specific aspect of performative sculpture. The common factor shared by the
different presentations is that the artist’s body is integrated in the sculpture,
video or photographic work. The exhibition covers a variety of approaches
ranging from sculptural performance to interactive sculpture.
From the works of various artists in the 1960s and 70s (Bruce Nauman, Franz
West, Helena Almeida, Valie Export), we are familiar with videos and photo series
in which the artists themselves are visible, and where the artwork resembles
more of a sculpture than a self-portrait. The artist enacts a sculpture, merging
with the medium or appearing as a phenomenon exploring the dimension of
space, producing or destroying his or her sculptures in front of a video (or still)
camera.
The exhibition "Skulpturale Handlungen" aims to investigate the latest
developments in the evolution of this concept. The wealth of new examples,
produced mainly by young artists, is evidence that this type of analytical
questioning with respect to a sculptural presence and the creative sculptural
process itself has lost none of its contemporary relevance. As in the work of their
predecessors, the features that characterise this type of work are their
experimental nature and a multifaceted exploration of the farthest limits of the
interfaces between action, performance and sculpture. But there is also a striking
new feature in that, instead of being a formal exercise devoted mainly to the
search for new forms of expression, the art form now reveals a particular interest
in the actual content, the sensory perception of the creative process of sculpture.
By incorporating the media of photography and video, it becomes possible to
develop new forms of visual language that allow memory and metaphor to flow
into the images, generating a sense of mystery or crudely distorting the art of
sculpture and not least the role of the artist.
Klaipeda Cultural Communication Center, Lithuania
BBK Müchen und Oberbayern e.V., Germany