Kader Attia

How is history written? Whose mission is it to write it? What tools are used to examine and evaluate historical events and to disseminate knowledge about them? How about the objectivity of scholarly research and the historic documents on which it is based? Both have recently fallen into disrepute, with much doubt cast on their credibility. What is the legitimacy of visual artists who address historical themes and events in contemporary history with their own resources and distinctive methodologies?
The first thematic exhibition under the ægis of the Museum's new director  initiates a discussion of a central component of the Museum’s mission: to constitute history by means of artefacts. It takes a broad perspective, looking beyond the domain of art history to focus on works with a specific frame of reference: art that reflects on history and contemporary events as well as its own involvement. The works on display span the period from the sixteenth century to the present. The exhibition launches a dialogue with the Museum’s own and other local collections, with different viewpoints and artistic practices; this includes the mechanisms and phenomena of the art world.
Indeed, in many survey shows of past years, contemporary art from crisis regions has functioned like an arsenal catering to an art world hungry for novelty. All in all, the exhibition presents art and artists engaged with history in a broad historical framework, looking back on its origins as well as its current manifestations. Amongst these artists is Kader Attia, who has made a close study of the ethological collection of the Missionary Sisters of Peter Claver in Bergheim, near Salzburg, and the collection in the Cabinet of Curiosities in the Salzburg Cathedral Museum.

With Kader Attia, Elias Baeck, Lothar Baumgarten, Alfred Baumgartner, Heimrad Bäcker, Michael Blum, Marcel Broodthaers, Johan August Corvinus, Alice Creischer, Gerti Deutsch, Otto Dix, Stan Douglas, Harun Farocki, Omer Fast, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Simone Forti, Andrea Fraser, Andrea Geyer, Dan Graham, Renée Green, Ernst Haas, Jörg Immendorff / Felix Dröse, Jörg Immendorff, Sanja Iveković, Kurt Kaindl, Gülsün Karamustafa, Anselm Kiefer, Käthe Kollwitz, Christoph Lederwasch, Deimantas Narkevičius, Walid Raad / The Atlas Group, Elaine Reichek, Aura Rosenberg, Martha Rosler, Anri Sala, Andreas Siekmann, Wael Shawky, Chen Shaoxiong, Johann Conrad Stapff, Danh Vō, Lawrence Weiner, Akram Zaatari

Curators: Sabine Breitwieser, director, with Christina Penetsdorfer, curatorial assistant, MdM Salzburg

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