Wolfsburg. Kunstverein Wolfsburg, with its maxim »Economy & Glamour«, electrified Bytom in Poland last year with its electro-pop club as part of the German-Polish exchange programme, as well as energising the entire Wolfsburg region at the same time. Now the Kunstverein in this industrial town on the Mittelland canal is once again promoting cultural exchange under the aegis of the »Construction of Wishes« programme. The role intended for the arts in this context goes beyond merely commenting on and criticising developments in this domain, to reveal instead the actual constructions of wishes and explore these within their various contexts. Consideration of this topic kicked off in March with the exhibition »Canada Dreaming: Ideas and desires for the future from artists in America’s largest state «.
This year’s title is also derived from the world of music, just like the choice of the last title, »Economy & Glamour«, inspired by the 1978 album »MenschMaschine« by the group »Kraftwerk«. This time around it’s a variation on a theme referring to the song »California Dreamin’« by »The Mamas and the Papas«.
There’s a more immediate link between »California Dreamin’« and »Canada Dreaming« than you would expect at first sight. The budding counter-culture hippy youth movement in the 1960s propagated a philosophy of life based on notions of self-realisation and liberation from constraints and bourgeois taboos, which fed into the idea of a more humane and peaceful life.
For many people Canada evokes similar thoughts, hopes, wishes and fantasies. To quote a Spiegel Online special edition for example: »Canada shows itself from its best side to anyone who dares to venture deep into its forests, rivers, seas«. The article goes on to consider ethno-tourism, storm watching, iceberg diving or dog-sledding trips, »which make the heart of the globetrotter generation beat faster«. This sphere is certainly one part of the country, but these adventurous free impressions often seem too superficial. Ultimately the second most extensive country in the world is coloured by much more than forests and enormous distances, even if the logo on its coat of arms »A Mari usque ad Mare« – from sea to sea – underscores the vast expanses of the country. Regional differences also make up part of its history, along with the often knotty, entangled co-existence of French-speaking and English-speaking provinces, factors that on the one hand trigger a quest to establish national identity, yet at the same time make this much more difficult. And last but not least, a good four per cent of Canadians belong to one of the three large indigenous groups (First Nations, Inuit, Métis). All these aspects offer a great deal of scope for friction. That makes it all the more intriguing to gain insights into the population’s ideas and wishes as they imagine the future, represented in the exhibition by thirteen young artists. As they come from every part of Canada, these artists represent the rich cultural and social diversity of their country. The exhibition begins with four large-format photographs from the series »Tales without grounds« by Eve K. Tremblay. The photos, saturated with colour and dazzling in their brightness, depict a building in an industrial plant where lettuces are produced. On one of the four shots, entitled »Mémoire anticipée d´une jeune fille dérangée« a girl is shown in close-up with the broad sweep of the lettuce field at her feet; half turning her back to the viewer, she holds a head of lettuce torn from the field in front of her face. In one of the next works in this series, two figures swathed in white protective clothing stand in front of the factory buildings, each of them also holding a lettuce in their hands. The disguised figures are standing on brown miry ground dotted with sparse tufts of grass. The contrast between the green »living« factory building and the brown, apparently dead exterior is striking. To some it might well look like a futuristic horror scenario.
Montreal artist Michel de Broin, currently working in Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin as part of a grant programme, loves to transpose seemingly useless concepts into productive artistic concept. For example, his sculpture, which is reminiscent of Minimal Art and resembles a fridge with its door ajar, is called »Warming«. However, de Broin enjoys being ironic and is especially interested in physics. That is also the case in the work shown here, for according to the laws of thermodynamics, it is not the cold from the fridge that spills out into the room, but rather the heat from the room that moves into the fridge.
The famous log cabins that outsiders believe constitute part of Canadians’ traditional habitat are among the common stereotypes about Canada. Simon Hughes, who comes from Winnipeg, i.e. from the centre of Canada, focuses his attention on the topic. His watercolours portray dwelling heaps made up of individual modules used for log cabins. Men reminiscent of Inuit, wrapped in thick fur coats, stand – alone and inactive - in the interior of these unfurnished modules. In attempting to combine tradition and modernity, these images convey an integrative approach, yet at the same time give us pause for thought due to the figures set in the empty spaces. Dissonances that are at first sight difficult to fathom or place in any context take on tangible shape here.
Corin Sworn shows very fine pencil drawings. Her subject-matter is playgrounds that actually exist but which she adorns with elements she has dreamt up. The playgrounds are full of children, thus evoking notions of humans as social beings. The combination of the real and the fictitious in the context of interacting figures stirs up both expectations and fears about future social developments, further highlighted by the apparently gentle pencil strokes.
Perhaps contemporary art, particularly work by young artists, is best placed to describe the here and now, whilst at the same time offering a glimpse of current wishes and trends. Whilst usually artists such as Jeff Wall, for example, are enlisted to serve as representatives of the contemporary Canadian position, here we see young and still mainly unfamiliar artistic statements, which appear pleasantly effortless and precisely because of that leave a profound and lasting impression on audiences.

 

Translated by Helen Ferguson

 

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