"Dangerous Liaisons" by Tilo Schulz
10 June - 28 July 2001
in the new Art Centre of the Langenhagen Art Association,
Walsroder Strasse 91 A,
30851 Langenhagen, Germany
Opening: Friday 8 June 2001, 8 pm.
Langenhagen gets a new art centre
For the opening of the town's new Art Centre in a former bowling alley, the Langenhagen Art Association has invited Tilo Schulz, an artist active internationally, born in 1972 and resident in Leipzig. Tilo Schulz belongs to a young generation of artists who do not limit their sphere of activity exclusively to their own artistic production: rather, Schulz works as an artist, an author and as a curator. His interests lie in developing strategies for the communication of art, its production and reception within institutional contexts.
Communicating art on the meta-level
To bring in a new era, the Art Association, with the Tilo Schulz project, is also making a contribution to reflective consideration of their own institution. At the same time, the exhibition represents the Art Association's objectives, the most important of which are the improvement of the conditions for the production and reception of art.
Tilo Schulz works directly and constructively with the structures of communication. In doing so, he consciously applies the lessons of market strategy as well as practices from other fields such as advertising, design and film. Tilo Schulz's work always starts with an accurate, critical analysis of actual structures in order to then create aesthetic models and methods, interpret, expand and revitalise the existing approaches to communication.
"Dangerous Liaisons"
For the opening event of the Langenhagen Art Association, Tilo Schulz has developed a project in which he concentrates attention for the first time on the personal experiences, emotions and impressions of the recipient.
Detailed interviews were held in the last few weeks with people who had reported having a special experience in relation to a work of art. Their thoughts on the matter were taken down by a journalist, with Tilo Schulz then translating these texts graphically into a comprehensive spatial model.
This model directly challenges visitors to decipher texts and put puzzles together on which the works of art are represented. On top of all this, a computer animation advertises the exhibition.
As with many other of his projects, with "Dangerous Liaisons" Tilo Schulz manages again to create an exhibition without "originals". But what in fact does the term "original" mean to us? Our knowledge about art and how we imagine it should look is taken very minimally from the "original" itself. The picture we have of art is always influenced by some previous knowledge, the result of opinions and statements about art by the media, photos, books and films. Our concept of art is influenced by the institutions who act as its mediators, showing us what art looks like: it hangs on blank walls, without observers, is selected by experts and is created by that invisible being, the "artist".
Langenhagen Art Association's "Dangerous Liaisons" explores the relationship of the recipient to the work of art, thereby also posing questions as to the nature of authorship of art. At the same time, the project questions the role of the Art Association.
Opening hours: Tue - Fri 2 pm-6 pm, Sun 3 pm-5 pm.
The exhibition is sponsored by the State of Lower Saxony.
Veronika Olbrich M.A., Langenhagen Art Association,
Walsroder Strasse 91 A, 30851 Langenhagen,
Tel. + Fax: +49 (0)511 778929 or +49 (0)177 3461288
www.kunstverein-langenhagen.de mail@kunstverein-langenhagen.de
Date: 2 May 2001
