Posted on December 24, 2008
Embedded Art - Art in the Name of Security
EMBEDDED ART is an interdisciplinary exhibition focussing on the societal shifts caused by the universal desire for security
Curated by Olaf Arndt, Moritz von Rappard, Janneke Schönenbach, Cecilia Wee
24 January - 22 March 2009
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
Tues – Sun, 11:00 – 20:00
€ 6, concs € 4, free for under 18s
www.embeddedart.org
The Exhibition
In 2009, the first exhibition of the year at Berlin’s Akademie der Künste will be devoted to a topical, highly political theme. EMBEDDED ART looks at the threats to unrestricted public life following the 9/11 attacks and the attacks in Madrid, Moscow and London. The curators Olaf Arndt, Moritz von Rappard, Janneke Schönenbach and Cecilia Wee have commissioned international artists to respond to the current situation. EMBEDDED ART will only show works realised on location against a background of research into future security. The diverse works focus on the conflicting fields of terrorism and terror, security and control. EMBEDDED ART is the working principle, ‘art in the name of security’ is the theme of the exhibition.
With 28 commissioned projects, the exhibition in the Akademie’s building at Pariser Platz highlights many of the pertinent issues relating to security, and offers fascinating insights into current trends in contemporary art practice, featuring artists from Germany, Great Britain, Japan, South Africa, Italy and Slovenia showing visual art, video art, media art, photography, and sound art. For instance, video artists Korpys & Löffler film a Rhineland-Palatinate-police riot squad workshop, where officers are instructed in the use of the TASER electronic control device. Photographer Christina Zück travels to Karachi, where she records the ‘psycho-geography’ of a site on the ‘axis of evil’, collaborating with the Pakistani photo-journalist Zahid Hussein. British dubstep pioneer Steve Goodman (aka Kode 9) in collaboration with sound artist Toby Heys illustrate future sonic weaponry with their installation ‘Unsound’. Peter Kennard mounts a 20-metre-wide collage exploring command centres - ‘War Rooms’.
Presentation concept
As well as using the five historic exhibition halls in the Akademie, visitors to EMBEDDED ART will - for the first time - be able to see the four-storey hi-tech underground bunker built to store the Akademie’s collection. ‘For security reasons’, original art pieces will be accommodated in the secure part of the building, projections of the originals will be shown in the main exhibition spaces, using state-of-the-art surveillance camera technology.
Contributing Artists
Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin; Alexander Krohn; Andreas Strauss; Angelika Schneider von Maydell; BBM - Beobachter der Bediener von Maschinen; Cameron Bobro; Cecilia Wee; Christina Zück & Zahid Hussein; Florian Wuest; Fons Hickmann; Georg Schmalhofer; Gunter Rambow; Hans-Werner Kroesinger; Heidi Specker; Jacques Coetzer; Jonathan Barnbrook; Jörg Möller; Jörn Buttelmann; Kalle Laar; Ken Hollings & Rathna Ramanathan; Keven McAlester; Klaus Staeck & REMOTEWORDS; Korpys / Löffler; Lars Vaupel; Lillevan & Zaji Chalem; Lutz Westermann & Peter Halasz (†); Monika Schedler; Moritz ®; Neville Brody; Oliver Kunkel; Omar Vulpinari; Paul B Davis & Gershon Kingsley; Peter Kennard & Cat Picton Phillipps; Richard DeDomenici; Sally Gutierrez; Simon Tyszko; Steve Goodman aka Kode9 & Toby Heys; Thomas Heise; Timm Ulrichs; U.R.A. / FILOART; Valentinas Klimasauskas; Vassilios Georgiadis; Yuko Shimizu; Zsolt Barat.
Associated Events
EMBEDDED ART will be accompanied by events, guided tours, debates and movie screenings. Each Friday, artists and guest speakers will discuss the exhibition in the temporary bar ‘Bar zur inneren Sicherheit’ on the top floor of the Akademie, overlooking Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate.
Publication
A catalogue published by Argo Books, including specially commissioned essays, will accompany the exhibition.