multiplex fiction

The exhibition curated by Hubert Lobnig in the Kunstraum Niederoesterreich introduces the ironic term ‘post-alternative’ to address the alternative movement of the 1970s and 80s.

The exhibition pursues the question of what contents from this alternative scene are being addressed by artists today, reused, discussed, reflected upon or criticised; the somewhat pejorative term ‘alternative’ is subjected to scrutiny.
Wind power as the image of the future in the 1970s, for example, is the starting point for the filmic survey of the reality of life for ‘new German citizens’ by Barbara Musil and Karolina Szmit, ten years after the country’s reunification. Martin Music visited squats and some of their long-term occupants in Rotterdam, capturing their living space on camera, and so allowing visitors to participate in the visions and ideals of the squatters themselves that have, in part, become dogmatic attitudes.

Positions are also shown adopted by artists who engage with alternative models and possibilities for protest, for criticising prevalent forms of commerce and established lifestyles. Amel Andessner pursues the role of gender on the basis of the fictive character Mirko, and explores the borders between male and female identity in the relevant cultural contexts. The role of the individual and individual responsibility in contemporary society is addressed by Matthais Klos in his photographs and by Anna Witt with video. Katrin Hornek’s video installation shows the withdrawal of an Austrian weary of society and his own four walls into a yurt, the traditional living space of the Mongolian nomads. In this context, a visit is also paid to an experimental urban development project with the design of the Vienna Fluc by Klaus Stattmann.

The works in the exhibition Post-Alternative are analytical, poetic, romantic, queer or psychedelic in the charged arena between provocation, fiction and documentation.
INFO:
Guided tour through the exhibition: 29.10.2009, 6:00 p.m.