Magdalena Frauenberg
Vertigo
2022

Magdalena Frauenberg’s Vertigo depicts a scene reminiscent of the biblical tale of David and Goliath: a female figure stands opposite a giant, mutated designer chair. The installation juxtaposes the sculptural formation of the female body with the principles of design.
Made using the 3D printing process, the feminine-looking model’s proportions and silhouette immediately evoke associations with the world-famous influencer Kim Kardashian. The title of the work is a reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo and, by extension, its female protagonist Madeleine/Judy. The figure therefore appears as a projection surface for male fantasies and a sculptural representation of socially prescribed physical ideals. However, fractures quickly become apparent: instead of soft curves, the figure has voluminous muscles on her arms and legs, making her head appear almost disproportionately small. Her face has alien-like features due to her strongly protruding cheekbones and eyebrow ridges; her feet are pointed, as if they have fused with invisible shoes. Her counterpart is a mutation of a tubular steel cantilever chair, a Bauhaus design classic. However, the guiding design principle of “form follows function” is reversed here. The externally elongated steel tubes give the object its unique character. At the same time, the lower part of the chair is reminiscent of a weight-training bench. The figure and chair seem to be mutually dependent in terms of their formal appearance and are in dialogue with each other. The Vertigo installation compares design optimization processes with bodily ones. In doing so, Magda Frauenberg introspectively presents the act of striving for the perfection of (physical) form as a dichotomy between empowerment and self-objectification. To achieve this, she uses gestures of alienation as a form of resistance against the loss of bodily autonomy.