Silke Wagner

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Silke Wagner (2010)

Silke Wagner (* 1968 in Göppingen ) is a German artist who initiates contemporary art with her exhibitions and above all actions , whereby economic, social and political aspects are in the foreground, often in cooperation with social fringe groups .

education

Silke Wagner studied from 1995 to 2001 at the renowned University of Fine Arts in Frankfurt / M. From 2007 to 2009 she held a visiting professorship at the University of Design in Zurich . 2012 substitute professor in the postgraduate course "Art and Public Space" at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg .

Act

Wagner's actions have different subject areas. They include, for example, protective marriages, football, sculpture and sidewalk projects, video art , neon work or art about prostitution . Their way of working is often based on intensive research on the respective subject area. She often works with other artists, institutions, the public or curators, which can vary from project to project. "Her main focus is on the conditionality of public space and its perception and appropriation by various social groups and milieus". For example at Emscherkunst.2010 .

Actions

From 2001 to 2005 Wagner organized the Sidewalk Campaign in several German cities and in Vienna . This is probably the "most cited" political "work in Germany in recent years" and is considered to be "style-forming" (Marius Babias). For example, Wagner made a minibus with the label “Lufthansa Deportation Class” available for anti-fascist and anti-racist groups, with the information that Lufthansa provides aircraft for the deportation of “unwanted persons”. The previous contact with the groups and the discussion about the provision of the minibus were included in the artistic action. In the "Coking Plant Zollverein" for contemporary art and criticism in Essen, various actions and a documentary exhibition were carried out as part of the pavement project.

In the Dutch city ​​of Utrecht , in the new development area “Leidsche Rijn” ( VINEXwijk ), Wagner and the sculptor Sebastian Stöhrer organized the “Open House” campaign in July 2006 under the motto Everyone is an Expert , based on an idea of ​​the residents. The activities included dance and singing lessons, film screening, workshops, Turkish language lessons , mandala drawing. In this way, the residents should, in the sense of neighborhood help, pass on their knowledge to neighbors. Stöhrer organized a "Never Ending Soup". The participants could bring their own ingredients for this soup.

Monuments, events and exhibitions

Georg Elser monument “8. November 1939 “in Munich at 9:20 pm

As part of a “residency program” of the Goethe Institute , Silke Wagner was invited in 2006 to represent one of her artistic projects abroad (from October 1 to 28, 2006 in Krakow ). A memorial for Georg Elser based on a design by Silke Wagner was created in Munich ; the neon artwork entitled “8. November 1939 ” commemorates Elser's assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler that day. Elser's deed received little attention until the 1990s and Wagner's art form stood outside of traditional monuments and heroism.

Wagner had often presented neon works with a symbolic character, for example referring to the "left" contemporary history of the 1960s and 1970s: general strike of workers and student protests in France, 1968 ("factory chimney with pen"), the first Easter march in Germany, 1960 ( "Wings of a pigeon show a fist"), Angela Davis , who was one of the "ten most wanted" on a wanted list in 1970 ("two arms crossed"), demonstrations against the Vietnam War. "Days of Rage", 1969 ("a rainbow with lightning") and others. Silke Wagner in a conversation about this:

“In the western democracies, the 1960s and 1970s were marked by student, labor and civil rights movements. Starting in the USA, through France, Germany to Czechoslovakia, many people were politicized. It was about questions of equality, more sexual freedoms, the fight against authority in education and upbringing, attempts at self-determination through self-organization and the creation of a counter-public. The Tet offensive in Vietnam, the anti-Springer campaign in Berlin and the general strike in Paris - all of this took place almost simultaneously. With their motifs and the slogans used, the neon works refer to this piece of 'left' contemporary history and thus establish the political, contemporary historical context for the creation of the video works shown in the exhibition "

- Silke Wagner
Silke Wagner and Bernd Drücke: Münster's story from below - Paul Wulf

Silke Wagner's exhibitions and actions were not always rated as artistic work by the media. In some press media, for example, the headline “Scandal” appeared for some of their public initiatives. Together with Bernd Drücke , she contributed her sculpture “Münster's story from below” to the exhibition Skulptur.Projekte Münster 07 . This Paul Wulf memorial, conceived by her and the “Environment Center Archive Association” in Münster, attracted attention. “Scandal about Paul Wulf sculpture and arcade eagle”. There was talk of the “arrogance of power” with regard to the CDU and FDP parties . “The most important open-air exhibition of contemporary sculpture ” ( Der Spiegel No. 21, 2007) showed the 3.40 meter high Paul Wulf sculpture with a coat as an advertising pillar , which showed the life story of the anarchist Wulf on posters . During the exhibition, a bag of brown paint was thrown on the monument and the glasses of the statue made of epoxy cement were damaged twice. The Paul Wulf sculpture was voted the most popular sculpture by the readers of the Münsterschen Zeitung during the Sculpture Projects Muenster 2007 , and the homeless newspaper awarded the artist the “Berber Prize” for her “humane sculpture”. The sculpture has been on the Servatiiplatz in Münster since September 2010 and is regularly updated with new documents from the Environment Center archive - on the subjects of Paul Wulf , "House warfare in Münster", "Criminalization of alternative media in Münster" and "Anti-nuclear movement in Münster “- posted.

