translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
210513: Palais Kinsky - Escape the golden cage
Palais Kinsky
Escape the golden cage
16.05.2013 – 31.05.2013
The space makes the art
By Stanislaus Medan
It is a well-known aspect of urban art that it is exploited by consumer culture and is thereby estranged. The art affair “Escape the golden cage” simply turns this imbalance around and actively takes up the presentation form of hanging and positioning, which, in general, is linked to classic fine arts.
This – in its original perspective unorthodox form of presentation - transfers urban art into an unusual realm whereby it loses its fundamental nature of being directly tied to the urban and materialistic.
Extracted from its natural environment, which until now initiated new observer roles, in which surprise and coincidence played a much greater role as this would ever be possible in a museum’s environment, the possibilities of these observer roles in the exhibition situation are reduced to the “object in itself”. As the ideas of fleetingness, subversion and anarchy are abandoned, these objects develop into objects that are easy to sell on the art market. Some artists approve of these positions to such an extent, that it clearly becomes apparent in the choice of their design media, e.g. in the acrylic and pastel paintings on canvas by “Mode 2”. Yet others, such as Vermibus, fail: his otherwise meaningful works - once they have been reduced to A3-size -
are unable to offer the mediating image of their impressive presence in public space,
This is also why the wit in Brad Downey’s works is lost - they are extracted from the randomness and surprise-evoking urban space and reduced to their art status. Dan Witz’s work “John Dyptich” is the only piece of art able to challenge the “searching eye” in an exhibition and succeeds in visualising the possibilities of the unexpected even within a set space of expectancy. Otherwise “Escape the golden cage” is an exhibition that doesn’t present urban art but rather trashy and contemporary museum art – both in the traditional and already somewhat worn sense.
Palais Kinsky
1010 Vienna, Freyung 4
email: info@escape-goldencage.com
http://www.escape-goldencage.com
210513
Palais Kinsky
1010 Wien, Freyung 4
Email: info@escape-goldencage.com
http://www.escape-goldencage.com/
Palais Kinsky
1010 Wien, Freyung 4
Email: info@escape-goldencage.com
http://www.escape-goldencage.com/