Animal perspectives

In the current Darwin year, the Georg-Kolbe-Museum is showing two exhibition projects that deal with the animal as the subject of sculpture. In the old building of the museum, Georg-Kolbe’s former studio, sculptures and installations by contemporary artists will be on display under the title “Animal Perspectives”.

The exhibition approaches the animal in contemporary sculpture from different angles, all of which appeal to the viewer’s senses in a special way and challenge familiar conventions of perception. Despite all the changes to which our perspective on animals is subjected, one of the most original facts in the animal-human relationship remains unchanged: We look at animals and animals look back. This cross-genre visual relationship is also constantly reflected anew in the arts, particularly in sculpture. Eye to eye with often life-size and partly prepared animal figures, the viewer can rethink his own view of the animal.

At the same time, a “bestiary” with animal sculptures from the 20th century is being set up in the museum’s new building.

Animal art roams beyond the walls of the Georg-Kolbe-Museum. Part of the show will be on display in the Souterrain project space in the Sophie-Gips-Höfe in Berlin-Mitte. If you want to see everything, you have to move with the herd and change your point of view in a geographical sense. “Tierperspektiven” is cooperating with another exhibition venue, the Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (NGBK) and the Arsenal cinema: the cooperation with the exhibition ‘Tier-Werden, Mensch-Werden’ at the NGBK in Berlin-Kreuzberg is based on conceptual and curatorial overlaps. Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V. is curating a film series in cooperation with “Tierperspektiven” and “Tier-Werden, Mensch-Werden”.

The supporting program for this networked animal project includes an international scientific symposium on 9 and 10 May, which will not only report on current trends in animal studies, humanities research into the cultural history of animals, but will also offer numerous artist talks. There will also be two video screenings in which rarely shown artists‘ videos on the theme of the exhibition will be shown. A catalog will be published to accompany the exhibition.

List of artists:
Edwina Ashton, Catherine Bell, Christian Boltanski, Chloe Brown, Wim Delvoye, Hugo Fortes, Anselmo Fox, Else Gabriel, Thomas Grünfeld, Susanne Lorenz, Katharina Moessinger, Benny Nero, Mariel Poppe, Bärbel Rothhaar, Ina Sangenstedt, Deborah Sengl, Susanne Starke
Curated by Jessica Ullrich, Friedrich Weltzien; co-conception: Antonia Ulrich

Animal Perspectives Part 2
Project space Souterrain (Hoffmann Collection)
May 29 – June 28, 2009
Sophie-Gips-Höfe, Sophienstraße 21, 10178 Berlin,
www.souterrain-berlin.de
Opening on May 29, 2009 at 7 pm
List of artists:
Annie Dunning, Volker Eichelmann, Anselmo Fox, Andrej Glusgold, Katharina Meldner, Katharina Moessinger, Julia Schlosser, Wolfgang Stiller
Curated by Jessica Ullrich, Friedrich Weltzien, Heike Fuhlbrügge; co-conception: Antonia Ulrich

In cooperation with the exhibition Tier-Werden, Mensch-Werden at the Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst NGBK,
Oranienstraße 25,
10999 Berlin,
www.ngbk.de
Opening May 8, 2009, 7 pm; duration: May 9 – June 14, 2009;
curated by Jessica Ullrich, Friedrich Weltzien, Kassandra Nakas, Antonia Ulrich, Séverine Marguin, Heike Fuhlbrügge.

A networked Berlin team of curators and authors (Jessica Ullrich, Friedrich Weltzien, Kassandra Nakas, Antonia Ulrich, Séverine Marguin, Heike Fuhlbrügge) developed a branched exhibition project in various constellations, which manifests itself at different locations in the city: the Georg-Kolbe-Museum, the NGBK, the project space Souterrain and in cooperation with the Arsenal cinema.
The Georg-Kolbe-Museum will primarily show three-dimensional, figurative works. Many of the participating artists‘ works represent an attempt to put themselves in the shoes of an animal or to see through the eyes of an animal. In this way, perceptual conventions of animal-human relationships are questioned in a fruitful way – perspectivistically.

A perspective arises from the combination of gaze and point of view. Animals are able to adopt perspectives that are usually hidden from us humans. The frog and bird’s eye view are just two examples of this, which have even made it into our everyday language. This exhibition, which broadens our horizons in the truest sense of the word, is dedicated to animal perspectives in contemporary visual art. But how do animals look? In the exhibition, live bees and snails teach us a thing or two about them, wild birds are lured into the museum garden to enjoy art – but stuffed specimens and mythical creatures also want to show visitors their own perspectives. Eye to eye with often life-size and partly taxidermied animal sculptures by Wim Delvoye, Thomas Grünfeld or Deborah Sengl, among others, viewers can rethink their own views of animals.
And only those who change their perspective can also adopt a new point of view. Last but not least, viewers are invited to adopt and vary their very own – perhaps forward-looking – perspective on animal-human relationships.

The second part of “Animal Perspectives” in the Souterrain project space of the Hoffmann Collection approaches the animal in contemporary sculpture and installation art from different angles. “Becoming Animal Becoming Human” at the NGBK focuses on the indistinguishable zone between humans and animals and includes larger-scale groups of works by international media artists.