Backdrop, Bedroom, 2014
Photo: Courtesy the artist | Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, 2014
Collection
Wool tapestry
290 x 420 cm
In her practice, Goshka Macuga takes on the role of artist, curator, collector, and researcher. Her investigations during the production of a play staged for the 8th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art in 2014, "Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy," culminated in a series of tapestries, collages, objects, and set pieces. Drawing on in-depth archival and historical research into German art historian Aby Warburg’s playlet, “Hamburg Comedy,” which was performed only once at a Warburg family gathering on December 31, 1896, the works in this series embody an examination of relationships between artists, institutions, politics, and social issues.
Throughout Macuga’s play, and the resulting works, a revolving cast of characters appears, including curator Richard Artschwager, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and his wife, collector Dasha Zhukova, Warburg’s psychiatrist Dr. Ludwig Binswanger, museum administrator Jan van der Marck, as well as artists John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, Andrea Fraser, and Marina Abramović, among others. Through the characters, Macuga examines art historical relationships by rephrasing existing narratives in familiar language.
Macuga’s large tapestry, Backdrop, Bedroom, was used as a set piece in the third act of her play, “Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy.” The scene, titled “Aby Warburg on Art, Money and Politics,” opens with the character of Aby Warburg declaring, “This one is going to be difficult. […]We are going to talk about art, money, and politics. And how they’re in bed with each other, all the time – both for better and for worse.” Playing with the ideas of being “in bed together” – in reference to art, politics, and money – as well as Macuga’s reference to her research approach of “embedding” – as a journalist might – the tapestry transforms the space, weaving together a number of historical contexts. Backdrop, Bedroom was produced in collaboration with Emma Troubridge, Head Scenic Artist at the Royal Opera House in London as a canvas and later transformed into a tapestry. The work is based on photographs of the homes of MCA trustees. – Alicia Reuter
Please visit the MCA's website for more information about Goshka Macuga's project "Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy".
290 x 420 cm
In her practice, Goshka Macuga takes on the role of artist, curator, collector, and researcher. Her investigations during the production of a play staged for the 8th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art in 2014, "Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy," culminated in a series of tapestries, collages, objects, and set pieces. Drawing on in-depth archival and historical research into German art historian Aby Warburg’s playlet, “Hamburg Comedy,” which was performed only once at a Warburg family gathering on December 31, 1896, the works in this series embody an examination of relationships between artists, institutions, politics, and social issues.
Throughout Macuga’s play, and the resulting works, a revolving cast of characters appears, including curator Richard Artschwager, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and his wife, collector Dasha Zhukova, Warburg’s psychiatrist Dr. Ludwig Binswanger, museum administrator Jan van der Marck, as well as artists John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, Andrea Fraser, and Marina Abramović, among others. Through the characters, Macuga examines art historical relationships by rephrasing existing narratives in familiar language.
Macuga’s large tapestry, Backdrop, Bedroom, was used as a set piece in the third act of her play, “Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy.” The scene, titled “Aby Warburg on Art, Money and Politics,” opens with the character of Aby Warburg declaring, “This one is going to be difficult. […]We are going to talk about art, money, and politics. And how they’re in bed with each other, all the time – both for better and for worse.” Playing with the ideas of being “in bed together” – in reference to art, politics, and money – as well as Macuga’s reference to her research approach of “embedding” – as a journalist might – the tapestry transforms the space, weaving together a number of historical contexts. Backdrop, Bedroom was produced in collaboration with Emma Troubridge, Head Scenic Artist at the Royal Opera House in London as a canvas and later transformed into a tapestry. The work is based on photographs of the homes of MCA trustees. – Alicia Reuter
Please visit the MCA's website for more information about Goshka Macuga's project "Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy".
The Polish-British artist Goshka Macuga (born 1967) works in the field of installations, using media as varied as photo collage, sculpture, large-format tapestry, video and performance. She is known for her diverse approach that extends to the curatorial and the narrative. Using extensive artistic research, she develops storylines for her works and exhibitions in which she combines fiction and history. Her “materials” are pivotal moments in human history, as well as works by other artists, which she stages in playful displays.Macuga is interested in the myriad connections within cultural history, especially that of the international avant-gardes of the twentieth century.
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.