Katarzyna Kozyra
dal 26/9/2007 al 27/10/2007
Segnalato da
26/9/2007
Katarzyna Kozyra
Ludwig Museum, Budapest
In Art Dreams Come True. The artist uses the visual media of theatre, film, and opera, respectively. In this multimedia piece she presents extremely different representations of female types, such as the opera diva, the princess of fairy tales, the pop star, or the femme fatale. Kozyra chooses masters who help her learn, play, and transform into the stereotypical roles. The exhibition displays about 30 video works.
In Art, Dreams Come True
Curated by Hanna Wróblewska and Róna Kopeczky
Katarzyna Kozyra (Warsaw, 1963–) is one of the most famous contemporary Polish media artists. In 1999 she represented Poland at the 48th International Venice Biennial.
In Hungary, she became famous by shooting a video in one of Budapest’s spas with the help of a hidden camera. In the pieces entitled Men’s Bathhouse and Women’s Bathhouse she investigated from a sociological point of view whether the behaviour of men or women is likely to change in an environment free from the other sex.
Katalin Néray, Director of Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, noticed the work of Katarzyna Kozyra as early as 1997 when, during the Polish cultural festival Polonia Express, the artist presented in the Kunsthalle the Pyramid of Animals which was inspired by the tale The Musicians of Bremen. In 2003, the video project The Rite of Spring was displayed in the former location of the museum, in the Buda Castle. In this work, Kozyra substituted old, naked dancers for the young participants moving violently to Stravinsky’s music and Vaslav Nisinski’s choreography. In September 2007, a solo exhibition of Katarzyna Kozyra’s work is presented in LUMÚ for the second time.
Katarzyna Kozyra’s travelling exhibition, In Art Dreams Come True, uses the visual media of theatre, film, and opera, respectively. In this multimedia piece the Polish artist presents extremely different representations of female types, such as the opera diva, the princess of fairy tales, the pop star, or the femme fatale. The artist chooses masters who help her learn, play, and transform into the stereotypical roles. She met her first master, a transvestite DJ and singer named Gloria Viagra in Berlin. Viagra introduced her to the world and atmosphere of night clubs, taught her about proper make-up, hairdo, behaviour and movement, went shopping with her, and helped her choose clothes.
She met the second master, a music teacher referred to as the Maestro, in Warsaw. From him she learnt the breathing technique and the posture required for opera singing, and the exaggerated, almost forced and unrealistic performing methods of sublime emotions. Kozyra was taking singing lessons for more than a year to develop her abilities to express emotions.
The worlds of the opera singer and the street walker are opposing at first sight, but in both artificial environments femininity is the central theme. What is more, they both present the process of transformation, being disguised, and superficiality. The two worlds seem to melt to create a distorted fairy tale centred on the artist about unrealistic dreams and desires. By questioning prescribed roles associated with the sexes and obscuring the differences between femininity and masculinity, Katarzyna Kozyra investigates the true meaning of gender roles in this project.
The exhibition was displayed previously in Poland (in Warsaw and Wroclaw), in the Czech Republic (Brno), and in Slovakia (Trnava).
The Ludwig Museum in cooperation with the BWA Gallery, Wroclaw, displays about 30 video works of the artist shown in various formats (televisions, computers, or projectors), and also exhibits five clothes designed by the artist especially for this project to be worn at the performances.
Image: Cheerleader, 2006 video clip, production still © photo by M. Oliva Soto © Katarzyna Kozyra
Opening: 27 September, 2007, Thursday, 6pm
Venue: 1st floor
Related events:
Saturday, 29 September 2007, lumú 10–10
Woman in the Centre
5.00–7.00 p.m. Is-Is Rendezvous
As part of the lumú 10–10 on 29 September, we plan a rendezvous between Katarzyna Kozyra; Hanna Wróblewska,
Deputy Director of the Zach?ta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Curator of the exhibition; Pál Tamás,
Director of the Institute of Sociology at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; and Nóra Szily, Journalist
Guided Tours in English:
Saturday, 29 September 2007, Saturday, 4.00 p.m.Guided tour with Katarzyna Kozyra
Saturday, 6 October 2007, 5.00 p.m.
Saturday, 20 October 2007, 5.00 p.m.
Thursday, 25 October 2007, 7.00 p.m.
Ludwig Museum
Palace of Arts
H-1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1.
Tuesday – Sunday 10 am–8 pm
Every last Saturday of the month 10 am–10 pm