Month: December 2011

Wartist presents: “6:57 P.M.” by Jens Kloppmann at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin)

Berlin-based artist Jens Kloppmann will present his impressive video installation “6:57 P.M.” as artistic supporting programme to the international symposium “Memorial Mania – Negotiating Social and Political Strategies of Memory” of the American Academy Berlin at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (9-10 December 2011, see this Wartist article). The conference will address various issues of the culture of remembrance, including the tenth anniversary of the terrorist acts of 9/11, with an emphasis on memorials and both German and American approaches.

6:57 P.M., video stills (©2011 Jens Kloppmann)

Wartist Exclusive: “Trümmerfrau” by Jens Kloppmann

Since years, Berlin-based artist Jens Kloppmann is addressing issues of visual reality and collective memory that he is realising with many different media. Today, I am proud to present to you an edition that he has manufactured exclusively for Wartist and which will solely be offered via Wartist. His work “Trümmerfrau”¹ does not only bring back memories of Germany’s old currency, but is a strong statement of humility and not the least of German identity.

Trümmerfrau literally means “rubble women” and refers to the millions of German women that cleared the rubble after World War II ↩

Tyrannenmord (Tyrannicide): New Work by Jan Bejšovec

Jan Bejšovec, a textile artist working in Berlin on his label “Konfliktstoff” ¹ has made a new work, “Tyrannenmord” (tyrannicide). It addresses both actual developments in the Arab world and the general dealing with dictators: for more than 30 years, Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya with an iron fist. The world was able to come to terms with him, especially since he departed from his previous support of international terrorism. Thus, the external perception was mainly reduced to his high entertainment value. Quite unexpectedly, the uprising that begun in February 2011 lead to Gaddafi’s escape and his homicide, including the presentation of his dead body. Continue reading

German Konfliktstoff means “causes of conflict”, put together by Konflikt (conflict) and Stoff, literally meaning fabric ↩