30 years after the peaceful revolution, the leipzig museum of fine arts (mdbk) deals with the turnaround in a rough exhibition.
"Point of no return. Wende und umbruch in der ostdeutschen kunst" (turnaround and upheaval in east german art) shows more than 300 works of all genres by 106 artists on about 2000 square meters. The work reflects the time before the fall of the wall. The upheaval itself and the redefinition of art afterwards are also presented.
"In many cases, the artists anticipated the upheaval," said paul kaiser, director of the dresden institute for cultural studies, on monday. Kaiser curated the show together with christoph tannert, director of the kunstlerhaus bethanien in berlin, and alfred weidinger, director of the leipzig museum. The result is a comprehensive, courageous show that reflects the uncertainty and fear of the upheaval.
"What you see in this exhibition is pain," weidinger said before the planned opening of the exhibition on monday. "Maybe it takes 30 years to gain distance and then deal with the artists," he added.
The paintings and sculptures on display fit into rooms entitled "other ways", "turning loop" or "quo vadis". "Where to?"Petra flemming called her picture from 1987, on which a dreary path forks. In via lewandowsky’s "berliner zimmer" a living room is built up, which is cut through. A crack runs through the parlor. Willi sitte, on the other hand, criticizes the working class in "erdgeister," which in his opinion uncritically adopted capitalism. In her cycle of passages, exhibited for the first time, the leipzig painter doris ziegler gives the time of upheaval a cold, gray face of disorientation.
"This exhibition is a necessity," said weidinger. For the art of the turnaround period has hardly been processed so far. Now there is an opportunity to talk to artists who experienced the upheaval.
The exhibition shows works by artists who had already left for the west before the fall of the wall, as well as those by reformers and those more in tune with the state. Also works of young artists, who are less influenced by socialist ideology, will be exhibited. The works were built in the period from the 1970s to the present day. The exhibition should last until 3. November will be on display.