Reading Summation 2 – WochenKlausur- Sociopolitical Activism in Art

WochenKlausur, an artist group, was created by Wolfgang Zinggl in 1992, and the amount of group members is changing by different projects. They believe that art shouldn’t be just art, and art should involve in the real life. For example, the solution of real problems can be found in political circumstances, the improvement of human coexistences should be pointed out, and the new way of thinking, spirits, energy, and creativities should be defined through artworks. Although art can have different purposes, such as, personal interests, seek for identity, or financial affairs, art has another important mission which is to be to transformation of living conditions. For adverting industry’s point of view, changes of the society’s social environment will affect the psyche of human, but the face is human’s ideological principles won’t be changed through external elements. Additionally, their definitions of “What Art can do” are very interesting which including “Art can transmit feelings and cause one’s heart to vibrate” that really impressing me. In my personal experience, an interactive project called The Eyewriter which was created by Zach Lieberman strongly touched my heart. This project helped TEMPTONE, a famous graffiti artist, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2003, a disease which has left him almost complete paralyzed excepted for his eyes, created his artworks again through a device and then projected the artworks on LA’s building just like what he has done before.

Also, Zinggl mentions that the goal of activists in the 50s was to conflict with the high culture, but their acts was interpreted as having another attempts. Correspondingly, Conceptual Art appeared which more focused on fixing important social issues, such as race, nation, class, and gender, but they still stickered on traditional forms, like exhibition and presentation which might only attracted a group of people who have similar viewpoints. As the time goes by, in the 70s, Conceptual Art decline, and Action Art started take a place at art history and became a huge influence of Activism because of the “originally conceived as a cathartic satisfaction of the individual's unfulfilled drives and liberation of the subject from the bond of convention.” Move to 80s, some dissidents debated the concept of social art and they wanted to appeal that Conceptual Art didn’t have any meaning. In the 90s, visual art became two parts, one was to make money and another was to catch people’s eyes because the way of thinking was changed and a renewal of reflection on the social responsibility of art.

Nowadays, the artists know the limitation of art’s impact, and the potential also been seen when the effecting area scale is small. Finally art is the surfaces, and social renewal is the structure which needs the priority improvements. The advantage of art is the political capital of disposal, and social circumstances can be an effective material like other traditional materials of art. Therefore, Wochenklausur uses different mediums in many different ways for achieving their purposes.

Artwork of examples in the 70s:

·       Ulrike Rosenbach: TV

·       Richard Kriesche:Video

·       Barbara Steveni and John Latham

·       Joseph Beuys

·       HanHaacke: political process influenced through intervention.

·       Klaus Staeck: agitprop, poster   

Artwork of WochenKlausur

1993 Vienna Secession Homelessness: provides health care for free which change more than 700 patients monthly.

1994 Shedhalle Zurich Drug Problems: for drag-addicted women who can make money through prostitution.

1994 Progetto Civitella d’Agliano Senior Center:

1995 steirischer herbst Immigrant Labor:

1996 Vienna University of Applied Art Classrooms:

1996 Salzburger Kunstverein Deportation Detention:

1997 festival der regionen Community Development:

1998 NGBK, Kunstamt Kreuzberg Labor Market:

1998 European Culture Month Upcycling:

1999 Venice Biennial Language Schools:

1999 Museum City Project Project Teaching:

2000 Denube University and kunsthalle Krems Civic Participation:

2000 Institut fur modern Kunst Nuremberg, log. In Public Debate: