Paul Pfeiffer
THE SAINTS
Opening Friday, October 9, 2009, 8pm
On view October 10, 2009 – March 28, 2010
Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof
Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin
Invalidenstrasse 50 – 51
10557 Berlin
This October Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart presents Paul Pfeiffer’s sound and video installation The Saints that illuminates and re-stages the most important sports event in European post-war history. The 1966 World Cup final is not simply legendary; this history-charged spectacle is mythical even today. For the first time since World War II former enemy nations Germany and England met in the sports arena. Memories center especially around Geoffrey Hurst’s goal that led to England’s 3:2 lead in the eleventh overtime minute. With original film and sound materials Pfeiffer leads our imagination back to the arena of the 1966 sports spectacle. Yet, through the use of sound, digital manipulation, and a re-staging in the present-day Philippines, Pfeiffer also opens up a more existential level that goes beyond the specific context of the 1966 football World Championship. Commissioned by Artangel in 2007, The Saints was originally shown in an empty warehouse very near to the Wembley Stadium. Now, thanks to the generous support of Outset, it is presented as part of the collection of the Hamburger Bahnhof.
The Saints‘ overwhelming sound of cheering and chanting masses will accompany the visitor while watching Pfeiffer’s Empire (2004, on loan from Julia Stoschek Foundation e.V.) that shows the real time of the creation of a wasps’ nest over the course of three months. The mental space evoked by the sound also materializes upon encountering Pfeiffer’s sculpture Vitruvian Figure (2009, on loan from Sammlung Goetz), a huge model of a sports stadium.
A catalogue in German and English, published by the Kehrer Verlag, will accompany the exhibition with an extensive interview by Paul Pfeiffer and James Lingwood and essays by Kodwo Eshun, An Paenhuysen, Britta Schmitz, and Ian White.
Address:
Invalidenstrasse 50 – 51, 10557 Berlin
Opening Hours:
Tue-Fr, 10 – 6 pm
Sat, 11 – 8 pm
Sun, 11 – 6 pm
Closed Monday
Contact:
Fax. 030 – 3978 3413
E-Mail: hbf@smb.spk-berlin.de
Transport:
U-Bahn U6 (Zinnowitzer Straße)
S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S75, S9 (Hauptbahnhof)
Tram M6, M8, 12 (Zinnowitzer Straße)
Bus M41, M85, TXL (Hauptbahnhof); 120, 123, 147, 240, 245 (Invalidenpark)
The Asia-Pacific Weeks (APW) are funded by the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin (DKLB).
