INVESTIGATIONS OF A DOG
Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Stockholm
Whether the characters of Beatrix Potter, Mickey Mouse, or George Orwell’s Animal Farm, unless you grew up on an island or remote mountaintop with no books, no television, and no local tradition of oral storytelling, I bet you’re pretty familiar with the anthropomorphism of animals as a literary device. And let’s face it, sometimes getting at the truth is just easier when it’s coming from the whimsically moving lips of a talking horse, pig, or dog. Themed on Franz Kafka’s short story of the same name, Investigations of a Dog looks at the artists it contains as the sort of ‘re-humanized’, if you will, incarnations of Kafka’s animal protagonist. Now, whether that intensifies the ability to keep a critical eye on society through the artworks or descends into something truly Kafkaesque will certainly make for some good discussion on your visit.
Investigations of a Dog exhibits from the collections of the five members of FACE – Foundation of Arts for a Contemporary Europe – and many of them, including works by Maurizio Cattelan, Fischli & Weiss, Claire Fontaine, Jeff Koons, Sigalit Landau and Sherrie Levine, are being shown in Sweden for the first time. Should the opportunity to see these works together not be enough to tempt you through the doors of Magasin 3, how about the opportunity to cheekily quote Kafka’s story when you’re asked how you liked the exhibition? “Every dog has like me the impulse to question, and I have like every dog the impulse not to answer.” Both opportunities you won’t get everyday!
Until May 29th 2011 at Magasin 3, Frihamnen, SE – 115 56 Stockholm. Opening Hours: 11am – 7pm on Thursdays and 11am – 5pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Thinking of heading out there? White Line’s got you covered with a choice of locations to chill in. Check out White Line Hotels edits Hotel J on Nacka Strand, Hotel Skeppsholomen on Skeppsholmen island, or the Nobis Hotel smack bang in the centre of Stockholm.
Images (in order of appearance):
Jeff Koons Ushering in Banality, 1988.
Sherrie Levine, Body Mask, 2007
Claire Fontaine Strike V. !!, 2005-2007.
Maurizio Cattelan Untitled (Gerard), 1999.
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Categories: Stockholm, Art, Exhibitions
Contributing writer: Melissa Frost
