Kunst als Segen
Art as Blessing
Helen Acosta • Ervil Jovković • Jörg Lange • Hildegard Skowasch •
Matthias Schamp • Stoll & Wachall
June 27 to July 26, 2015
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Friday, June 26, 2015, 7:00 PM Opening and start of the art lottery
Sunday, July 27, 2014, 7:30 PM Closing event with artist talk and drawing of the art lottery
Art as Blessing – an exhibition as part of the art and culture festival "48 Stunden Neukölln" (S.O.S. Art Saves the World)
With all the definitions surrounding the word "save," one cannot help but think of existential experiences such as vulnerability and healing, or even redemption. A blessing is also a religious ritual through which one can gain access to divine power – whatever that may be. The sign of the cross, laying on of hands, and sprinkling with holy water are well-known forms in Christianity that the artists in this exhibition also engage with. But what can a religious symbol mean when used in an artistic context? Contemporary artists translate religious sign systems into their secular language, thereby reflecting the religious foundation of our culture. There is an increasing tendency to infuse art with spiritual power. Just think of Marina Abramovic's recent performance "512 Hours," where viewers are meant to reach a quasi-religious concentration and immersion with the artist in an empty room. Meaning and blessing are sought; can they also be found in art? This certainly does not happen when art is placed on a pedestal, elevated above any criticism or reflection. Instead, it should enable experiences and judgments.
Helen Acosta presents a blessing machine or benediction device "for every household." By pressing a button, a mechanism is triggered that projects a white light beam in the shape of a cross onto the user's forehead, first from top to bottom, then from left to right, thereby blessing them. The background of this invention is a custom from her home in Gran Canaria, where people are blessed for protection and empowered before leaving the house.
Ervil Jovković uses hand symbols from Muslim, Christian, and Jewish folk beliefs in his series YAD (Hebrew: hand). He dedicates a line of ten Polaroids to each of these three Abrahamic religions in his three-row image series. Some of these original Polaroids are enhanced using screen printing techniques. He incorporates symbols from the Muslim Hamsa (Arabic: five), the mano poderosa (Spanish: powerful hand) from Christian Mexico, and the hand of Miriam from Judaism. Thus, symbol and concrete image, modern and traditional image-making processes, unique and multiple intertwine. The Polaroids become individual protective cards, similar to the saint or blessing cards of folk belief.
In his work SPEICHER, he uses a documentary photo of a holy water tank from the prayer site "Maria zum Sieg" in Wigratzbad as the backdrop for his installation. This brings to the observer's attention the real power that such a spiritual place can hold for its followers, even if an outsider perceives it as a curiosity.
Jörg Lange is inspired by an aphorism from Hippocrates: During the exhibition, he allows two prayer candles to burn "in competition." One candle bears the golden inscription VITA BREVIS (life is short), while the other reads ARS LONGA (art is long). It will become evident which of the two maxims is confirmed by the flames or dissolves into smoke before the other.
Hildegard Skowasch presents text-images made from colored glazed ceramics. She draws from well-known phrases and word sequences that she wishes to highlight in a special way. The curated combination of two prayer formulas in the exhibition reveals the artist's subtle wit.
Matthias Schamp engages visitors with the phenomenon of the "selfie" and exaggerates this in his offering of self-sanctification: Visitors can photograph themselves in front of a golden halo. His artwork (made from golden-yellow fried fries) is no longer for contemplation but serves as a backdrop for self-staging.
The artist duo Stoll & Wachall reflects in a poetically experimental visual language on the question of human identity in an over-medialized society. In the video installation "WELTSCHMERZ made in Germany," the artists position themselves as service providers for the fading feeling of world-weariness, which is shaped by the burden of the earthly and the accompanying longing for redemption.
Curated by Susann Kramer and René Moritz