Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm

Florian Thamer

In the universe of art history, the works of men are often regarded as the great planets. The artists often seem condemned to orbit around them like satellites, sometimes closer, sometimes further away and seemingly without any chance of ever reaching the centre themselves. In this logic, the work of the Swedish painter Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) has also been downgraded. In 1906, she created what was probably the first abstract painting ever – years before her male contemporaries Kandinsky, Malevich and Mondrian claimed these titles for themselves. But Af Klint’s abstract painting has often been treated like a stroke of luck, accidental and unplanned. In contrast, the paintings of her male contemporaries are considered the result of well-earned achievement and intellect. Af Klint’s attempts to publicly exhibit her works during her lifetime failed due to structural discrimination and were deliberately prevented by denigrating her – as a crazy woman: she remained unmarried and childless throughout her life and loved in lesbian relationships. In addition, since her youth, she showed interest in spiritualistic and occult practices, such as seances, which were not recognised in a male society, which was fixated on reason and rationality. As part of Nocturnal Unrest, a one-hour zooméance will resurrect the spirit of Hilma af Klint. In a critical-spiritualist session, we want to disrupt the phallocentred historiography and make it explode. During the three-part ritualised lecture, a video work will be shown that playfully intertwines Af Klint’s works with visualisations of invisible natural phenomena, translating her images into a specially conceived cosmos of sounds. Who was this woman at Lake Mälaren who shot her work into the future as if in a time capsule? Who trusted in coming generations and thus in people who had not yet been born?

For the 12 participants we will send a “Séance Starter Kit” by post. Therefore, please provide your postal address when registering.

—> More informations about the event and the entire festival programme via Nocturnal Unrest