Dokumentiert wird - in Texten, Fotos und Entwürfen - die für die Saison 1998/1999 gezeigte Gestaltung des Eisernen Vorhangs in der Wiener Staatsoper durch Kara Walker. Das Buch entstand in enger Zusammenarbeit mit der Künstlerin bzw. als Künstlerbuch.
What from far may seem a charming fairytale illustration or a blown-up version of the 18th-century silhouette, is in fact much darker and deeper. Kara Walker's oeuvre of black cut-paper silhouette wallworks creates vivid and shocking evocations, rooted in the most egregious stereotypes, of an antebellum world that comments on the system of slavery and its continuing legacy in the American consciousness. Arguably the most controversial young African-American artist working today, Walker explores issues of personal identity, racism, and social injustice, forcing the viewer to confront stereotypes that are often ignored, confirmed anew, and reinforced. This volume includes a selection of her silhouette works--on both black and grey walls, and with light projections--and drawings. Essays by Edna Moshenson and Marion Ackermann.Foreword by Dr. Ariane Grigoteit and Friedhelm Hütte. Hardcover, 8.5 x 11.75 in.,59 color, 9 b/w illustrations
A Living Museum Space - The Vienna State Opera Safety Curtain
This volume documents the long-term initiative 'Safety Curtain' of Museum in progress, a project that is unique in the world. The exhibition series in the Vienna State Opera has represented a symbolic interface between performance and visual arts since 1998. It also creates a link between thorny historical questions and contemporary ways to address them. Beyond the actual curtain images that have originated over the years an associative and sensuous view to further related works of the participating artists in several different media forms is presented. The art project 'Safety Curtain', because of its exceptional quality, its year-long existence and its unusual dimension of 175 m² is singular and enables a distinctive perspective of art history of the past twenty years.