Exhibition: The Eightees – A Decade of Extremes
M HKA, Antwerpen
17 June 2016 - 18 September 2016
©image: M HKA
The Eighties – A Decade of Extremes presents a nuanced picture of the eighties with all its contrasts, cheerful and playful, but also hard and radical.
The eighties are known as the era of the post-modern individualist. These are the years of Thatcher, Reagan, the yuppies (young urban professionals), computerisation and mediatisation. The decade ofnouvelle cuisine, cold wave and advertising, the Walkman and aerobics, IKEA, Michael Jackson, but also of Joy Division and The Beastie Boys. The era of AIDS, the Gang of Nivelles, the CCC (Communist Combatant Cells), the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Anti-Fascist Front, the second punk generation, the No Future Generation. It was the decade of major protest marches against nuclear missiles and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The redefinition of the relationship between the state and the market marks the beginning of the erosion of the welfare state. For some – the yuppies – this meant the opportunity to generate enormous wealth through the newly created free market, but this period of post-industrialization was also marked by a deep recession; it is the time of the No Future Generation. The exhibition The Eighties – A Decade of Extremes brings into focus the polarization that existed between wealth and malaise in the then society.
The exhibition shows works of the New York scene, which at that time was still the example for Europe: new media were used to address social problems, especially the gender issue. Along with this, there were the post-minimal installations with their elitist and cool aesthetic that dominated the European art scene, by artists ranging from Allan McCollum to Jan Vercruysse, and poppyinstallations by Jeff Koons and Wim Delvoye. Artists such as Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven and Danny Devos are shown as well, as exponents of the No Future Generation that saw artists use aggression and provocation both substantively and strategically to position themselves against tradition and political correctness. Aside from a variety of artworks, the exhibition also recalls social and political events through a variety of materials, ranging from drawings by 'political cartoonist' GAL, vinyl records, magazines and movie excerpts.
Artists: Georg Baselitz, Guillaume Bijl, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Club Moral (Danny Devos & Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven), Jef Cornelis, René Daniëls, Thierry De Cordier, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Wim Delvoye, Bernaded Dexters, Lili Dujourie, Jan Fabre, GAL, Robert Gober, Rodney Graham, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Jörg Immendorff, Per Kirkeby, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Robert Mapplethorpe, Paul McCarthy & Mike Kelley, Allan McCollum, Cady Noland, Ria Pacquée, A.R. Penck, David Robilliard, Martha Rosler, Rob Scholte, Thomas Schütte, Cindy Sherman, Walter Swennen, Jan Vercruysse en Franz West.
Media
>Barbara Kruger, We Are Not What We Seem, 1988
> Besides an overview of the art of the Neue Wilde, the post minimalists, the New York artists and the In Vitro installation of Club Moral, we gathered a few fragments of music from the eighties. Enjoy listening and have fun!
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>Click here for a timeline of the 80s!
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WorksShow artists
> Hugo Roelandt, Naaktportretten / Nude Portraits, 1976. Photography, ink, paper.
> Bernaded Dexters, Reeks foto's voor Force Mental, 1979-1986. Photography.
> GAL, Politieke tekeningen - jaren tachtig, 1980-1990. Drawing, pencil, paper, variable dimensions.
> Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven / AMVK, Indépendance, 1981. Painting, house paint, acrylic and polyester on plexiglas, 200 x 147.5 x 5 cm .
> Jörg Immendorff, Wir können zufrieden sein, 1981. Painting, synthetic paint, canvas, 252.5 x 202.5 cm.
> Jan Fabre, Avant Grade, 1981. Installation, ivory, pencil, 117 x 10 cm.
> Allan McCollum, 100 Plaster Surrogates, 1982. Installation, oil, plaster, 218 x 950 x 5 cm.
> Martha Rosler, Martha Rosler Reads Vogue, 1982. Video, 00:28:00.
> Robert Mapplethorpe, Wim en Roberto - De macht der theaterlijke dwaasheden, 1983. Photography, 77 x 67cm.
