Luther und die Avantgarde
Group show featuring Jonathan Meese

May 19th – Sep 17th, 2017
Im Alten Gefängnis | In the Old Prison, Wittenberg

Copyright © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017; Photo Daniel Biskup

Freedom behind bars: Seventy artists from around the world have transformed the Old Prison in Wittenberg into a temporary museum. The exhibition is augmented by special presentations in two churches in Berlin and Kassel.

International modern art meets the pugnacious visionary Martin Luther: This is the starting point of the exhibition Luther and the Avantgarde. However, the focus lies not on the great reformer as an historical figure, but as a fountain of ideas and a socio-cultural avantgardist of his time. He challenged the existing power structures, highlighted injustices and unleashed a process of reforms, which reverberated across all areas of society. Luther changed the world. Who are the great initiators, the admonishers, the innovators today? Where does art stand now? Are artists the social avantgarde of our time

Artists from across five continents set out to examine the fascination surrounding Luther, and, like the great reformer before them, pre-occupy themselves intensively with the pressing social issues of our day. They articulate their attitudes to freedom and its adversaries, demagogy and resistance, responsibility and tolerance against the backdrop of profound social conflicts and a multishifting global media landscape.

Artists

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