Is anybody in the world still using music- or video tapes? Actually no; and maybe that is because Gregor Hildebrandt is working with all the leftovers... The beauty of his works is striking even though the crucial information of the material is invisible or has fallen silent forever. All just a memory; almost as an old-fashioned and out-of order memory floppy. Gregor (born in 1974) makes great use of pre-recorded cassette tapes as material in his pictures and installations. The tapes are applied directly onto canvases and photographic prints and in room-sized installations. But you will also find vinyl records shaped into bowls or videotapes put together to form a large floor-to-ceiling wall. Ludwig Seyfarth writes about his work: “Although apparently similar to American abstraction, the differences to the abstract-expressive and minimalistic “classics” of the 1950s to the 1970s, are, however, unmistakable and begin with the use of “found footage” instead of traditional oil colour. […] The tapes that Hildebrandt uses contain pieces of music that, although they can no longer be heard, are referenced by the image titles and reflect Hildebrandt’s preferred musical genres [of a whole generation's preference; we'd like to add]. Punk and rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s like The Cure, Bauhaus and Einstürzende Neubauten are found alongside a representative of New music such as Arvo Pärt.” What do you wanna hear today? Well, we are very happy to discuss that with Gregor directly.
Aleksander Cigale is - not only because he is an artist himself - an expert in art productions but he also worked at studio Anselm Reyle for quite some time. We invited Aleks to share his knowledge about the planning and creative process of art projects and exhibitions. This tour will provide insights in the variety of artist studios and workshops and probably you will find some major works in progress along your way…
Week 2 / Lecture (engl.) – Kolja Reichert
It is our great pleasure to announce Kolja Reichert’s lecture at ACSA 2014. We cannot wait to learn more about his critical research on the situation of artistic production and representation today – analyzed in the wide economic, infrastructural, cultural and social context of today’s art world. Kolja was born in 1982. Studied philosophy and literature at Freie Universität Berlin. He writes intensely on contemporary art, music, architecture, culture economy and travels for major German dailies and weeklies. And last but not least he won the prize for art criticism from Arbeitskreis Deutscher Kunstvereine and Art Cologne in 2012; and that will sure not be the last one. Looking forward to controversial thoughts and discussion!
Uta Grosenick is responsible for some of the most important books on contemporary art! Born in 1960 she studied art history and literature, worked as organizer and curator of exhibitions. She is the editor of such internationally distributed books as Art at the Turn of the Millennium, Women Artists, Art Now, International Art Galleries: Post-War to Post-Millennium and Art Now Vol 2.. That means she knows everything about the art market, art production, trends and developments in the art world. Thus, everything we are very keen to hear more about…