Silke Wagner: Miners protests in the Ruhr area protest chronicle

Another “scandal”: Silke Wagner worked with sex workers and prostitutes under the title “Art about Prostitution - The Art of Prostitution”. With the support of the Frankfurt prostitute self-help organization Doña Carmen , a mobile home was set up at the Konstablerwache . "Mobile homes are often a job for prostitutes" (S. Wagner). With this action, the mobile home should be taken out of secrecy. At the invitation of the Westphalian Art Association, Wagner invited a Doña Carmen employee to the exhibition, who reported on the work of prostitutes.

In autumn 2002 another Wagner project, the “Protective Marriage”, was exhibited by the Wolfsburg Art Association . This was intended to highlight the problem of migrants who could prevent deportation by marrying them. A brochure, the content of which indicated (but did not ask) that a marriage of foreign citizens could protect against deportation, was withdrawn by the art association, because the city of Wolfsburg might want to stop the financial support. The city of Wolfsburg said that the “Protective Marriage” project could be seen as a “request to criminal acts”. The Kunstverein then withdrew the initiative. The controversial brochure can now be read in seven languages ​​on a website with the comment that the content offers assistance for people "who are considering a protective marriage".

A symposium under the title "Free Earth - The Art of Anarchy - The Anarchy of Art" took place in November 2002 in Frankfurt / M. instead of with the participation of Silke Wagner. Among other things, the topic was dealing with the spirit of anarchy in art and “To what extent anarchy is also of great topicality for contemporary art production”.

Silke Wagner lives and works in Frankfurt am Main.

Exhibitions (selection)

  • 2010 EMSCHERKUNST .2010 with the project: “Glückauf. Miners Protests in the Ruhr Area " .
  • 2009 More than a T-Shirt , Bielefelder Kunstverein
  • 2008 Sculpture Park , Leidsche Rijn Park, Utrecht
  • 2007 L'EUROPE EN DEVENIR partie 2 , group exhibition Paris Center Culturel Suisse
  • 2006 Practicing Democracy , Westfälischer Kunstverein Münster
  • 2005 Cool Hunters , ZKM Karlsruhe, Künstlerhaus Vienna, Kunsthalle Budapest
  • 2004 System disturbances , Edith-Russ-House for Media Art Oldenburg
  • 2003 Nobody is an island , Society for Contemporary Art Bremen
  • 2002 Establishing connections , Kunstverein Hamburg (cat.)
  • 2001 work Essen Angst , coking plant Zollverein - contemporary art and criticism Essen (cat.)
  • 2000 attempts at flexibility , Museum Fridericianum Kassel
  • 1999 HOME & AWAY , Kunstverein Hannover (cat.)

Awards

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Artist projects: Silke Wagner ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved September 23, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.emscherkunst.de
  2. ↑ Quoted from: 2010LAB.tv from January 19, 2010 . Retrieved September 25, 2010
  3. ↑ Silke Wagner: sidewalk. In: KÖR Art in Public Space Vienna. Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Author: Marius Babias in “Art Magazine” of May 7, 2008 ( Memento of the original of January 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved September 24, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.art-magazin.de
  5. ^ Georg Elser Art Competition in Munich . Retrieved September 24, 2010
  6. ↑ Raimar Stange in conversation with Silke Wagner . From November 2008, with photo. Retrieved September 24, 2010
  7. ↑ In the youth newspaper: ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Utopia - Youth Newspaper August 31, 2009. Accessed September 25, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jugendzeitung.net
  8. ↑ Read a detailed article on "linksnet.de" . In Grassroots Revolution No. 327, January 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2010
  9. ↑ Author: Bernd Drücke . In: Neue Rheinische Zeitung . Retrieved September 24, 2010
  10. ↑ Author: Michael Schulze, "Kulturkampf" . In: Grassroots Revolution No. 325, January 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2010
  11. ↑ Press review, UW archive . “Münster's story from below”, parts 2 and 3. Retrieved on November 4, 2010
  12. ↑ Author: Lukas Speckmann in "Westfälische Nachrichten" . Retrieved November 4, 2010
  13. ↑ Wagner works with sex workers and prostitutes . With continuing left. Retrieved September 24, 2010
  14. ^ Project “Protective Marriage” . Retrieved September 25, 2010
  15. ↑ "The Art of Anarchy" . Retrieved September 25, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Wagner, Silke
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German artist
DATE OF BIRTH 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Goeppingen