New exhibition celebrates mumok's 60th anniversary

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


New exhibition celebrates mumok's 60th anniversary
Ulrike Müller, Diavolaki, monotype, printed with 10 Grand Press in Santa Fe, NM, 73.7 x 56.5 cm, 2018.



VIENNA.- The mumok collection contains nearly five hundred works that in one way or the other involve animals. Mr. Bear stomps through a painting, a Cat, Aroused exposes himself in a drawing, Le Griffu menacingly extends its claws in sculpture, and photographs depict scenes from slaughterhouses and zoological gardens. There is a giant blue spider and renderings of the Batmobile and Bambi, as well as a stele clad in snakeskin, the cast of a prehistoric skeleton, and a container filled with pigeon droppings. In Vienna Actionism, slaughtered lambs are wielded, while Gina Pane lets maggots crawl across her face as children sing “Happy Birthday.” These and many other works with animals make up a good five percent of the collection, a considerable proportion that raises the question of what kind of zoo the museum actually is. What is preserved, researched, displayed, and communicated in each of these places? And in whose interest?

As an institution, the museum—like the zoo—is rooted in the liberal concept of modernity that extracts humans from nature in order to place them above it. In this world order, the animal is the “other,” the supposed other becomes an “animal,” and children are unfinished subjects that in turn are surrounded by animals that have been robbed of their own otherness, of all that makes them alien to us. In the reciprocal positioning of viewer and “exhibit” the familiar, ostensibly civilized world is juxtaposed with what is foreign and allegedly barbaric. Art and nature are formatted into art history and natural history respectively, under the premise of protecting “freedom” (of art) and the “wilderness” (of the world of animals).




The exhibition The Animal Within—Creatures in (and outside) the mumok Collection addresses such topics. The visual arts and their fascination with animals—whether as pets, zoo animals, farm animals, stuffed animals, or projections of wildness— prepare the ground to reflect on the nature of sex, hunger, and affection; family and gender relations; socialization and domestication; and, not least, the enduring impact of colonial history. In other words, The Animal Within relies on the popular appeal of animals as a way to question structures of violence and domination. Who eats whom? Who leads whom on a leash? Who gives a name to whom? But also: What are stuffed animals doing in children’s “playpens”? What purpose do aquariums and birdcages serve in the bourgeois living room? And what makes animal skins so alluring as a sexual and fashion fetish?

This exhibition is therefore less about animals per se than about bodies, moving or still, reclining or standing, crouching or crawling. The animal as motif serves as a starting point for arriving at a materialist understanding of art and life, and not in a figurative sense—it is astonishing how prominently bones, skins, hides, and feathers feature in the visual arts of the last hundred years. At the same time, The Animal Within considers itself an exemplary undertaking. It is not about exhibiting the “best” animal art or the most famous artists who have created artworks on the subject. In fact, this exhibition could take place in any museum with a comparable collection and would yield similar results. In the Western world, “taming and framing” is what we do to mark our territory and establish our subjectivities in both life and art.

In this light, the museum is not only a kind of zoo but also a trap, and what “captivates” us there also holds us captive in liberal humanist fantasies of freedom and autonomy.

Joining the various creatures that populate the exhibition levels, a mural by Ulrike Müller inserts itself between the architecture and the exhibits. Large shapes in shades of gray sprawl across the various levels of the exhibition, delimited either by organic curves or geometrical sharp edges that cut across the walls at idiosyncratic angles. Wall-high, the shapes are fragmented by floors and ceilings as well as by the exhibition architecture. Inside the galleries, it is impossible to apprehend the whole picture; rather, it is as if shadows of unknown origin are cast on the building from outside. In fact, the forms are based on light projections onto models of the three exhibition levels, with small creature-like shapes made of craft paper as the starting point. Of which bodies these abstractions tell, whether they signal a threat or the proximity of a benevolent presence, remains an open question. In any case, however, they situate viewers in their bodies and draw attention to perspectives that lie outside the framework of the museum, of art history, and also of this project.










Today's News

September 22, 2022

Virtual Cotsen Textile Traces Global Roundtable will explore the rich traditions of lacemaking

Tyler Mitchell: From glossy magazines to a mega gallery

Senga Nengudi wins the 2023 Nasher Prize for Sculpture

Robert Fripp lightens up

Sydney museum sends visitors into an oil tank (and an artist's imagination)

Presentation at Xavier Hufkens showcases all five decades of Giorgio Griffa's career

Almine Rech announces opening of new U.S. flagship: Tribeca, New York City

The Cleveland Museum of Art announces new acquisitions

Hauser & Wirth New York opens an exhibition of Jenny Holzer's most recent works

Aperture Foundation lands a new headquarters

Belgian artist Sophie Kuijken opens an exhibition at Galerie Nathalie Obadia

Fort Gansevoort features twelve new large-scale works by Dawn Williams Boyd

Olivia Plender opens her second exhibition at Maureen Paley

Opening today: James Fuentes presents Keegan Monaghan: Indicator

Success for "Provenance Revealed: Galerie Steinitz" - doubles the pre-sale estimate

DIA to collect works focused on automotive, industrial, and decorative design

A welcome gust of weird, and adventures in shadow puppetry

'Beetlejuice' to close on Broadway

The 'alien goldfish' finds a home

New exhibition celebrates mumok's 60th anniversary

Significant works by Thomas Struth and Hilla & Bernd Becher headline Heritage's October Photography Auction

Alchemy Gallery opens a solo show featuring the vibrant, fantastical works of Christina Allan

SculptureCenter presents the first U.S. exhibition of artist Henrike Naumann

Latin Artists' New Media Work About Migration Awarded In The UK

Tips To Make Food More Delicious and Save Money

How Disney+ has Impacted the Streaming World over the Time

Ready to Invest in a Luxury RV? Here Are 4 Things You Need to Know

Virtual Reality artists nominated for Lumen Prize

How do discount vouchers function, and what are they?

Taking Your Procreate Skills To The Next Level

How to Treat Melasma.

Does Careprost Eyelash Serum Perfect for Eyelash Growth?

How AI and Blockchain Influenced R&D in Indian Pharma

Features of Honeywell Thermostat - Installation Process

Differentiate between U Part Wig Human Hair, Glueless Human Hair, and Undetectable Lace Wigs - Luvme Hair

The Pros and Cons of Gambling

Seeking to Work in the USA or Settling Down There? Then Check Out NAFTA Professional List Periodically




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful