life masks - Presse - Kunsthistorisches Museum

Transcription

life masks - Presse - Kunsthistorisches Museum
SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 APRIL 3, 2016
CELEBRATE LIFE!
TEN „LIFE MASKS“ TRANSFORMED INTO ART
AN EXHIBITION IN COOPERATION WITH CARITAS
Life, transience, death – for each and every one of us they are inevitable
elements of human existence but everyone faces them in his or her own
way. In everyday life dying and death are usually blocked out.
The project „Celebrate Life!” invited prominent national and
international representatives of the cultural and art scene to instigate a
dialogue: what remains of us when we die? What is impotent when faced
with the fact that life is but transient, what traces do we leave behind?
How do I want to die?
Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi, Christiane Hörbiger, Michael Landau,
Karl Markovics, Robert Menasse, Cornelius Obonya, Arnulf Rainer,
Barbara Stöckl and Josef Zotter have all agreed to have a mask taken of
their face, and the internationally renowned artists Kader Attia, Daniel
Knorr, Erik van Lieshout, Teresa Margolles, Arnulf Rainer, Hans
Schabus, Hubert Scheibl, Deborah Sengl, Daniel Spoerri and Nives
Widauer have agreed to rework these masks.
All participants have focused on death in their previous work.
“All the artists participating in this exhibition explicitly explore in their
works mortality and how their fellow human beings live on after death.
This is not an egocentric exploration but an analysis of society and its
relationship with subjects connected with transience, death and
remembrance. Some of these explorations focus on the transiency of our
body’s raw material, for example Teresa Margolles’ reworking of the life
mask of Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi, whose face is literally submerged
in a heavy material that will stand the test of time. In her life mask of
Christiane Hörbiger, however, Deborah Sengl runs a summary of the
actress’ real or assumed life past her eyes. And Hans Schabus puts
Robert Menasse in the unusual position of becoming an inexhaustible
supplier of ideas, freed from all inherent necessity and expectantly at the
mercy of Nature” said Cathérine Hug, the curator of the exhibition.
In collaboration with Caritas, the Kunsthistorisches Museum presents
the results of these interventions in a special exhibition. „The sumptuous
galleries of the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities, especially
those showcasing artefacts connected with ancient funerary cults and
portraiture, offer a stimulating setting and emphasise the curatorial idea
behind this show, which focuses on the long tradition of artists reflecting
on life and death. The colours of memento mori have always been an
integral part of the palette of artistic inspiration” said Director-General
Sabine Haag.
The idea or producing life masks of living celebrities was proposed by
the Caritas of the Diocese of Vienna in order to call attention to the quiet
but vital work of their Mobile Hospice, embraced and carried out day in,
day out by dedicated Caritas staff members and countless volunteers.
The project hopes to make us all reflect on life, on dying and on death.
“Most people, including myself, find it difficult to contemplate their own
death or the death of those dear to them. In the end, however, this
internal dialogue is life affirming. Because we are confronted with the
question whether the life we live now is the life we want to have lived
when our life comes to an end. I am convinced that the culture of life
must include a culture of solidarity with the dying. I would like to thank
everyone who supported and made possible this exhibition of life masks
- and for helping us to showcase the vital work of the Caritas Mobile
Hospice. A quarter-century of Mobile Hospice has meant nothing less
than a quarter-century of the affirmation of life and of dying in dignity.
It means accompanying, rather than abandoning, someone at the end of
his or her life, to accept contradictions and to be close to someone at the
very point in his or her life that many of us fear as the end. Because every
dying person is a living person. Until the very end”, said Michael Landau,
the president of Caritas.
Robert Menasse proposed this artistic project, which was realized by the
curators of the exhibition, Cathérine Hug (Kunsthaus Zürich) in
collaboration with Manuela Laubenberger (Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities).
PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS
These images may be used free of charge when writing about the
exhibition; to download them go to press.khm.at.
Deborah Sengl
Life Mask of Christiane Hörbiger
The Film of My Life
2015
Acrylic, gold and plaster
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Erik van Lieshout
Life Mask of Karl Markovics
Untitled
2015
Vinyl and marker pen on plaster
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Arnulf Rainer
Life Mask of Arnulf Rainer
Untitled
2015
Acrylic and lava on plaster
Loaned by Arnulf Rainer
© KHM-Museumsverband
Hubert Scheibl
Life Mask of Josef Zotter
Itzamná
2015
Plaster, synthetic material, glass, wood, metal
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Nives Widauer
Life Mask of Cornelius Obonya
Time Flies
2015
Plaster, mirror glass, rope
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Daniel Spoerri
Life Mask of Arnulf Rainer
(Seer Don Arnolfo’s Seven Eye-Pimples in the middle of his Face)
2014
Plaster, fabric, glass, “flower stamps” made of different materials, wood
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Life Mask of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Taken by C. G. Weißer / Micheli Brothers, Berlin 1807
Plaster, patina
loaned by Robert Menasse
© KHM-Museumsverband
Teresa Margolles
Life Mask of Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi
Mask of Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi submerged in concrete
2015
Plaster in concrete
Courtesy of Teresa Margolles and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich, loaned
by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Hans Schabus
Life Mask of Robert Menasse
Schubumkehrgehäuse (Vogeltränke)
(Thrust Reverser Box [Bird Font])
2015
Bronze, water, concrete, straw
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Kader Attia
Life Mask of Michael Landau
Untitled
2015
Staples and nails on plaster
Courtesy of Kader Attia and Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, loaned by Caritas
Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
Daniel Knorr
Life Mask of Barbara Stöckl
Media Award ‒ Barbara Stöckl
2015
Plaster, black velvet on wood
Loaned by Caritas Vienna
© KHM-Museumsverband
OPENING HOURS AND
ENTRANCE FEES
Tuesdays – Sundays, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursdays until 9 p.m.
Annual Ticket
Adults
from 1.1.2006
Vienna Card
from 1.1.2006
Concessions
Children under 19
Group ticket (p.p.)
€ 34
€ 14
€ 15
€ 13
€ 14
€ 11
free
€ 11
Buy your online-tickets at:
https://shop.khm.at/en/ticket-shop/
INFORMATION
After the end of the exhibition you can acquire any of the masks for
a donation to the Caritas Mobile Hospice. For more information
please contact Ingrid Rachbauer (Caritas Vienna): t +43 1 878 12 –
226 or ingrid.rachbauer@caritas-wien.at
Feiert das Leben. Gespräche mit Sterbenden
Text: Kurt Riha, Photographs: Reiner Riedler, published by Caritas
der Erzdiözese Wien (Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna),
price: € 9,95
format: 21 x 21 cm, 72 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-3-200-04231-5
PRESS CONTACT
Nina Auinger-Sutterlüty, MAS
Head of Communication and Public Relations
KHM-Museumsverband
Wissenschaftliche Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts
Burgring 5, 1010 Vienna
T +43 1 525 24 - 4021
info.pr@khm.at
www.khm.at