Kunsthaus Graz

media.art.collecting

16 Jun 2012 - 02 Jun 2013

Frank und Laura Cavestani
A Study in Body Music, 1972
Foto: Universalmuseum Joanneum
MEDIA.ART.COLLECTING
Perspectives of a collection
Curators: Günther Holler-Schuster, Katrin Bucher Trantow, Katia Huemer
16 June 2012 - 2 June 2013

How does media art define itself in the course of an almost 40-year-old collection? What changes, what comes to form a whole, what was overlooked and where does it go from here?

Audiovisual Messages – the 1973 edition of the Trigon Biennal – placed a major emphasis on media art, putting local artists in direct relation to international developments. This exhibition marked the beginning of a dynamic that made Graz appear a special place for media art.
The exhibition media.art.collecting deals with collecting activities at the Neue Galerie in Graz in the area of media art, the essence of which becomes evident in the spectrum of exhibitions held over the past 40 years. Building on the 2009 exhibition Rewind/Fast Forward at the Neue Galerie Graz and its first-ever survey of the institution’s video art collection, the current exhibition media.art.collecting. Perspectives of a collection will offer a broader view of other parts of the collection such as installation and photography, but also of what is missing and desired.
Changing every eight weeks, the exhibition will manifest as an evolving structure of relationships and historical as well as current desiderata. At a time when media pervades all aspects of everyday life, the exhibition will keep its focus trained on the question of the changing notion of media art as it relates to the collection’s own structure – both in retrospect and with regard to its own outlook for the future. In doing so, it aims to provide a comprehensive look of what has previously been neglected, while at the same time pointing to expansion opportunities as they become evident with regards to the historical situation of new media in Graz.