WUNDER (Miracles)
Kunst, Religion und Wissenschaft vom 4. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart
An exhibition of Deichtorhallen and the Siemens Stiftung
Curated by the Praxis für Ausstellungen und Theorie [Hürlimann I Lepp I Tyradellis]
March 4, 2012 - July 1, 2012
An exhibition at the Kunsthalle Krems
WUNDER (miracles) happen time and again, all over the place – or do they?
WUNDER is an exhibition on the boundaries of occidental rationality: its outer, inner and historical boundaries. Centred on contemporary art, the interdisciplinary exhibition explores the extraordinary; mysterious healings, incredible natural occurrences and the wondrous unknown, unexpected technical innovations, artistic ideas, and moving shared social experiences.
What makes a miracle recognizable? How can it be defined? What role does it play? The art work and exhibits presented show how Christianity and ancient Greek philosophy of nature have influenced our perception of miracles. A miracle is recognized as being a window onto the world from which art, science and technology have emerged. The window that epitomizes a miracle in our culture always draws attention to a deficiency, a gap that, as much as we would like to do so, we are unable to close. The constellation of art works and objects pose provoking questions on history and current cultural self-perceptions.
The exhibition also explores our viewing habits and expectations when visiting contemporary art museums by giving special attention to a child’s perspective. An independent element, a special track accessible only to children, has been built into the exhibition, weaving a course around the museum and putting adult expertise into perspective with regard to art.
Shifting back and forth between traditions and disciplines, the exhibition puts the occidental world view and its fragile interpretational skills up for discussion. It compares the unique connections between religious, scientific, and artistic motifs with alternative points of view, and explores the potential of art to relay these points of view.
The exhibition shows works by
Francis Alÿs, Kader Attia, Joseph Beuys, Dara Birnbaum, Cosima von Bonin, Olga Chernysheva, Nathan Coley, Björn Dahlem, Ceal Floyer, Ellen Gallagher, Hans Graf, Andreas Gursky, Susan Hefuna, Susan Hiller, Jonathan Horowitz, Sven Johne, Helmut & Johanna Kandl, Martin Kippenberger & Albert Oehlen, Julia Kissina, Terence Koh, Igor & Svetlana Kopystiansky, Dieter Krieg, Philipp Lachenmann, Mark Leckey, Armin Linke, Ingeborg Lüscher, Melanie Manchot, Kris Martin, Hiroyuki Masuyama, Henri Michaux & Eric Duvivier, Julia Montilla, Timo Nasseri, Paul Nougé, Reto Pulfer, Julien Prévieux, Walid Raad/The Atlas Group, Johann von Schraudolph, Thomas Schütte, Shirana Shahbazi, Katharina Sieverding, Roman Signer, Thomas Struth, Alina Szapocznikow, Larry Sultan & Mike Mandel, Fiona Tan, Javier Téllez, Jalal Toufic, Ryan Trecartin, James Turrell, Timm Ulrichs, Franz West, Susan MacWilliam, Erwin Wurm
along with a multitude of scientific and cultural-historical exhibits such as the “Wunderwaffe” V2 (wonder weapon V2), the Hamburg patent for sparklers (“Wunderkerzen”), historical Wundergläser (a special kind of microscope), votive pictures, a relic, a magnetic St. Benedict’s crucifix, ghostly hands, Sal mirabilis (Glauber Salt), beatification files, an illuminated Koran, deep sea fish, a meteorite, pamphlets from the 16th century, a perpetuum mobile as well as magic wands, miracle pills, a witches’ cauldron an Goethe’s conjuring set.
Publication
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue published by Snoeck Verlag, featuring essays written by authors such as Zygmunt Bauman, Robert Pfaller, and Peter Geimer. 300 pages wiht ca. 260 illustrations. 24.80 Euro
Cooperation partners
The exhibition by the Deichtorhallen Hamburg and the Siemens Stiftung is curated by the Berlin curatorial office Prauth.
Place
Kunsthalle Krems
Franz-Zeller-Platz 3, 3500 Krems, Austria
www.kunsthalle.at
The exhibition was from September 23, 2011 to February 05, 2012 to look into Deichtorhallen Hamburg.
Deichtorhallen Hamburg
Halle für aktuelle Kunst
Deichtorstraße 1-2, 20095 Hamburg, Germany
www.deichtorhallen.de
