The Autobiographical in Contemporary Art
Staging one's own life
The exhibition Ego Documents is presenting contemporary art by artists who have made their own life the theme of their work. We will be showing autobiographical video films, photographs, prints, drawings, installations, paintings and a slide show. Salient points are the various strategies for dealing with autobiographical material ranging from self-documentation to the cultivation of the individual image. Ego Documents is Kathleen Bühler's first exhibition as curator of the contemporary art department.
For what reason do artists reveal private details of their lives? Is it
only to satisfy the curiosity and craving for sensation of the viewer?
Or might there be social or even political reasons for the divulging of
intimate information. What happens when artists write diaries, take
family snapshots and shoot holiday films? Is this art, or do the
documents remain private memorabilia? Questions such as this are posed
in the exhibition Ego Documents.
Memories artistically processed
Approximately one hundred works from the last forty years are proof that the autobiographical in contemporary art takes on the most diverse
forms. The variety of media ranges from video films, photographs,
prints, drawings, installations, paintings and a slide show to a
performance. The artists represented in the exhibition work with
self-documentation techniques familiar in everyday life such as diaries, letters, photograph albums, holiday films or collections of
memorabilia. Central to an autobiographical work of art is the artist's
conscious dealing with memories and his or her intent to transform their own life experience into an artistic experience for the viewer.
From self-documentation to narcissistic self-display
Ego Documents is not about mere self-exposure. The artists are
presenting the most varied concepts of ego, of identity and experience.
They employ diverse strategies in dealing with autobiographical
material. Some of the artists document their own lives, setting them in a narrative in order to make sense of the experiences. Sometimes they
portray entire identity-finding processes in their works. Others
undertake research into following traces of a «great» story, a civil war for instance, in their own «small» story. Thus, culture-specific
moments appear in what to all intents
and purposes are private testimonials. The works of other artists are
occupied with their own transience and what remains of life. The
exhibition also shows that an autobiographical work can be a
narcissistic self-portrayal as well as serving to cultivate the artist's own image.
The exhibition Ego Documents was conceived by Kathleen Bühler and is
the opening event of her curatorship in the department for contemporary
art.
List of artists
Darren Almond, Sadie Benning, Louise Bourgeois, Annatina Graf, Mona
Hatoum, Xiaoyuan Hu, On Kawara, Martin Kippenberger, Isabelle Krieg,
Elke Krystufek, Laura Lancaster, Nicolas Nixon, Jan Peters, Jack
Pierson, Anri Sala, Vittorio Santoro, Carolee Schneemann, Annelies
Strba, Ana Strika, Pascale Wiedemann / Daniel Mettler.
