In early March 2016 the art concept “flüchtig” (meaning both “fleeting/transient” and “fleeing/in flight”) was submitted for the art prize of the City of Limburg. This prize has been awarded every two years since 1996 by the City of Limburg, jointly with the Förderkreis Bildende Kunst Limburg e.V. (the Limburg association for promoting visual arts), supported by the savings bank Kreissparkasse Limburg. The work of the prize-winner is exhibited in the Kunstsammlungen Limburg (municipal art collections). The theme of the competition was “flüchtig”. In accordance, the concept that was submitted relates precisely to the rooms of the exhibition building.
surroundings in
the exhibition house
of the
Kunstsammlungen
Limburg
16-03-001
surroundings in
the exhibition house
of the
Kunstsammlungen
Limburg
16-03-002
of the sequence
of surfaces
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of the lobby
with access
to the gallery
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of the lobby
with access
to the gallery,
detail
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of the lobby
with access
to the gallery,
detail
16-03-006
of the lobby
16-03-007
of the lobby,
detail
16-03-008
of the lobby,
detail
16-03-009
of the adjacent hall
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of the adjacent hall,
detail
16-03-011
of the adjacent hall,
detail
16-03-012
of the adjacent hall,
detail
16-03-013
of the adjacent hall,
detail
16-03-014
of the adjacent hall
16-03-015
of the adjacent hall,
detail
(photomontage)
16-03-016
of the lobby, detail
(photomontage)
16-03-017
upper floor
(photomontage)
16-03-018
The concept:
The given theme, “flüchtig”, is at the same time the title for the concept of the installation. Today this term gives rise to different associations than two years ago. We can no longer escape information about the flow of refugees (“Flüchtlinge” in German). The aim of the concept is that a visual metaphor for fleeing or flight creates an awareness that transcends daily events. We are confronted with the topos of the individual and the mass, of dependence and destiny, and with the fact that dynamic movement and transience are two mutually determinant sides of one coin. We are forced to realise how life truly is transient for all of us.
The installation:
The image of a movement of fleeing covers the walls of the exhibition building in every room. This movement consists of separate, individual elements, pieces of paper measuring 10 x 30 cm, each of which is painted in a different colour. Heightened density of colour at different points gives rise to a dramaturgy of colour, expressed in the lobby through the dominance of blue and purple, in the downstairs room through the dominance of green, and upstairs through the dominance of red. The pieces of paper are attached with a distance to the wall by adhesive spacers, so that they appear to float in front of the wall. They accompany and lead the beholder through the whole building.
The activities:
During the exhibition, guided tours with comments by the artist are planned. At the exhibition closing, visitors are invited to take possession. They can take individual elements from the wall and keep them. In doing this, they take a physical step to awareness. They grasp an experience with their hands. More than that: they take in and harbour one or more fleeting elements. The overall image of the movements of flight thus becomes fragmentary and visualises the phenomenon of dissolution.