Interested in a social and political dimension of art, Thomas Hirschhorn initially worked with the Grapus design group. In 1986, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to the plastic arts and, more specifically, to sculpture. Starting from his first solo exhibitions in the late eighties, he has progressively developed an original sculptural research that combines everyday, poor, and disposable materials\u2014garbage bags, plastic, plexiglass, wood, cardboard, aluminum foil\u2014retrieved and put together with an abundant use of adhesive tape. These works are enhanced through collages created from advertising images found in fashion magazines. Everything is then recomposed with fragments and quotations of philosophical texts, often directly rewritten by hand by Hirschhorn or photocopied. This gives rise to a complex and often hypertrophic body of work in which one finds the mingling of a wealth of ideas with a poverty of means: kiosks, altars, huts, information centers, and a wide range of pieces the artist defines as ” monuments,\u201d all born from the total fragility of the differently assembled materials. The artist explains that what interests him in the apparent precariousness of the materials used is the mental energy kindled and stoked by the juxtaposition and reaction of different objects.<\/p>\n
In experimenting with places and contexts that always differ, the artist develops interventions in private and public spaces and, in always going one step further, creates counter-monuments dedicated to philosophers and writers. In recent years, he has paid tribute to Robert Walser, Spinoza, Deleuze, and Bataille, showing his interest in and commitment to radical forms of contact and intervention in urban spaces. In recent years, larger and more complex projects have been conceived and co-created with the inhabitants of the city neighborhoods of M\u00fcnster (summer 1997) and Kassel (summer 2002).<\/p>\n
The comparison\u2014or confrontation\u2014with an unpleasant past and with the most dramatically critical phenomena of the present-day political situation is the basis of Hirschhorn’s interest, as are also the socio-economic conditions involved.
\nAs the artist put it: “Art exists as the absolute opposite of its time-as the absolute opposite of the reality of its time.” In a series of works of almost visceral impact, the explicative titles indicate his intention and the content of his work. On backgrounds of bright colors and with loud soundtracks it is the artist himself who stages then symbolic actions. As Hirschhorn puts it: “I’m not interested in \u2018quality,\u2019 I’m interested in \u2018energy.\u2019” [F.B.]<\/p>\n
Five Bar Clips<\/em>, 1995 Zwei Tr\u00e4nen (Two Tears)<\/em>, 1995 Video Compilation (Clips)<\/em>, 1995 Nice to Meet You<\/em>, 1995 Stars in the Sky<\/em>, 1995 Integrated Videos<\/em>, 1999 Interested in a social and political dimension of art, Thomas Hirschhorn initially worked with the Grapus design group. In 1986, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to the plastic arts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"collezione":[],"class_list":["post-101282","artista","type-artista","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 25 min. 30 sec.
\nCastello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Rivoli-Turin
\nRobert Walser Video<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 4 min.
\nPortrayed frontally and with his head rhythmically swaying in time with the music, the artist is seated under a banner bearing the same title as the video.
\nThank You<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 8 min. 20 sec.
\nThe naked artist first slaps his right and then his left cheek, while in his other hand he holds a cut-out of a female model.
\nLa cuisine des Mosquetaires (The Kitchen of the Musketeers)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 1 min. 30 sec.
\nThe artist’s arm enters the shot and repeatedly puts the beginning of a song by the Sex Pistols on the record player, while on a monitor two cooks are seen.
\nFor Nelson Mandela (Biko)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 7 min.
\nWith the accompaniment of “Biko” by Peter Gabriel, the artist is posed in respectful adoration of a South African flag with an image of Nelson Mandela at the center.
\nI Will Win<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 4 min. 05 sec.
\nSeated, bare-chested, and his face wrapped in tinfoil, Hirschhorn shows the victory sign, raising both hands.<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 24 min.
\nCastello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Rivoli-Turin
\nZwei Tr\u00e4nen (Two Tears)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 1 min. 35 sec.
\nHirschhorn tries to paint, placed next to another painting.
\nRobert Walser Lekt\u00fcre I (Robert Walser Lecture I)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 3 min. 20 sec.
\nRobert Walser Lekt\u00fcre II (Robert Walser Lecture II)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 4 min. 20 sec.
\nIn both of these works, the artist sits reading in front of a banner bearing the same title as the video. At a certain point he gets up and moves towards the camera.
\nOtto Freundlich Fan<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 11 min. 45 sec.
\nHirschhorn starts playing a song (\u201cThe End\u201d by the Doors), he gets up, puts on a scarf on which “Otto Freundlich” is written, and then listens to the music he has chosen.
\nHallo-Schiff (Hallo-Boat)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 22 seconds.
\nAn off-screen voice says “Hallo” as a motorboat\u2014flying the Swiss flag\u2014passes by on a lake.<\/p>\n
\nCastello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Rivoli-Turin
\nPrince and Me, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 5 min.
\nTo the rhythm of a piece by Prince heard in the background, the shot remains fixed on a reportage photo that shows an African man holding a human head in his hand.
\nLust for Life (Claudia)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 5 min. 10 sec.
\nTo the music track of the same title by Iggy Pop, the artist is hidden from the public behind a piece with a collage showing the face of Claudia Schiffer coupled with a horrifying photograph.
\nRotes Tuch (Red Cloth – Desire 1)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 6 min. 10 sec.
\nFilmed from above the artist, from his waist up, he is lying on red cloth listening to the track \u201cDesire\u201d by U2.
\nAntifaschistischeaktion (Desire 2) (Anti-fascist Action – Desire 2)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 6 min. 10 sec.
\nA close-up of a ghetto blaster (portable radio) with a red flag next to it. At max volume the radio plays U2\u2019s \u201cDesire.\u201d At regular intervals a forearm with a fist enters the scene.<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 13 min. 40 sec.
\nCastello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Rivoli-Turin
\nTo the sound of \u201cSympathy for the Devil\u201d by The Rolling Stones, in the famous recording of the mortal accident at the concert in Altamont, a blonde girl smiles in the direction of the video camera.<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 4 min.
\nA still image dedicated to an ad for a fashion house featuring Claudia Schiffer leaning on a table.
\nMoonlight Lady (Wiegenlied)<\/em>, 1995
\nvideo, color, sound, 3 min. 20 sec.
\nFilmed from above and with background music, Hirschhorn moves a wooden board with his hands.<\/p>\n
\nvideo, color, sound, 15 min.
\nPurchased with the contribution of the Compagnia di San Paolo
\nA sequence of images shot during exhibitions held in recent years gives an account of the variety of Hirschhorn\u2019s installations and interventions. A musical crescendo accompanies.<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"