Jens Kloppmann
dal 4/5/2011 al 27/5/2011
Segnalato da
4/5/2011
Jens Kloppmann
Kunstraum Richard Sorge, Berlin
Slachten. A solo exhibition by the noted Berlin-based conceptual artist thematizes armed conflict, using Thuringian wood handicraft as its main technique.
Continuing its interest in themes like craft, Heimat, ornamentation, and war, Kunstraum Richard Sorge is proud to present Jens Kloppmann's "schlachten". Coinciding with May 8th, the day of German capitulation in WWII, the solo exhibition by the noted Berlin-based conceptual artist thematizes armed conflict, using Thuringian wood handicraft as its main technique.
Constituting the third ambitious mural work conceived for Kunstraum Richard Sorge's bountiful art project space, the main exhibit of "schlachten" will be a mural work made out of fretwork. A plethora of painstakingly hand cut figures will be installed by the artist, amounting to a large ornamental work that refers to the tradition of heroic war panorama painting. These populist murals of the 19th century gave the audience a feeling of regaining control over rapidly changing surroundings caused by urbanization. They were a propaganda tool as well; commemorating nationalistic conflicts, and cementing political and historical claims and points of view.
The shows title, "schlachten," is ambiguous: it is the German verb for slaughtering; as a noun ("Schlachten") it means battle.
Liberally using and recombining familiar silhouettes and vignettes from our collective memory, art history, and war reportage, Kloppmann depicts a broad panorama of war in all its aspects: attack, counter attack, displacement. Kloppmann mixes personal and world history, as he draws for this exhibition on biographical elements like the arts & craft tradition of Thuringia, the family photo album of his grandfather, war damages spotted on his walks through Berlin.
In the context of war and totalitarianism, ornamentation is often described to stand for the suppression of the individual in a group. Kloppmann however reverses this notion, each segment of his mural tells an individual story.
A selection from Kloppmann's Bullet Boulevard series will also be on view; gypsum replicas of war traces taken from facades of the current cityscape of Berlin.
May 26th, 8pm: Artist's Talk
On May 26th, 8 pm historian and curator Martin Bayer will conduct an artist's talk with Jens Kloppmann. Martin Bayer's scholarship is focused on the relationship between war, art & media. Since 1994 he has made presentations and published on simulations and violence and war in the media (especially computer games and movies). Martin Bayer is active in security-political and strategic analyses and consulting, and writes about art and war in his W artist blog. His latest historical/curatorial project involves developing new creative and academic usage for the Martin-Luther-Gedächtniskirche, a curious listed Berlin church building "exemplifying the conflation of religion, daily life and nationalsocialist art and propaganda" in the 1930's.
Opening: Thursday, May 5th, 2011, 7 pm
Special viewing: Sunday May 8th, 2011, 3 - 6 pm
Artist's Talk moderated by Martin Bayer (www.wartist.org): May 26th, 8 pm
Kunstraum Richard Sorge
Landsberger Allee 54, Old Brewery - Berlin
Hours: Wen - Sat 3 - 6 pm
and by appointment