The exhibition "The Course of Things" at Kunsthal KAdE is about cause and effect. A cause precedes an effect; a seemingly simple fact of a series of causal laws that governs and controls the world. A series of - sometimes corresponding - events in which each action is triggered by a previous one and entails the next. This fact inspires various artists to observe, provoke or bend causal processes to their will. The reason for the exhibition is the film Der Lauf der Dinge by the Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss.
Der Lauf der Dinge | Fischli/Weiss
A hanging garbage bag slowly sinks while spinning, causing a car tire to start rolling and a moment later a board to tip over. Thus begins the 30-meter-long chain reaction in the film Der Lauf der Dinge (1987) by Swiss duo Peter Fischli & David Weiss. The most mundane objects set other objects in motion through fire, explosions and other chemical reactions. Fischli/Weiss spent a year in 1986-1987 fiddling with all the parts in the chain reaction. In the end, everything lies broken or useless on the ground. They show how a system, determined by its possibilities and limitations, takes steps toward its own destruction. The chain reaction is built up over a length of 20 to 30 meters in a shed. Fischli/Weiss' film was and still is an inspiration for many artists.
Installations, videos & objects | a Loop of Things artwork has movement in it
In addition to the film Der Lauf der Dinge, the exhibition at Kunsthal KAdE features installations, videos and objects by both artists and designers that explore the boundaries of cause and effect. Gerrit van Bakel made machines that move slowly due to changes in temperature, light or humidity. He wanted to find out to what extent he could follow physical processes. Two videos by Sam Taylor-Johnson zoom in on rotting fruit and a road-killing dead hare. Dying as the ultimate "consequence. Chain reactions appear in the installation by the collective Spullenmannen, by Roman Signer and also in an animation by Evelien Lohbeck.
A Loop of Things artwork has movement or the suggestion of movement and a passage of time in it. Loop der dingen can arise through natural processes such as flowering, growth and decay. But also by human actions, manipulations with or without tools and machines, sometimes with irrefutable consequences. For example, artist duo Driessens and Verstappen created a sandbox. They set the parameters in this 'box' and then let themselves be surprised by unpredictable, constantly changing sandstorms.
Vanitas | remember to die
In this exhibition with mostly works by contemporary artists, we take a trip to the seventeenth century in which the motif 'vanitas' (remember to die) was frequently depicted. We show two beautiful examples of vanitas prints: 'The Cloud Palace of Time' by Jan van Ossenbeeck, 1663 - 1674 from the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and 'The Stairway of Aging', anonymous 1642-1665 from the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Both prints feature the hourglass as one of the symbols for vanitas. From a private collection in Oosterhout, we show a small selection of hourglasses. Hourglasses have been used for centuries to visually measure time by means of "running sand.
Participating artists in the group exhibition The Course of Things:
Kim Abeles (US, 1952) | Gerrit van Bakel (NL, 1943-1984) | Michiel van Bakel (NL, 1966) | Semâ Bekirovic (NL, 1977) | Jan Coolen (NL, 1968) | Driessens and Verstappen (NL, 1963 / NL, 1964) | Zoro Feigl (NL, 1983) | Peter Fischli (CH,1952) & David Weiss (CH,1946-2012) | Kristján Guðmundsson (IS, 1941) | Frank Halmans (NL, 1963) | HeyHeydeHaas (NL, group) | Evelien Lohbeck (NL, 1983) | Martin Luijendijk (NL, 1958) | Damián Ortega (MX, 1967) | Zeger Reyers (NL, 1966) | Miguel Angel Rios (AR, 1953) | Nitipak Samsen (TH, 1979) | Roman Signer (CH, 1938) | Berndnaut Smilde (NL, 1978) | De Spullenmannen (NL) | Sam Taylor-Johnson (UK, 1967) | Hildegard Tholens (NL, 1994)
Artist(s):
Kim Abeles
Fischli & Weiss
Michiel van Bakel
Frank Halmans
Zeger Reyers
Miguel Angel Rios
Semâ Bekirovic
Roman Signer
Berndnaut Smilde
the Spullenmen
Sam Taylor-Johnson
Hildegard Tholens
Damián Ortega
Nitipak Nitipak Samsen
Nail
Driessens and Verstappen
Zoro Feigl
Peter Fischli
Kristján Guðmundsson
Jan Jan Coolen
Evelien Lohbeck
Martin Luijendijk
Gerrit van Bakel
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