For many years, Haus der Kunst has documented artist talks, discussions and lectures on their exhibitions and made them available on Youtube. Out of this comprehensive film archive, we have picked 5 selected artist talks for you, that you can enjoy from home.
"Art is always and definitely an expression of personality." This sentence was written by the German author Erich Mühsam. It expresses that in every work one discovers the artist. A work is characterized by the creator's habitus and would not have come about without him. And isn't the genesis of a work and what drove the artist the interesting thing? Here you have the opportunity to hear 5 artists speak in relation to their work and get to know them.
1. Kiki Smith and Petra Giloy-Hirtz
The American artist Kiki Smith and the curator Petra Giloy-Hirtz talk about Kiki Smith's love of visually discovering the world and explore the question of where her ideas come from and what drives her work. The conversation was initiated in 2018 on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition "Procession", which gives an overview of her art of the last three decades, which deals with the political and social as well as the philosophical and spiritual aspects of human nature.
2. El Anatsui and Chika Okeke-Agulu
Conversation between El Anatsui and the curator Chika Okeke-Agulu about the work of the Ghanaian-born artist and his first survey exhibition in Europe "Triumphant Scale" 2019 at the Haus der Kunst. To understand where El Anatsui comes from intellectually and artistically, he talks here about his journey as an artist.
3. Ellen Gallagher and Ulrich Wilmes
A conversation between the artist Ellen Gallahger and Ulrich Wilmes, who was the chief curator of the Haus der Kunst for many years. They talk about the biographical background of the African American artist, which according to Ulrich Wilmes is essential to understand what brought her to the art she makes today. The talk took place on the occasion of the survey exhibition "AxME" 2014, which explored the development and thematic return in Gallagher's works.
4. Miriam Cahn and Jana Baumann
In 2019, Haus der Kunst honored the artistic life's work of the Swiss painter Miriam Cahn, which spans more than five decades. The exhibition "I as a human being" comprised 150 works by her Ouevre, which makes an important contribution to the red-hot discussion on new images of the body and of man. Miriam Cahn vividly tells about influences of the 60s and 70s on her art and talks with curator Jana Baumann about her creative phases.
Conversation in German
5. William and Sir Sydney Kentridge and Okwui Enwezor
For the first time father and son sit together on stage to talk about their careers. William Kentridge, well known South African artist and his father Sir Sydney Kentridge, the famous human rights lawyer, talk to Okwui Enwezor about their respective roles in South Africa's development in relation to apartheid.
Eva Reitmeier is an intern in the communications department. She picked 5 favorites artist talks for you from the Youtube channel of Haus der Kunst.
You can find more than 200 artist talks, exhibition films, lectures, performances and much more on the Youtube channel of Haus der Kunst. Have fun browsing and streaming!