Michael Schmidt, U-NI-TY (1991-94)
163 gelatin silver prints
20 1/2 x 14 1/2 in (52.4 x 36.6 cm)
Courtesy of the Dakis Joannou Collection.
“Ostalgia” opened on July 14 at the New Museum in New York. The exhibition, which brings together works of more than 50 artists from 20 countries across Eastern Europe and the former Society Republics, occupies all four gallery floors and the lobby of the building and is the largest show in the museum’s history.
The title of the exhibition comes from the German term ostalgie which means nostalgia, specifically in the exhibition about a longing for the time before the collapse of the Communist Bloc. “Ostalgia” features works produced in and about some of the countries affected by this shift in history, although it is clear that it is not meant to provide a chronological history. Rather, the exhibition aims to show visitors the history through the personal, subjective, and often times unreliable memory of the artists and survivors.
Romanian artist Irina Botea re-enacts the 1989 revolution with Chicago students in her Auditions for a Revolution (2006). None of the students in the film spoke or understood Romanian. The contrast between the students reading the words in Romanian phonetically and the actual meaning of what was being said ties the past with the present in a haunting way.
Slovakian artist Roman Ondak satirizes the idea of waiting in line, a practice common in the East during Communism when waiting for crucial supplies. His actors move around the museum in a line, blurring the lines between performance and reality, East and the West, artist and visitor.
“Ostalgia” is curated by Associate Director and Director of Exhibitions Massimiliano Gioni with Assistant Curator Jarrett Gregory. The exhibition will be on view at the New Museum through September 25. It is accompanied by a catalogue featuring contributions by Massimiliano Gioni, Boris Groys, Ekaterina Degot, Viktor Misiano, and others, as well as texts a few of the exhibiting artists.
Petrit Halilaj, Cleopatra (2011)
Slide projections, light bulb, motor, cable, and slide documentation of insect displays from Natural History Museum, Pristhina, Kosovo
Courtesy of the artist and Chert, Berlin.
Irina Botea, Auditions for a Revolution (2006)
16mm film transferred to video, color, sound, 24mins
Courtesy of the artist.
Footage from Videograms of a Revolution courtesy of Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujica.
Vyacheslav Akhunov, Lenin's Plan of Monumental Propaganda (1976-85)
Pencil and collage on paper
20 pieces, each 11 7/8 x 16 1/8 in (30 x 41 cm)
Courtesy of the artist.
Michael Schmidt, U-NI-TY (1991-94)
163 gelatin silver prints
20 1/2 x 14 1/2 in (52.4 x 36.6 cm)
Courtesy of the Dakis Joannou Collection.
All images by Nicolette Whitney.
