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Vienna exhibition probes reality and staging in art
🇦🇹 Austria /Culture & Society

Vienna exhibition probes reality and staging in art

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • An exhibition at Vienna's "Space for Contemporary Art" showcases the work of conceptual artist Thomas Demand, exploring themes of reality, staging, and manipulation in photography.
  • The exhibition, titled "Passers-by between Stones," features works by Demand and other artists, examining human interaction with architecture and the authenticity of images.
  • Demand's artistic process involves building paper and cardboard models of famous media photos and then re-photographing them, creating an unsettling artificiality.

An exhibition at Vienna's "Space for Contemporary Art" challenges viewers with speculative uncertainty, moving beyond political slogans to provoke thought on self-manipulation and the perception of photographs. The show, "Passers-by between Stones," is curated by Thomas Demand, a prominent German conceptual artist known for his work with paper and cardboard models of iconic media images.

A cheerful group photo from a concentration camp? Isn't one smiling outrageously content? Is the second from the left perhaps licking an ice cream?

— Article textDescribing a photograph displayed at the exhibition.

Demand's own artistic method involves meticulously reconstructing famous photographs, such as Milosevic's podium or the Oval Office, as full-scale models. He then re-photographs these creations, rendering them eerily artificial and devoid of human presence. While none of his direct works are displayed, the exhibition integrates pieces by fellow artists, sourced from archives and estates, into a cohesive installation that offers a glimpse into Demand's artistic mind.

One of the cleverest German conceptual artists of his generation, the object artist and photographer Thomas Demand, born in Munich in 1964, devised this setting here; one notices he has long been occupied with this theme.

— Article textIntroducing Thomas Demand and his involvement with the exhibition's themes.

The exhibition's title, translated from French, hints at its focus on people within architectural spaces and the persistent question of authenticity: "real or not real?" The display begins with a seemingly cheerful group photo from a concentration camp, a piece originally given to Demand by Israeli artist Omer Fast. This photograph, taken during the filming of Spielberg's "Schindler's List" on sets built near the actual location, raises questions about the moral obligation of actors portraying victims to appear carefree off-camera.

Passers-by between Stones

— Article textThe translated title of the exhibition.

Despite the profound themes, the accompanying informational texts, presented on metal stands, offer minimal concrete details about the origins of the works. Instead, they focus on abstract concepts like the "moral obligation" of extras. The exhibition, however, succeeds in creating an immersive experience, making visitors feel as though they are navigating the artist's thought process, questioning the very nature of what they see.

Because it is ultimately also about people in relation to architectures, i.e. people in rooms, and the question is always: real or not real?

— Article textExplaining the central theme of the exhibition.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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