NEW WAYS OF DOING NOTHING
Curators: Vanessa Joan Müller, Cristina Ricupero
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier
Museumsplatz 1 - Vienna
27 June–12 October 2014
Productivity and growth are the philosophical premises of the present day. Working processes are being optimized to increase efficiency, working hours are being deregulated until the distinction between work and leisure time disappears. Artistic work seems to follow other criteria, but also in this field professionalization and selfoptimization are on the rise. But what would happen if ‘doing nothing’ or ‘inaction’ were to become a source of inspiration for a refusal to produce?
Is too much production a reaction to the fear of nothing or does the fear of nothing create overproduction? In art and cultural production as well as in production in general, to do nothing is to do something very important.
New Ways of Doing Nothing devotes itself to a form of artistic production that opposes activity, and instead gives an affirmative slant to forms of doing nothing or refraining. Here, refraining from something not only leads to a critical moment but also a creative one. New Ways of Doing Nothing—the title derives from Karl Holmqvist—focuses on positions in contemporary art in which ‘doing nothing’ generates its own potential with respect to the requirements (and impositions) of a society that concentrates on activity and productivity.
New Ways of Doing Nothing thus proposes a halt, a moment to stop, reflect, maybe do nothing, in response to the overabundance of new projects, ideas and information we are constantly confronted with. In a world structured and dominated by accelerated communication processes and exposure, New Ways of Doing Nothing questions the ‘status quo’ by its explicit refusal to participate and proposes a politics of radical passivity where a space for thought can possibly be liberated.
Artists: Robert Breer, Alejandro Cesarco, Etienne Chambaud, Natalie Czech, Oskar Dawicki, Edith Dekyndt, Mathias Delplanque, Heinrich Dunst, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Marina Faust, Claire Fontaine, Ryan Gander, Lasse Schmidt Hansen, Julia Hohenwarter, Karl Holmqvist, Sofia Hultén, Jiri Kovanda, Rivane Neuenschwander, George Perec/Bernard Queysanne, Superflex, Mario Garcia Torres
Image: Gardar Eide Einarsson, In Taxis, On the Phone, In Clubs and Bars, At Football Matches, At Home With Friends, 2013. © Gardar Eide Einarsson. Courtesy the artist and Yvon Lambert, Paris.
Curators: Vanessa Joan Müller, Cristina Ricupero
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier
Museumsplatz 1 - Vienna
27 June–12 October 2014
Productivity and growth are the philosophical premises of the present day. Working processes are being optimized to increase efficiency, working hours are being deregulated until the distinction between work and leisure time disappears. Artistic work seems to follow other criteria, but also in this field professionalization and selfoptimization are on the rise. But what would happen if ‘doing nothing’ or ‘inaction’ were to become a source of inspiration for a refusal to produce?
Is too much production a reaction to the fear of nothing or does the fear of nothing create overproduction? In art and cultural production as well as in production in general, to do nothing is to do something very important.
New Ways of Doing Nothing devotes itself to a form of artistic production that opposes activity, and instead gives an affirmative slant to forms of doing nothing or refraining. Here, refraining from something not only leads to a critical moment but also a creative one. New Ways of Doing Nothing—the title derives from Karl Holmqvist—focuses on positions in contemporary art in which ‘doing nothing’ generates its own potential with respect to the requirements (and impositions) of a society that concentrates on activity and productivity.
New Ways of Doing Nothing thus proposes a halt, a moment to stop, reflect, maybe do nothing, in response to the overabundance of new projects, ideas and information we are constantly confronted with. In a world structured and dominated by accelerated communication processes and exposure, New Ways of Doing Nothing questions the ‘status quo’ by its explicit refusal to participate and proposes a politics of radical passivity where a space for thought can possibly be liberated.
Artists: Robert Breer, Alejandro Cesarco, Etienne Chambaud, Natalie Czech, Oskar Dawicki, Edith Dekyndt, Mathias Delplanque, Heinrich Dunst, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Marina Faust, Claire Fontaine, Ryan Gander, Lasse Schmidt Hansen, Julia Hohenwarter, Karl Holmqvist, Sofia Hultén, Jiri Kovanda, Rivane Neuenschwander, George Perec/Bernard Queysanne, Superflex, Mario Garcia Torres
Image: Gardar Eide Einarsson, In Taxis, On the Phone, In Clubs and Bars, At Football Matches, At Home With Friends, 2013. © Gardar Eide Einarsson. Courtesy the artist and Yvon Lambert, Paris.
