EIKON #66

Editorial Content

EIKON #66

Languages | german / english
Format | 210 x 280 mm
ISBN | 978-3-902250-47-6
96 pages

Price: sold out

Content

Artist Pages

Editorial
Elisabeth M. Gottfried

TIMOTHEUS TOMICEK
Normal Is Enough
Ruth Horak

JULIE MONACO
The Technologies of the Muse
Claudia Weinzierl

WERNER SCHRÖDL
New Works
Margit Zuckriegl

ORI GERSHT
The Angel of History
Carol Armstrong

ONA B.
The Red Univers
Peter Bogner

JEANNE SZILIT
Idylle and Abyss
Carl Aigner

Student Page

Steffi Schöne
Heidrose Langer

Forum

53rd Venice Biennal – The Austrian Pavillon
Johanna Hofleitner

Photography and Media Art in Linz 2009
Jasmin Haselsteiner-Scharner

European Month of Photography Luxembourg
Christine De Naeyer

Exhibitions

Fotografie und das Unsichtbare 1840-1900, Vienna
Andrea Winklbauer

Fragments of Action in Translation, Vienna
Andreas Spiegl

New Photography from Finland, Wolfsburg
Peter Kunitzky

Czech Photography of the 20th Century, Bonn
Dirk Ufermann

The Pictures Generation 1974–1984, New York
Robert Ayers

Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2009, London
Wolfgang Brückle

Concept Film (I), Graz
Ulrich Tragatschnig

Reviews (German only)

Edgar Lissel: Vom Werden und Vergehen der Bilder
Carl Aigner

Hanns Otte – Linz 2003 bis 2006
Nina Schedlmayer

Runa Islam: Restless Subject
Hanna Nickel

Hannes Norberg
Peter Kunitzky

Editorial

Just as all catastrophes disappear from the first pages of the newspapers sooner or later, depending on their magnitude, the same thing is true of the current “crisis,” or so one might think.

The reverse already takes place when we look at the definition of the terms, whereby catastrophe is a crisis that ends in utter failure. But this time, everything was different: first the crash, the catastrophe, and now the crisis. And that’s why the crisis has not backed down, but carefully distributed itself across the sections of our dailies, weeklies, and monthlies, as is the strength of a well-growing crisis. It has an impact on everything and everyone. So we too can again give it proper treatment, for the fact that the “C” in crisis can give way to the “C” in creativity is something that most of us are aware of by now, at least the positive thinkers. And that’s how we see both our readers and ourselves, at least we think so.

At Vienna’s Universität für angewandte Kunst (where those responsible are also extremely positive thinkers) a discussion round has just taken place on art, culture, and the crisis, and EIKON has invited the students of this school featured in our Student Pages last year to design EIKON’s Schaufenster on the same issue. The opening takes place May 27, the day this issue EIKON 66 hits the newsstands. A month later, we can all see red at the same location: a color that runs—as sure as the crisis and like a thread—through the artistic work of ONA B. Her latest works, accompanied by a text by Peter Bogner in this issue, will then be on view at EIKON’s Schaufenster.

“Normal” stands alone as the first word in the piece by Ruth Horak on the works of TIMOTHEUS TOMICEK, the winner of the first EIKON competition (see EIKON 65) and a shooting star of Austrian photography. The self-evidence that Horak lends to the word “normal” triggered the very same effect in me that Tomicek addresses in his photography. On the example mentioned: that a word repeated x times starts to sound strange or absurd. But also situations, people, or objects that are familiar, and seem entirely normal, change their identity after watching them for a long time. At least they have the potential to do so. Horak’s piece itself is by no means normal, but fantastic, and exemplifies an important interest of ours: to publish pieces that can stand up to the works they accompany. The ideal couple: word and image, two individuals that bear the capacity to charge one another.

Another such piece is the one by Claudia Weinzierl about the fantastic works of JULIE MONACO. Her artificial images, generated using only the computer, are able to reconcile the binaries appearance and being, real and unreal. It’s not about deception: Monaco’s images rather attest to the primal power that exists in all of us to create new realities.

WERNER SCHRÖDL and Margit Zuckriegl. JEANNE SZILIT and Carl Aigner. ORI GERSHT and Carol Armstrong: three more “couples” formed for this issue in order to artistically execute their ideas: once in words, and once in the image. “Reports of a Clairvoyant,” “Idyll and Abyss,” “The Angel of History” are the titles of these contributions that complete our Artist Pages.

In Forum, we once again offer trips to Linz, Europe’s cultural capital in 2009, to Luxemburg in the Month of Photography, and to the city of vaporetti and the certainly most legendary biennial, where this year four artists (Elke Krystufek, Dorit Margreiter, Franziska & Lois Weinberger) will play the Austria Pavilion: Venice, La Serenissima.

We have left out the art market piece in this issue: for at the moment the crisis is all there is, so there’s not much (positive) to report.

And once more Ona B.: her video installation Zeitansage 1503 is a obituary ante mortem to the Austrian telephone service that since 1972 has announced the “proper time” with one and the same woman’s voice. By the time this edition goes to print, this service will have disappeared forever.

And some more positive thinking: we can live without the time being announced, as long as we take time for the important things.

In this sense, our heartfelt thanks to our readers—both new and old—and hope you have fun reading EIKON!

Best wishes in the name of the whole team,
Elisabeth M. Gottfried

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EIKON #66

Content

Artist Pages

Student Page

Forum

Exhibitions

Reviews (German only)

Editorial

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