Talk
Michael Kleine / Staging art: creating room for the recipient & emptying as a way to give space
Michael Kleine’s practice recurrently moves between formats, across set design, performance, architecture, music and sculptural work in close dialogue with site and context. Across these genres, he develops concepts for the encounter of visitor, art and artist.
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"In my encounter with artworks, and this is quite elastic in the sense that it also applies to historical works, I am continuously drawn back into this strange transferal of energy. This transferal connects the artist, the recipient and the circumstances of the here and now – all these things play together. And in that interplay, you realize that something has happened, an activation... Once you pay attention to this occurrence, it also shifts the perspective on how you understand art. It becomes a kind of Haltung towards exhibition making, performance, staging etc. It also means that the recipient becomes absolutely central – an active maker of their experience – because the work of art does not exist on its own. In my understanding I create situations whether it is in the format of a performance, an exhibition or any staging of art and music. And I think that there is an element of generosity and the desire to share as part of this. And like any experience of hosting, it involves aspects of providing, of giving and of caring about how the guest feels." – Michael Kleine
Michael Kleine’s practice recurrently moves between formats, across set design, performance, architecture, music and sculptural work in close dialogue with site and context. Across these genres, he develops concepts for the encounter of visitor, art and artist. He often integrates historical artifacts into his work. Artistic collaborations are a returning element of Michael Kleine’s practice. His work has been on view at institutions of the visual and performing arts, including: Bonner Kunstverein; Schinkel-Pavillon, Berlin; Volksbühne, Berlin; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart; Ruhrtriennale, Bochum; Kampnagel, Hamburg; Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe; Hamburgische Staatsoper; Museion, Bolzano; Sammlung Klosterfelde, Hamburg; Biennale Arte di Venezia; Philharmonie de Paris; Opéra de Reims.
The talk is part of the cross-disciplinary course Spatial Narration conducted with students and professors from the departments of Fine Art, Design and Choreography.