E. T. A. Hoffmann called Mozart?s Don Giovanni the ?opera of operas?. Sören Kierkegaard saw a ?sensuous-erotic genius? in it. Dazzling and multifarious, the figure of Don Juan itself has undergone several metamorphoses in the course of the centuries. How current is the figure of Don Juan, how contemporary his breathtaking lifestyle?
The joint video art exhibition of the Ursula Blickle Stiftung in Kraichtal (Germany) and the Kunsthalle Wien takes up the myth of Don Juan and establishes the explosiveness of the character.
Musically surrounded by Mozart’s ideal world of “Don Giovanni” and complemented a. o. by Elfriede Jelineks radio play “Jackie” the exhibit examines the grand themes love, lust and death according to the motto: Seduce and be seduced, attract and reject.
Participating artists:
Ellen Cantor, AK Dolven, S-338 (A.K.A. Red Sniper A.K.A. Suite 338 | Kendell Geers), Noritoshi Hirakawa, Takehito Koganezawa, Lilli & Lola, Tracey Moffatt, Vlad Monroe, Zoran Naskovski, Klaus Pobitzer, Helgard Haug | Daniel Wetzel (Rimini Protokoll), Ugo Rondinone, Kiki Seror, Tracey Rose, Doron Solomons, Erwin Wurm.
Curator: Gerald Matt
Co-curator: Gaby Hartel
¹Don Giovanni is the Italian name for the Spanish figure Don Juan. It was Tirso de Molina (? 1648), who brought to life the story of Juan Tenorio with the play El Burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra. The Spanish baroque drama was chosen as basis by Mozart and da Ponte. Don Juan was named Don Giovanni.
²Molière, ?Dom Juan ou le festin de piere?, 1665
³Walter Serner, ?Letzte Lockerung?, 1920