Martin Gostner : Coming out of the Props Sideways

— Éditeur(s) : Ostfildern, Hatje Cantz Verlag
— Année : 2002
— Format : 15,50 x 20 cm
— Illustrations : nombreuses, en couleurs
— Page(s) : 72
— Langue(s) : anglais, allemand
— ISBN : 3-7757-9106-X
— Prix : 12,80 €

Présentation

This initial monograph features the multifarious œuvre of Martin Gostner. The Austrian-born artist has become known for his cotton wool works, but has steered clear of being restricted to this material. In his installations, Gostner frequently deals with the topic of remembrance. For him the « softness », also a characteristic of his cotton wool works, stands for pliability, the historical imprecision of the writing of official history as well as of personal memories. Erinnerung weich (Memory Soft) from 1998 consists of 98 hanging lamps, among other objects, each one for each year of the passing 20th century. With the cables and electrical parts having been removed, the lamps are no longer capable of shedding light — not even in the sense of enlightenment. The corresponding video piece 20th Century Boy shows an octopus in an aquarium squeezing through a tight glass cylinder in a short loop 98 times in a row. Each time, a date (from 1900 to 1998) appears on its body, followed by the title of an important work of art from that year. For Gostner, the 20th Century Boy, indefatigable and adaptable, stands as a metaphor for the figure of the modern artist.

L’artiste

Martin Gostner, born 1957 in Innsbruck. From 1979-1983 Akademie der bildenen Künste in Vienna. Numerous solo and group exhibitions Europe wide. Lives and works in Innsbruck.