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Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl
Arrested Time – Video and Sound
May 15 to September 13, 2015
Local press conference:
Local opening:
Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 2pm
Thursday, May 14, 2015, 12pm
On the one hand the name Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten (“glass-box”) Marl describes
the building – a glass-enclosed space within the museum – whilst, on the other, it defines
the thematic concept of the museum, namely openness and transparency. Since 1984,
the Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten has dedicated itself to the presentation of the
emerging art genre video and sound; as host to a video art prize and since 2002 as
organiser of the German Sound Art Award, which since 2013 has now been combined
with an exhibition under the aegis of the Marler Media Art Awards. As a venue of the
CHINA 8 exhibition, it is now showing selected narrative and documentary works from
within this genre. The act of documentation is, of course, never neutral. Addressing social
phenomena, the themes of the videos are highly diverse, with many focusing on the rapid
transformation of daily life, be it the working environment or in the private sphere. For
whilst benefiting from China's economic success, the younger generation is now
grappling with the question of which political, social and moral values still hold true.
Although direct political opposition is eschewed, the intense, sometimes even poetic,
examination in many of their works can be read as a critical commentary on their modern
lifestyles.
The artist Yang Zhenzhong dedicates himself in his video work “Exam” to the notion of
functioning without understanding. Composed with documentary-like precision, Yi Lian's
night shots evoke a surreal, dream-like ambience and with his work “Undercurrent” he
blurs the boundaries between dream and nightmare. Zhyang Peili belongs to the most
important current generation of artists in China and in Marl works drawn from across his
various creative phases are on show, in which through repetition he allows daily events to
unfold ad absurdum, or criticises the hollow plaudits bestowed by the political and social
system. Influenced by the pop culture and his strong personal conviction that music can
serve as the driver of political change, Zhang Ding presents a machine-like, futuristic
sound sculpture, which, whilst sounding like a fusion of a resonator and full-bodied loudspeakers, also conjure a meditative ambience with more soothing frequencies. On show
in Marl are a total of 14 positions - snap shots, documents of time arrested.
With works by:
Chen Xiaoyun, Fang Lu, Hung Keung, Kan Xuan, Li Ming, Shen Chaofang, Song Dong,
Wang Gongxin, Yang Fudong, Yang Yongliang, Yang Zhenzhong, Yi Lian, Zhang Ding,
Zhang Peili
Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl
Creiler Platz, Rathaus
45768 Marl
www.skulpturenmuseum-glaskasten-marl.de
Opening hours
Tuesday - Sunday 11am – 5pm
Thursdays until 8pm
Closed Mondays
Admission free