Laura Amann, curator of the exhibition, will guide you through Darker, Lighter, Puffy, Flat.
We kindly ask you to register in advance at besucherservice@kunsthallewien.at or directly at the cash desk in Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier. The number of participants is limited.
The guided tour is free of charge and will be held in English.
The exhibition Darker, Lighter, Puffy, Flat looks at the topic of breasts and why they still seem to be the subject of so much scandal and dispute. Why is being topless at the swimming pool regarded as unseemly for women? Why is it offensive to breastfeed in public, or (beware!) to breastfeed an animal? Why is it newsworthy to have or want bigger breasts, smaller breasts, or no breasts at all? Why are we still talking about boobs?
Another line of inquiry in the exhibition is the historical and, more specifically, art-historical gaze upon breasts; in recent times they have undergone a transformation from wholesome religious symbol to secularized and sexualized object. Thirdly, the exhibition examines how radical, queer, feminist discourses on politics and society may enter the mainstream, ultimately being distorted and appropriated by it, and how this may enable the mainstream and the radical to feed off of one another. In a world where certain bodies are not meant to exist, their visibility is an act of resistance but also of exposure. The proud display of nipples and breasts of all shapes, sizes, and colors is an act of normalization but potentially also of sexualization or objectification.
Rather than offering one clear response to these questions, Darker, Lighter, Puffy, Flat offers a variety of works, practices, and voices that utilize the seemingly light-hearted, sensual, and wanton motif of breasts to speak to the burningly relevant – and occasionally dark and complex – issues of our era, teetering at the edge of sensuality and discursiveness alike.
RELATED CONTENT
