cultural
In the museum gugging in Klosterneuburg (Tulln district) you can visit a new special exhibition from Thursday. It shows how music, literature, fashion and photography were and are influenced by Gugging artists.
With the publication of the book “Schizophrenia and Art” (1965) by Leo Navratil, psychiatrist and head of department at what was then the Gugging State Psychiatric Clinic, the art world began to take notice of the Gugging artists. For example, David Bowie and Brian Eno visited the House of Artists in 1994, where they met August Walla, Oswald Tschirtner and Johann Garber, among others.
The photographer Christine de Grancy captured this event, her photographs are now being exhibited for the first time at the place where they were taken. David Bowie didn’t have the slightest form of airs and graces, says de Grancy. “What was fascinating was how he dealt with this place. Of course, we were also interested in the fact that he was interested in Art brut. There was something lurking in his gaze.”
“Magic place for artists”
“Gugging has been a magical place for artists since the 1960s,” explains Nina Ansperger. “gugging inspires.! von bowie bis roth” is her first show as the new artistic and scientific director.
“The Austrian writer Gerhard Roth immortalized the Gugging artists in both his literary and his photographic work. Arnulf Rainer, Peter Pongratz and Johann Rausch also wanted to be close to the Guggingers. Scottish fashion designer Christopher Kane was inspired by motifs by Heinrich Reisenbauer and Johann Korec,” says Ansperger.
Museum should become a place of inclusion and discourse
All of this is vividly presented in the exhibition, showing that the inspiration was sometimes mutual. A catalog has been published for the exhibition, which contains numerous illustrations and text contributions on 232 pages, including by Ansperger, Pongratz, Rausch and Kane.
As the successor to Johann Feilacher, Ansperger – in office since January 1 – wants to further expand the museum gugging as a place of inclusion, participation and open discourse. She also wants to focus more on female artists. The new special exhibition demonstrates Ansperger’s intention to work as an intermediary without compromising on the quality of the works presented. “gugging inspires.! von bowie bis roth” can be seen until September 24th.
