| Austria is a phenomenon between definitions. As a geographical, historical and lingual expression of this, we might ask whether the art of the country also represents its dichotomies. Landlocked to the north by Germany and the Czech Republic, to the east by Slovakia and Hungary, to the south by Slovenia and Italy and to the west by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is safe to say that Austria is truly caught in the middle of Eastern and Western Europe. So how might Austria define itself? |  |
An Introduction to the Section – Arhan Virdi
Austria is a phenomenon between definitions. As a geographical, historical and lingual expression of this, we might ask whether the art of the country also represents its dichotomies. Landlocked to the north by Germany and the Czech Republic, to the east by Slovakia and Hungary, to the south by Slovenia and Italy and to the west by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is safe to say that Austria is truly caught in the middle of Eastern and Western Europe. So how might Austria define itself?
The art and culture of a country is usually an indicator of its formal definitions. The creative media that it boasts gives away its influences, for example: the decades of history that affected its presence on an international stage; the genres and movements, politically, socially and creatively, that the country fought for or against.
So what is in Austria’s creative subconscious? How would a country that has, across the decades of the last century, seldom been considered a country in its own right define itself today? Can we see it beginning to define itself with the art it is happy to exhibit to the world?
Set in a 60,000 square meter space in the middle of Vienna’s Seventh District, the MuseumsQuartier serves as a good indication of how Eastern or Western Austria thinks it is. The eighth largest cultural area in the world, the baroque style and modern architecture influence the MuseumsQuartier’s buildings, which are home to a range of institutions—from large art museums like the Leopold and the MUMOK to the contemporary exhibition space the Kunsthalle Wien.
Each art installation space has a slight bent of its own. The museums showcase their individuality through their permanent collections. They range from the “German Expressionists” exhibition and the permanent Schieles and Klimts of the Leopold Museum to the “Keep A Cool Head” exhibition by Erwin Würm and the Franz Gertsch of the MUMOK. The Kunsthalle, on the other hand, provides an interesting middle ground housing contemporary art and often contracting exhibitions of an international stature. The Kunsthalle may reflect the Austrians’ appreciation of art more than the heritage of Austrian art, as the other museums do.
In this section, we review the exhibitions in each of the art spaces in the MuseumsQuartier. It is interesting to follow the range of artistic influences that the art houses have chosen to exhibit. What comes out in the following texts is that Austria has a dual identity. A dual citizenship as it were.
As a prominent Western figure and a member of the European Union, Austria is a country that still pushes for independence and freedom while remaining true to its Eastern roots. Austria’s duality comes across in each art space.
Interestingly, the KunstHausWien in the third district evidences this sense of two-ness best. A smaller, funded museum that is not in the MuseumsQuartier emerges as the art space that most clearly symbolizes what Austria is: a burgeoning Western country with an Eastern soul.
