translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
150713: Freiraum/quartier 21 - Faceless part 1
Freiraum/quartier 21
Faceless part 1
04.07.2013 – 01.09.2013
Hide to be found
By Stanislaus Medan
If four openings of contemporary art shows take place on the same day the concurrency justifies a comparison. “Faceless”, the exhibition in the quartier 21, is remarkable because it presents more faces – even if they are veiled - than all of the other exhibitions combined. The art works deal with the paradox that despite people trying to avoid being seen, they – at the same time - want to be recognised.
As the main source of personal identity faces form the central theme of the exhibition. The most surprising phenomenon is that the majority of the artists rob the faces of their recognition value.
For this exhibition, curator Bogomir Doringer focussed on 9/11 and the
‘surveillance era’ that followed. Surveillance cameras, which recognise people by their face, are an explanation why this show concentrates on superimposed and veiled faces.
And this association can only be appreciated if the only work, which is not presented in the exhibition but in the passageway next to the entrance, is understood as the beginning of a common thread that permeates the entire exhibition: the cameras are out of order but are still able to fulfil their function as generators of anxiety. Behind every corner, behind every silhouette one presumes a face, recalled in one’s imagination – an occupation that demands cognitive interaction and makes the exhibition worthwhile seeing.
Freiraum / quartier 21
1070 Vienna, Museumsplatz 1
http://www.quartier21.at
Opening hours: Tue – Sun 13 – 19 hours
150713
MQ Freiraum
1070 Wien, Museumsplatz 1
https://www.mqw.at/mqfreiraum
Öffnungszeiten: Di-So 10-18 h
MQ Freiraum
1070 Wien, Museumsplatz 1
https://www.mqw.at/mqfreiraum
Öffnungszeiten: Di-So 10-18 h