Über Dinge
→ Über Dinge – On Things
Lecture Performance in three parts & take-away-Poster (size DIN A2, digital print, 40 copies) | 2018 | Artist Statement #01, Kunstraum Lakeside, 28 June 2018 | Photos: Johannes Puch
In the performance lecture On Things
at Kunstraum Lakeside, my extensive collection of found objects was presented in an eclectic arrangement of items covering five tables. The objects were displayed in groups and additional subgroups that were combined into ever-changing conceptual units. Some were exhibited as single items, and others were grouped in boxes or unorganised cases. The collection comprises around 5,000 objects—man-made items that drew my attention by virtue of their appearance, their state of decomposition, their unique materiality, or their unrecognisable function. These artificial objects are complemented by naturifacts such as pieces of wood, plant debris, animal carcasses, bones, and other elements from nature.
Over the course of three public lectures, I used the collection to illustrate various discourses about objects and “stuff”, addressing themes such as the human relationship to the outside world and the current status of the so-called “study of objects”. I then went on to discuss semiotic aspects, the ambiguity of objects and the temptation of meaning in a second thematical block, while the third lecture focused on the classification, categorisation, and standardisation of collected items.
Diskurs #01: Die Sache mit dem Zeug
Diskurs #02: Fragmentierte Wirklichkeiten
Diskurs #03: Deuten und Bedeuten
