, KATHARINA GROSSE, KATHRIN HAUSEL, GABRIELE HEIDER, DIANGO HERNÁNDEZ, RAYMUND KAISER, CHRISTOPH KELLER, SAN KELLER, SEB KOBERSTÄDT, HANS-JÖRG MAYER, CLAUDIA & JULIA MÜLLER, YEHUDIT SASPORTAS, ANTJE SCHIFFERS, AMELY SPÖTZL, HEIKE WEBER, and KLAUS WEBER.
Annual editions’ weekend 2008: Saturday, 6 and Sunday Sunday 7 December 2008 11am – 6pm, exhibition through January 18 2009.
BONNER KUNSTVEREIN
Hochstadenring 22, 53119 Bonn, Germany
Tel. +49 228 693936, Fax +49 228 695589
Tue – Sun 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thu 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., closed on Mondays.
ARTOTHEK Wed, Fri 2 – 5 p.m., Thu 2 – 7 p.m., Sat 11 a.m. – 1p.m.
[1] Compare: Platzt der Kunst das Herz. Die Preise explodieren, für die internationale Geldelite ist Kunst der ultimative Luxus. Ein Gespräch über ein globales Phänomen, Das Magazin, Tages Anzeiger, No. 01, 2008, pp. 26 – 32.
[2] Jan Verwoert, Frei sind wir schon. Was wir jetzt brauchen, ist ein besseres Leben, in: Kunst Lehren. Städelschule Frankfurt/Main, Ed. Heike Belzer, Daniel Birnbaum, Köln 2007, S. 80-110.
