Frederick Kiesler: The Stage Explodes
Nearly fifty years after his death, the work of Frederick Kiesler gives us the keys to deciphering contemporaneity. Pioneering and innovative, Kiesler's theories made him a pivotal figure in the fields of architecture, scenography, design and experimental film.
Kiesler was a man of many talents whose heterodox, wide-ranging knowledge allowed him to propose concepts linked to the scientific research of his day which have since become central to contemporary art, such as superimposition, simultaneity and intertwining: superimposed planes in his stage designs and drawings, simultaneous spaces on the stage and in architecture, and intertwined elements culminating in a cinema that surpassed the limits of the screen. Scale models, plans and sketches of his projects will usher visitors into Kiesler's personal utopian universe.
This exhibition has been curated by Barbara Lesák and co-produced with the Austrian Theatre Museum, Vienna, and Villa Stuck, Munich.
Several activities will be offered in connection with this show.
- Every Tuesday in October and November, the "100% Cinema" series will take a closer look at Kiesler's cinematographic activities as an event planner, writer, architect and actor.
- From 4 to 8 November, the instructive and participatory workshop "The Spatiotemporal Dimension in Frederick Kiesler's Work" will reflect on Kiesler's output and discover how his theories can be applied to 3D digital creation.
- From 18 to 22 November, a workshop entitled "The Meeting" with Bruce McClure will explore the relationship between light, sound and space based on Kiesler's theories.
Finally, from 4 October to 4 November, Tower 2 will also host the exhibition Kiesler: Face to Face with the Avant-garde, an overview of the artist's life, work and context through photographs from the collection of the Kiesler Foundation Vienna.
