Chinese Contemporary Art #4

With this photo ends our short tour of the exhibition  "中国私语 CHINESE WHISPERS: Recent Art from the Sigg Collection" at the Museum of Applied Arts. In his works Shi Jinsong investigates the sociocultural transformation in China between tradition and modernity in the context of hybridity, synthesis and symbolism. The sculpture "Lack Pine Tree" (2011) is composed of the fragments of trees chopped down around his studio.

Chinese Contemporary Art #3

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.

Chinese Contemporary Art #2

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.

Chinese Contemporary Art #1

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...)

A New Kind of Painting

The exhibition "Painting with Method. Neoavantgarde Positions from the mumok Collection" at the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst presents different lines of development in painting from the 1950s to the 1970s. During the 1950s there was a radical shift and break with tradition in the fundamentals of painting in favor of new media-based forms of art. Key impulses came from minimal art and conceptual art. Their sober principles are reflected in abstract and geometrical painting with its formally reduced compositions and its rejection of narrative and illusionist representation. 

Reflections #34

This sculptural object ("Unitled. (To my friend De Wain Valentine),1990) by American artist Dan Flavin is part of the exhibition "Painting With Method. Neoavantgarde Positions from the mumok Collection" at the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst. I like its reflection on the floor.

Art Lovers

A young couple in front of a snare-picture by Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri in the "55 Dates" exhibition at the MUMOK Museum Modernern Kunst.

55 Dates

Recently I visited the exhibition "55 Dates" at the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst. The presented 55 works from the MUMOK collection are a mix of the known and the lesser known, with artists whose names and works have entered art history and others still to be discovered. The selected works do not present a classical perspective on art history but rather a diverse coexistence of ways of thinking, themes, and artistic media.

Skin Deep #4

One of my personal highlights of the exhibition "Skin Deep. Hair dressers, barbers, beauticians" at the Wien Museum was the assemblage of covers of professional journals for hairdressers. The covers in this photo (that shows only a detail of the assemblage) are from 1927 to 1951. The subtitle of one of the journals was "the gate to the world of the hairdo" - I think this sounds great.

Skin Deep #3

Up until World War I a fair skin was among the most important attributes of feminine beauty. This was a status symbol that only members of the upper class could afford as they did not have to work outdoors, unlike the majority of the population. Further, the cult of white skin was strongly associated with the dividing line between white and non-white ethnicities. This sun hat is made of hemp lace and dates from ca. 1910, as does the ceramic figure in rococo style "At her toilet".

Skin Deep #2

Some hairdresser instruments from the 1930s to the 1960s: an electrical hair drying hood, two electrical perming devices, an electrical hair dryer and a wash basin. Two of these instruments look rather scary, don't you think?

Skin Deep #1

Last Sunday I visited the exhibition "Skin Deep. Hair dressers, barbers, beauticians" at the Wien Museum. The exhibition deals with the practices and meanings of modern body care and styling from the 18th century onwards and focuses on shaving, hair care and cosmetics in the Viennese context. The objects in this photo are from the hairdressing salon "Marko's" opened in 1899. The salon was considered a top-class-establishment and counted numerous prominent people, inlcuding high nobility, as clientele. Regular clients' personal razors were kept in the small drawers of the cabinet.

People Matching Art Works #2

People Matching Art Works #1

WOW!

Some weeks ago I went to see the exhibition "WOW! The Heidi Horten Collection" at the Leopold Museum. The show features more than 170 works from 100 years of art history and is the first public presentation of one of the most impressive European private collections.

Aesthetics of Change #2

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.

Aesthetics of Change #1

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.

The Vulgar. Fashion Redefined #4

To conclude our visit of the exhibition "The Vulgar. Fashion Redefined" here are three dresses created by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen for her autumn/winter 2016/2017 collection, exhibited in the magnificent Gold Cabinet of Prince Eugene of Savoy's Winter Palace.

The Vulgar. Fashion Redefined #3

This insteresting ensemble was created by Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck for his autumn/winter collection 2010/2011, the hat is a design by British milliner Stephen Jones.

The Vulgar. Fashion Redefined #2

Another beautiful ensemble designed by John Galliano for Christian Dior for the autum/winter collection 1998/1999. The painting by Johann Gottfried Auerbach in the background shows Prince Eugene of Savoy as Commander.