Πρόκειται για μία απίθανη έκθεση σύγχρονης τέχνης που ξεκίνησε από την Tate Modern του Λονδίνου και πλέον βρίσκεται στην Kunsthalle στο Αμβούργο μέχρι τις 9 Μαϊου. Οι πιο γνωστοί εκπρόσωποι της pop art και όχι μόνο, από τον Andy Warhol και τον Keith Haring μέχρι τον Jeff Koons και τον Damien Hirst, συγκεντρώνονται σε μία έκθεση που σκοπό έχει να αναδείξει το πώς οι συγκεκριμένοι καλλιτέχνες χρησιμοποίησαν τα media και τον καταναλωτισμό για να δημιουργήσουν το δικό τους προσωπικό “brand”. Από το site της έκθεσης:
Pop Life brings together spectacular works by some of the leading artists of the last forty years. The common characteristic of the art of Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, among others, is that it consciously and wholeheartedly embraces commerce and the mass media. In response to our intensely commercialised society, these artists have staged not only their art but also their own image. Often this involves performing a variety of roles – as an artist, gallerist, art dealer, forger, auctioneer and/or celebrity.
The exhibition opens with a focussed look at Andy Warhol, an iconic figure who appeared in TV adverts, founded “Interview” magazine, photographed the rich and famous and hung out with New York’s stars and starlets. He even began quoting himself in his works from around 1968. Warhol’s famously provocative claim that good business is the best art has been embraced by many artists from the younger generation, including Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Martin Kippenberger, the Young British Artists, Maurizio Cattelan, Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami.
The flagrant mingling of art and commerce is commonly regarded as a ‘betrayal’ of the ideals associated with modern art. Pop Life not only gives viewers the chance to make up their own minds about this form of commodification and commercialisation – a characteristic feature of today’s world – it also shows how the very openness of the artists’ approach to the subject has generated some outstanding artworks that oscillate between affirmation and criticism.
Μην τη χάσετε αν επισκεφτείτε το Αμβούργο!
