Arts and Economics

In conceptual relation to Műcsarnok’s current exhibition Over the Counter – The Phenomena of Post-socialist Economy in Contemporary Art, Műcsarnok recommends an exhibition concurrently on display in the Künstlerhaus, Vienna.

While art itself is not really compatible with current systems of the economy, this doesn’t mean that artists cannot use their means of expression to reflect on, comment on, analyze and scrutinize the state of the economy, and its impact on every day life.

In the aftermath of recent shocks to the global economy, many have started questioning our current capitalist system. Theories are arising, that the intangible world in which much of this system seems to have occurred over the last couple of decades, has proved to be as impracticable in real life, as many other systems have been, with the classic example of communism. Joy and Disaster-Notes on the Economy, curated by Zsolt Petrányi, features the works of four Hungarian artists, István Csákány, Miklós Erhardt, Tamás Kaszás and Csaba Nemes.

Each explores the themes and issues thrown up by this topic in his own way. Csákány, rejecting intellectualism and focusing on the worker, discusses issues of an over-efficient society that is focused on money. Erhardt’s offerings were created especially for this exhibition, and question the notion of globalization in the light of the problem of language and translation. Kaszás has begun to build his whole life around his anti-utopian visions, and is preparing for the end of the world as it edges ever closer. Némes aims to merge journalism with techniques of fine art creation, and all his works start from facts, events, situations.

So if observing art inspired by the era of change from the socialist to the capitalist system in Over the Counter leads you to start thinking about which era the current system will take us to next, you might like to take your contemplations to Vienna, and see what these four artists make of what may or may not be the end of capitalism.

This exhibition is on display in the Künstlerhaus of Vienna through August 8th. For more info, visit: www.k-haus.at
 

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