Leopold Kessler
16 Nov 2012 - 12 Jan 2013
LEOPOLD KESSLER
Collages and Monument
16 November 2012 - 12 January 2013
The exhibition "Collages and Monument" will open at the Galerie Andreas Huber on November 15, 2012. It will show new works by Leopold Kessler (born 1976, lives and works in Vienna). He is primarily known for his interventions in public space, small acts of destruction or restitution, invisible or unnoticed interferences, and suggestions for how to use urban space and its resources.
The newly created works are collages and a sculpture located in the middle of the exhibition. This 2x2x2 meter object made of Styrofoam and a hard layer of plastic is an enlarged, perfect set of teeth, which Kessler describes as a monument. Monuments, as manifestations of ideas considered relevant in a society, are eminently suitable for analyzing and questioning reigning ideologies and systems of classification. With this "Monument of Dental Health," Kessler transports the otherwise private set of teeth into the public, making reference to the great importance attached to good teeth in the western world. A similar set of teeth, likewise based on the moldings that orthodontists make of their patients, can also be found in one of the collages.
In this case, however, it is a molding made of a real, existing patient, and therefore not a perfect set of teeth. In front of the imperfect teeth, Kessler positions three confident people, looking on self-assuredly. The scene is reminiscent of tourists who pose in front of some significant sight, and at the same time represents stereotypical representatives of the successful, self-disciplined people of the present time, for whom the "smile of battle" is part of their everyday life. The photos of the figures, like the photos in the other collages, are taken from the internet. Kessler makes use of stock images here, prefabricated photos without any context, which can be obtained online–usually for commercial purposes. They are guaranteed to deliver the right images on the right topic.
Kessler also reaches into the pool of stock images for the collages "Pointing People," using his own search term as the title. Groups of figures enthusiastically point to elaborately reconstructed lofts. The inequality in society which has become manifest in these lofts is not answered with any call for class struggle. On the contrary. The "Pointing People" are, without exception, full of affirmation and admiration for the luxury goods. A reaction that, in the time of economic crisis and movements like Occupy, is as astonishing as the self-evidence with which "those who live above" send out the signal "prosperity." Kessler challenges the viewers to position themselves in relation to the anticipated reaction of unabated agreement.
In the collages "Before" and "After," Kessler also shows that protest is only one of many current movements. In these images, the imperative to health, slimness, fitness, and the reigning will to self-improvement reaches an almost unbearable degree. Kessler let Google gather images of dieting successes. He describes the search engine as a "general filter of the current time." Making critical use of this major corporation is a deliberate extension of observing and questioning society, the ways it functions, and its mechanisms of control. In contrast to other works of his, he does not directly interfere in public space, but observes and analyzes current phenomena. In doing so, Kessler not only carefully examines the relation between individual and society, private and public, but he also targets the diverse possibilities of manipulating knowledge and information.
Collages and Monument
16 November 2012 - 12 January 2013
The exhibition "Collages and Monument" will open at the Galerie Andreas Huber on November 15, 2012. It will show new works by Leopold Kessler (born 1976, lives and works in Vienna). He is primarily known for his interventions in public space, small acts of destruction or restitution, invisible or unnoticed interferences, and suggestions for how to use urban space and its resources.
The newly created works are collages and a sculpture located in the middle of the exhibition. This 2x2x2 meter object made of Styrofoam and a hard layer of plastic is an enlarged, perfect set of teeth, which Kessler describes as a monument. Monuments, as manifestations of ideas considered relevant in a society, are eminently suitable for analyzing and questioning reigning ideologies and systems of classification. With this "Monument of Dental Health," Kessler transports the otherwise private set of teeth into the public, making reference to the great importance attached to good teeth in the western world. A similar set of teeth, likewise based on the moldings that orthodontists make of their patients, can also be found in one of the collages.
In this case, however, it is a molding made of a real, existing patient, and therefore not a perfect set of teeth. In front of the imperfect teeth, Kessler positions three confident people, looking on self-assuredly. The scene is reminiscent of tourists who pose in front of some significant sight, and at the same time represents stereotypical representatives of the successful, self-disciplined people of the present time, for whom the "smile of battle" is part of their everyday life. The photos of the figures, like the photos in the other collages, are taken from the internet. Kessler makes use of stock images here, prefabricated photos without any context, which can be obtained online–usually for commercial purposes. They are guaranteed to deliver the right images on the right topic.
Kessler also reaches into the pool of stock images for the collages "Pointing People," using his own search term as the title. Groups of figures enthusiastically point to elaborately reconstructed lofts. The inequality in society which has become manifest in these lofts is not answered with any call for class struggle. On the contrary. The "Pointing People" are, without exception, full of affirmation and admiration for the luxury goods. A reaction that, in the time of economic crisis and movements like Occupy, is as astonishing as the self-evidence with which "those who live above" send out the signal "prosperity." Kessler challenges the viewers to position themselves in relation to the anticipated reaction of unabated agreement.
In the collages "Before" and "After," Kessler also shows that protest is only one of many current movements. In these images, the imperative to health, slimness, fitness, and the reigning will to self-improvement reaches an almost unbearable degree. Kessler let Google gather images of dieting successes. He describes the search engine as a "general filter of the current time." Making critical use of this major corporation is a deliberate extension of observing and questioning society, the ways it functions, and its mechanisms of control. In contrast to other works of his, he does not directly interfere in public space, but observes and analyzes current phenomena. In doing so, Kessler not only carefully examines the relation between individual and society, private and public, but he also targets the diverse possibilities of manipulating knowledge and information.