8990 WENDEKUNST ERLEBEN
May 2 – May 10, 2015
Mon-Fri: 5pm-2pm
Sat & Sun: 14-20 h
Vernissage on May 2, 7 pm
“Anyone who has been creatively active in this
country, whether critically active or purely
aesthetic, was in danger of being abused.
danger of being abused – like every conspicuous
conspicuous achievement, scientific, technical
scientific, technical, and sporting achievements.
Only by doing nothing or by going away
one could have avoided this.
But then, who would have worked for change in the country?
change?”
[W. Mattheuer, October 10, 1990].
How did life and artistic creation change for artists in the former GDR as a result of the fall of communism in 1989/90? What influence did this exciting time have on the artistic work and the production conditions of the artists? Did the demise of the socialist social experiment also change the artists’ aesthetic forms of expression, or were they essentially unaffected by the disruptions and irritations of the time?
These questions were investigated by students of art education in a seminar on the work and lives of selected artists of the former GDR. In order to find answers, the students not only undertook extensive literature and image research, but also entered into an intensive dialogue with some of the artists. The results of this research are now being presented to an interested public in the form of this exhibition with text and interview excerpts about the artists, selected works, and their own artistic works. The students would like to provide young people in particular with a true-to-life and reflective approach to the artworks of artists from the former GDR before and after the fall of the Wall. To ensure this, the students developed their own mediation concepts as well as offers for workshops that will be held during the exhibition.