The exhibition der Legende nach (according to legend) presents works from the two collections of the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen alongside selected contemporary positions. The starting point is an exploration of various forms of notation. Generally speaking, a notation is a system composed of signs and symbols. It can identify, describe, or depict, and it can serve as a tool for transmission or a vehicle for information.
The clarity, legibility, and thus functionality of a notation require the structuring of the content and the use of agreed-upon signs, which, however, are never entirely neutral or representative. In view of these limitations, the question arises as to what extent sequences, gestures, and ideas can be documented and reproduced at all. What does it mean to regard something as repeatable, and which opportunities or restrictions does such an assumption entail? In der Legende nach, this indeterminacy is given space: here, intended or unplanned errors and supposed losses in a translation are understood as possibilities that mark the limits of systems and test the potential for constructive change.
The exhibition brings together works that engage with formal and structural systems, appropriate or actively subvert them, and develop individual signatures or vocabularies in the process. The artists direct performances, manipulate reproductions, or address questions of documentation on a technical level. Others attempt to make movements and impressions tangible, and to open up new perspectives through transforming familiar objects into materials or formats that initially appear unrelated. In this respect, the notation in der Legende nach is employed as a conceptual filter: as a means for reflecting on non-linear processes of production and interpretation, and for revealing less obvious connections between works from different media, contexts, and periods.
The exhibition is a collaboration between MGKSiegen and Residence NRW⁺, a scholarship program of Kunsthalle Münster for artists and curators. www.residencenrw.de
Residence NRW⁺ is a scholarship program launched in 2020 to support exceptionally talented artists and curators in the field of contemporary visual arts. It is affiliated with Kunsthalle Münster and is based on rotating collaborations with museums, art halls, and art associations throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. The program is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Kunststiftung NRW, and the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia.
With works by
Dora Budor
Tony Cokes
Terry Fox
Jason Hirata
Nancy Holt
Margaret Honda
Katalin Ladik
Maria Lassnig
Lorenza Longhi
Sigmar Polke
Charlotte Posenenske
Yvonne Rainer
Bridget Riley
Stephen Willats
Curators: Clara Maria Blasius and Paula Thomaka
Press Conference
Friday, July 3, 11 AM der Legende nach
Curators: Clara Maria Blasius and Paula Thomaka
Opening
Friday, July 3, 7 PM der Legende nach
Speakers:
Thomas Thiel, Director of MGKSiegen
Clara Maria Blasius and Paula Thomaka, Curators
Curators’ Tour
Saturday, July 4, 3 PM der Legende nach
Clara Maria Blasius and Paula Thomaka
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