“(…) And Höller’s garret really was totally dark, and as I looked out of Höller’s attic, I could see nothing but complete darkness (…)”. This is how Thomas Bernhard describes Alfred Höller’s garret in his novel Correction which deals with the unpublished novel of a friend who committed suicide. What is this correction that Bernhard describes here? So it says “we continually adjust and correct ourselves with the greatest ruthlessness (…)”. As part of WWTBD – What Would Thomas Bernhard Do, the taxidermist Alfred Höller and the phytopathologist (plant disease specialist) and artist Carsten Höller will discuss the genesis of Bernard’s notion of correction, the figure of the scientist, and the proximity of science to the visual arts. And also how, in contrast to the systematically applied corrections of experimental research, the profession of taxidermy leads to a fusion of the imitation of nature, deception, and perfection.
Alfred Höller (*1935) is a taxidermist. He lives and works in Pinsdorf.
Carsten Höller (*1961) is an artist. He lives and works in Stockholm. Among his solo exhibitions, Höller has held those at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart in Berlin, and Guggenheim Museum in New York.