> Franz West, Untitled, 1983-1989. Installation, 3 parts: papier maché, (pigmented) gypsum, iron, mesh, painting 80 x 102 x 10 cm, pedestal (96 x 87 x 40 cm) + cone.
> Cindy Sherman, Untitled No 120 A, 1983. Photography, photo, paper, 55 x 89 cm.
> Cindy Sherman, Untitled No 121 A, 1983. Photography, photo, paper, 53.5 x 88.2 cm.
> Jenny Holzer, Truisms, 1983. Text, metal, electronic components, plexiglass, transformer, 16 x 155 x 10.1 cm.
> Thomas Schütte, Blauer Bunker, 1984. Installation, synthetic paint on paper, latex on plaster, wood, ( 3 x ) ca. 200 x 157 cm, 161 x 108 x 126 cm.
> A. R. Penck, Was ist Gravitation? I, 1984. Painting, acryl, canvas, 252 x 351 cm.
> Per Kirkeby, Flugten til Aegypten, 1985. Painting, oil, canvas, 201.9 x 152.3 x 3.5 cm.
> Panorama: We moeten toch kleren hebben, 1986. Video, video, colour, sound, 00:20:15.
> Georg Baselitz, Grüner Baum, 1986. Painting, oil, canvas, 250 x 301 x 4.5 cm.
> Jan Vercruysse, Atopies (VIII), 1986. Installation, mahogany veneer on wood, steel, 396 x 380 x 30 cm.
> Lili Dujourie, The Kiss, 1986. Sculpture, wood, textiles, glass, silver, fluid, 432 x 102.5 x 244 cm.
> Walter Swennen, Mesmeric Revelation, 1987-1988. Painting, oil, lacquer, canvas, 200 x 190 cm.
> René Daniëls, De Kelder, de Zolder, 1987. Multiple, paint on cloth, wooden box, screenprint, pencil, 9.8 x 18.8 x 3.6 cm.
> David Robilliard, Safe Sex, 1987. Painting, acrylic, canvas, 100 x 150 cm.
> Guillaume Bijl, Sorry, 1987. Sculpture, mixed media, 15 x 8 x 15 cm.
> Keith Haring, Zonder titel [Untitled], 1987. Film, acrylic, 330 x 645 cm.
> Blikvanger 34: London Fashion Week, 1988. Video, video, colour, sound, 00:27:41.
> Bernaded Dexters, HardCore, 1988. Video, video, colour, sound.
> Rob Scholte, Melancholia, 1988. Print, silkscreen print on anvas, 83 x 115 cm.
> Wim Delvoye, Twee Delftse Butaangasflessen [Two Delft Blue Butane Containers], 1988. Sculpture, butane bottles, enamel paint, 58 x 30 cm.
> Barbara Kruger, We Are Not What We Seem, 1988. Collage, screen print, vinyl, chassis, 276 x 243 cm.
> Thierry De Cordier, Hoofdbreker [Head-Breaker], 1988. Sculpture, wood, paint, 42 x 33 x 73 cm.
> Ria Pacquée, Waiting for my man who lost the war, 1989. Photography, colour photograph, 106.5 x 150 cm.
> Robert Gober, Drain, 1989. Sculpture, tin, lood, 13 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm.
> Cady Noland, Oozewald, 1989. Sculpture, aluminium, nylon, silver cloth, 180 x 90 x 73 cm.
> Jeff Koons, Puppy PP1, 1992. Object, green plush / stuffed animal, 25.4 x 22.9 x 16.5 cm .
> Jeff Koons, Red Balloon Dog, 1995. Object, metallized porcelain, 26.67 x 26.67 cm.
> Music Video's That Shaped The 80's, 2010-2012. Video, video, colour, sound, 00:60:00.
> Robert Mapplethorpe, Annemirl - De Macht der Theaterlijke Dwaasheden. Photography, 70 x 68 cm.