February 10–May 21, 2017
The destabilised world seems to have become part of our normal existence. Every day reports of crisis send us into a state of frenzy, whether real or fictional. The feeling of menacing unease and fear of unpredictable change conjures up the image of a floundering society on a floundering planet. And yet, as the Dizziness—A Resource project proposes, dizziness is also a trigger and catalyst for creative thinking and activity. By observing its dynamics, we gain an insight into our capacity to “navigate the unknown.”
Dizziness as the moment of losing stability and control is seen at the exhibition in both psychological and physical terms, occurring at personal and social but also political and cultural levels. It occurs locally, depends on the situation and is triggered by the challenges of an excess or deficit of information, or the loss of stabilising factors. It is pervasive, infectious, a trigger for acceleration or complete standstill. Artist duo Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond are researching the concept of dizziness at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in various disciplines: art, philosophy, creativity research, cultural sciences, medicine and psychology.
Artistic curatorial research
The group exhibition developed out of and with the research project Dizziness—A Resource, conducted by the artist duo Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond since 2014. It forms part of the artistic curatorial research and shows in particular—starting from the medium of film—works in which dizziness becomes an artistic method used to investigate orientations, views and intentions, to drive developments or challenge rules. For many artists, the experience of dizziness is an immanent part of their artistic practice.
The Living in a Dizzying World (2015–16) competition was set up for the exhibition, attached to a study in collaboration with Dizziness—A Resource and the Institute of Differential Psychology at the University of Graz. Some 38 international artists were monitored in a daily survey, allowing an analysis of dizziness within the creative process. Among other things, the study confirmed that a feeling of insecurity and loss of control does occur in many cases of artistic creativity. The winning film is Fractal Crisis by Swedish artists Viktor Landström and Sebastian Wahlforss, which can be seen in the exhibition.
Tour through three zones
The exhibition Dizziness. Navigating the Unknown sets out three zones: one devoted to conscious or unconscious expansion of experience through dizziness (into); another dedicated to fragile, ecstatic meandering (through); and the third exploring the strength of imagination that allows the creative generation of a new idea (out).
With works by Bas Jan Ader, Marc Adrian, Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond, Ólafur Elíasson, Robert Filliou, Oliver Hangl, Cameron Jamie, Ann Veronica Janssens, Anna Jermolaewa, Joachim Koester, Michael Landy, Henri Michaux, Bruce Nauman, Laurel Nakadate, Trevor Paglen, Philippe Parreno, Helga Philipp, Oliver Ressler, Ariel Schlesinger and Jonathan Monk, Ben Russell, Viktor Landström and Sebastian Wahlforss, Esther Stocker, Superflex, Catherine Yass.
The source and accompanying book to the exhibition invites visitors to take part in different approaches and perspectives around the theme of dizziness. A reader comprising scientific texts is planned for 2018, in cooperation with Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
The exhibition can also be seen from September 15, 2017 to January 7, 2018 at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw.
Further information about the research project Dizziness—A Resource by Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond can be found on the website www.on-dizziness.com.
Symposium
Alongside the exhibition, the symposium Agents of Confusion! will take place on February 10, 2017. This event features speakers from the fields of philosophy, visual arts, creativity research and cultural studies and brings together a wide range of contributions from artistic and cross-disciplinary research on dizziness in the form of screenings, artists’ talks, lectures and discussions. With Davide Deriu (University of Westminster), Rebekka Ladewig (Bauhaus University Weimar), Karoline Feyertag (philosopher, Vienna), Catherine Yass (artist, London), Mathias Benedek (Karl-Franzens University Graz), Sergio Edelsztein (CCA Tel Aviv), Matti Mintz (Tel Aviv University), and many others.
