Showing posts with label
Austrian Museum of Applied Arts.
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Showing posts with label
Austrian Museum of Applied Arts.
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Visiting a museum can be tiring. Gladly the Museum of Applied Arts has prepared some beds where the visitors can relax, take a nap, have a look at the beautiful ceiling or just check their phones...
In his sculpture "The Death of Marat" He Xiangyu created a life-size fiberglass sculpture of the artist Ai Weiwei’s corpse lying contorted face down on the ground. The title of the work refers to the 18th century portrait by Jaques-Louis David of the French revolutionary leader murdered in his bath. In a similar vein, Xiangyu's work reflects the political persecution of progressive thinkers and artists who have been silenced and imprisoned; hence, the choice to use Ai Weiwei, most well-known for his openly critical stance against the Chinese government. Weiwei has become a symbol of the struggle for human rights in China.
The monumental chandelier ("Descending Light with A Missing Circle") by Ai Weiwei appears to have fallen to the floor and points to the decay and ruptures of modern society in China. In the 20th century, the colour red, in China traditionally a symbol of luck in all its conflictive facets, became the colour of revolution, progress and political power through the ideology of communism.
Yesterday I went to see the exhibition "中国私语 CHINESE WHISPERS: Recent Art from the Sigg Collection" at the Museum of Applied Arts. The collector Uli Sigg has been following the development of contemporary art in China since the late 1970s. In the mid-1990s, he started putting together the world’s most significant and representative collection of Chinese art. In this photo you can see the work "Temporary Actor A" by Liu Ding. The painting can be viewed as a comment on the interpretation of the ideals of aniquity in the display of male and female figures for Maoist propaganda language. (Yes, I copied the label of the painting...)
The current window display of the K. u. K. (Imperial and Royal) Confectionary Demel was inspired by the exhibition project "Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty" at the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts. The exhibition investigates why people feel attracted to beauty, how they can deal with it and which positive effects beauty can have. I haven't yet seen the exhibition, so I dont't know which role plays this pink car, but it's definitely an eye-catcher.
This lady's suit was designed in 1963 by Viennese fashion designer Gertrud Höchsmann. She studied at the University of Applied Arts from 1920 to 1925 and was head of the fashion department from 1959 to 1972. She also owned a fashion house for forty years where my mother worked for a short period.
The exhibition "AESTHETICS OF CHANGE: 150 Years of the University of Applied Arts" at the MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art casts a glance back onto 150 years of the University's history and dares also a look into the future. In 1867 the School of Arts and Crafts was established at the Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry (today's MAK) to enable Austrian arts and crafts to compete internationally. This school is the antecedent institution of today's University of Applied Arts Vienna.
I was especially interested in the (small) part of the exhibition dedicated to the University's fashion department. The black and white skirt in this photo was a part of a dance costume and designed by Oskar Kokoschka in 1907/08. Kokoschka studied at the University of Applied Arts from 1904 to1909 and then teached there in 1912/13.
Bentwood furniture was not a Viennese invention, nonetheless outside Austria the bentwood chair is still frequently called "Viennese chair". The furniture manufactory Gebrüder Thonet developed the first industrial-scale production processes for bentwood furniture. These processes replaced previous individual craft skills with an investment in machinery that allowed any worker to produce accurate and repeatable bent components. The best known piece of the manufactury was the No. 14 chair, the iconic chair of Parisian cafés. The furniture collection of the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts presents an overview of over 100 years of production by Gebrüder Thonet an competing firms, from the 1830s to the 1930s.
This reading bench for museum visitors was created by American artist Jenny Holzer in 1993 and is an aluminium cast after an original bench from Danhauser Furniture Factory that existed from 1804 to 1838. During the Biedermeier period Danhauser was THE furniture manufactory in Vienna.
Some weeks ago I spent an afternoon at the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art (MAK). It was originally founded in 1863 as the "Imperial Royal Austrian Musuem of Art and Industry" and designed by famous Austrian architect Heinrich von Ferstel. Today it houses a collection of applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art. The museum welcomes the visitors with this beautiful late-historicist entrance foyer.
The Geymüllerschlössel remained in the possession of the Geymüller family until 1842. After that it changed owners several times until it was purchased in 1888 by the textile manufacturer Isidor Mautner. In the following decades it was a much-frequented venue for social gatherings of the local theatrical and musical scene.
The Geymüllerschlössel was constructed after 1808 as a “summer villa” for the merchant and banker Johann Jakob Geymüller (1760–1834). The edifice shows a blend of Gothic, Indian and Arabic styles as was common in pleasure buildings of the period. The architect is unknown to date. Today the villa is decorated with original furniture from the first half of the 19th century and a site of the Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art (MAK).
On Tuesday evening a friend of mine and me visited the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). The museum was founded in 1863 as the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, today is it home to a collection of applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art. On Tuesdays the admission is free from 6 to 10 p.m., and sometimes there are special events like guided tours, discussions.... The day before yesterday a dj rocked the museum, but we left when there was not yet much going on...
