Exhibition Unsere Tiere at the Tieranatomisches Theater of the Humboldt-University, Berlin

                                       
 
                                               
The exhibition allows to trace the cultural history of animals with contemporary artistic positions drawing upon the various aspects of animals representation, animals heraldic, as well as the archetypal mythological  metaphors related to animal symbols.

The curatorial approach offered insights into the subject matter of the exhibition. From animals at large to "our animals" (Unsere Tiere) - there' re spaces to gap. Our perception, interpretation,  animal related research, exploitation/consumption, and mechanisms of remembrance of animal related cultural phenomena were thoroughly explored.

The organization of exhibition space examined the possibilities of representation modes: scientific charts, comparative tables, overhead projections, glass vitrines, video presentation, spaces arranged by artists. Diverse as it were: art in context approach, involving the emotional impact, along with the traditional scientific mode of representation as in museums of natural history complemented each other providing as complete information about the exhibition topic as possible. In fact it had something of Marcel Broodthaers' experimental attitude of institutional critique,  from his 1972 installation "Musėe d' Art Modern, Dėpartement des Aigles, Section des Figures". 

The positioning of a scientific chart next to a glass vitrine containing animal related drawings neighboring with art installations dedicated to certain animals or animal groups mythological or real, next to examples of animal imagery use in commercial/label contexts - explained the complexity of the theme in question, verging on the impossibility of exhaustive analysis. The elements of institutional critique questioning traditional modes of representation in museum and archival contexts were evident in the organization of the exhibition space.

The exhibition at the Tieranatomische Teater was organized by curators team of Prof. Dr. Michael Fehr, Direktor Institut Kunst im Kontext, Universität der Künste Berlin (Konzept, Leitung), 
Dr. Frank Steinheimer, Leiter Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen (ZNS) der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 
Dr. Renate Schafberg, Kustodin Museum für Haustierkunde, ZNS der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 
Felix Sattler, Kurator Tieranatomisches Theater, Hermann von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtechnik der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin


For more on the ARE artists and researchers, please, see: 

http://e-mergingartists.blogspot.de/2014_06_01_archive.html