Turmstrum
dal 11/9/2003 al 2/11/2003
Segnalato da
11/9/2003
Turmstrum
Nikolaj Kunsthal - Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen
An exhibition project involving six contemporary artists from Hamburg and Copenhagen. The artists have been invited to reflect on the history and function of the tower, either as a specific building, or in a more general sense as a concept: the tower as a historical, religious, political or psychologically archetypal symbol.
Performance at the opening, Friday September 12.
The tower of Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center - the tower of the old Church of Saint Nicholas provides the starting point for an exhibition project involving six contemporary artists from Hamburg and Copenhagen.
The artists have been invited to reflect on the history and function of the tower, either as a specific building, or in a more general sense as a concept: the tower as a historical, religious, political or psychologically archetypal symbol.
The artists are: Tjorg Beer (D), Baldur Burwitz (D), Jakob Boeskov (DK), Peter Callesen (DK), Oliver Kochta (D) and Frank Lsing (D).
Tjorg Beer comments on the building s function as a church and as an art centre functions which some people feel demand quiet and devotion. Tjorg Beer brings the building and its works physically closer by creating a copy of the church. On Nikolaj Square, there will thus be a church which one may enter and which may enable one to adopt a different perspective on Nikolaj. Baldur Burwitz reflects on Nikolaj church as an architectural organism. Teasingly, the artist raises the question of stability in architecture. In his work, the stability of the large church building has been transformed into a living organism which can disintegrate. Almost like a volcano if, admittedly, a somewhat enigmatic one the roof ejects tiles down onto the square. Jakob Boeskov looks at the tower as a religious and political manifesto. His work SEX JIHAD is a satirical paraphrase of a Renaissance painting of the Virgin Mary blessing, among others, Christopher Columbus. The original painting can be seen at the Salon del Almirante in Sevilla, the town where so many of the famous conquistadores planned their expeditions in the name of Jesus and European enlightenment.
Peter Callesen reflects on the tower as a spiritual and religious symbol. On the day of the opening and on the following day, the artist will make his performance Wishing Chair in front of the tower, in which the worldly prayers of the guests will be sent up into the air to be answered by the artist, as an echo of the traditional religious act of praying. Inside the tower, the artist creates spiritual stairs, delicate and frail, which seem to challenge the law of gravitation of the material world. Oliver Kochta s theme is the tower as a location from which one can control one s surroundings. On monitors one can follow what is happening on the square in front of Christiansborg, the Danish parliament and on Nikolaj Square, and they can check out fellow visitors to Nikolaj s tower. Other monitors show mysterious things happening in the tower, thus blending fact and fiction. Frank Lsing creates heavy weather at the top of the tower and enables the visitor to get an insight into heights and strata of air which are normally out of reach. Thunder, flashes of light and smoke will shake the tower where other secret activities will also take place. Meaningful acts will be replaced by meaningless ones, and hidden dimensions will become visible.
Performance at the opening, Friday September 12.
During the opening, Peter Callesen will make his performance Wishing Chair. And in his church, Tjorg Beer will set off explosions in a performance titled Rohrkrepierer/kollateralschaden I-III.
Performance on Sat. Sep. 13. Peter Callesen s Wishing Chair will be available from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Performance on the Night of Culture, October 10 On the Night of Culture, the six artists will make a joint performance which in a fairly free interpretation takes as its starting point Hans Christian Andersen s singspiel of 1829, Kjrlighed paa Nicolai Taarn ( Love at Nicolai Tower ).
The exhibition is part af the cultural collaboration Hamburg to Copenhagen 2003 and is supported by The Danish Ministry of Culture, Kulturbehrde Hamburg, The Danish Cultural Institute and The Triangle Region Denmark. The exhibition has been arranged by Elisabeth Delin Hansen, director of Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, and visual artist Peter Callesen. A catalogue, produced by the participating artists, is expected on October 1. Further information on t: (+45) 33 93 16 26
Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center
Nikolaj Plads 10DK1067 Copenhagen
phone +45 3393 1626 fax: + 45 3332 1574
Open daily from 12 am - 5 pm