Maria Loboda and Goshka Macuga are Polish artists who have lived abroad for many years, where they have had admirable careers. They were the only Polish participants in Documenta 13 in Kassel in 2012 – a review of the most important international contemporary art, organized every five years. This year they were invited by curators and critics from New York City to exhibit their work at the Palais de Tokyo, alongside the works of Auguste Rodin and Cindy Sherman.
The exhibition Champs Elysées transforms the exhibition space into an ideal cemetery, where there are new and old works by over twenty artists. Selected artists present a great necropolis not only using static and emblematic images such as tombstones, chrysanthemums, crosses, tears, portraits of the dead and urns, but also through the use of guided tours, séances, chess tournaments and secret meetings.
As promised by the curators Julie Boukobza, Simon Castets and Nicola Trezzi, the exhibition examines the relationship between art and its old partner – death. While preparing the exhibition, they drew attention to the fact that while Western societies continue to see the decline or total disappearance of religion, cemeteries remain a place in which people continue to invest, thus becoming a reflection of socio-economic position. The curators also recall the words of French poet Paul Valéry, who likened the museum to a burial ground for dead ideas. The artists’ work at the Palais de Tokyo, in referring to the aesthetics and rites of funerals, helps one analyze the decorative and performative aspects of funerals and the ways in which they are imagined.
Last year, Loboda was also invited to contribute to Interventions in the Building at the Palais. In this cycle, artists marked their presence on the windows, halls, and stairwells. Loboda’s work will be displayed over the next 10 years, according the organizers' site.
Loboda created a mural on the wall of the bookstore at the entrance to the Palais de Tokyo. Walldrawing (arsenic, cyanide, mercury, lead) refers to the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century, particularly to the wallpapers of William Morris - the English designer had used pigments containing arsenic, thus poisoning his workers and patrons. Loboda’s piece also refers to themes developed by the Vienna Workshop (Wiener Werkstätte), which was involved in the production of furniture in the early 20th century. The goal of these workshops, which brought together architects, artists and designers, was the creation of an aesthetic accessible to all, and a combination of art and crafts. The pigments used by Loboda in the mural could in fact be toxic: Neapolitian Yellow contains lead, Prussian blue has cyanide and cinnabar includes mercury.
Maria Loboda (born 1970) was born in Kraków and lives and works in Berlin and London. In her work, she aims to turn knowledge into objects. She sees the world as a set of signs to be read, and draws inspiration from cultural heritage – from folklore and mysticism to science.
“I regard language as a potential material" she says, "just like music, tapestry, botany, pottery, drapes, or pigment.” Between rationality and magic, the artist introduces themes and references that would otherwise not come together. At first glance, Loboda’s works are very attractive; however they also offer solutions to riddles and pitfalls to be avoided.
More on artist Goshka Macuga here.
CHAMPS ELYSÉES
Palais de Tokyo
21.06 – 09.09.2013
Artists: Harold Ancart, Danai Anesiadou, Matteo Callegari, Valentin Carron, Anna Craycroft, Trisha Donnelly, Ida Ekblad, Simone Fattal, Lara Favaretto, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Susan Hefuna, Tom Holmes, Jamie Isenstein, Esther Kläs, Henri Labrouste, Maria Loboda, Goshka Maçuga, Rodrigo Matheus, Duane Michals, Sarah Ortmeyer, Sarah Pucci, Davis Robbins, Auguste Rodin, Cindy Sherman, Haim Steinbach, Alice Tomaselli
Kuratorzy: Julie Boukobza, Simon Castets, Nicola Trezzi
Source: Institut Polonais, Palais de Tokyo, www.schleicherlange.com, private materials
Author: Agnieszka Sural, 16.06.2013
Translated by Alena Aniskiewicz 17.06.2013