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During the past several years, the concepts of decadence have begun to appear more and more in art theory, often in relation to current art. Decadence is one of the continual properties of modern art. The commonness of the concept of decadence, or its parallel existence outside of the sphere of art, also enables new methodological processes and combinations, and discovers new territories and relationships. Decadent art is excessive, it exceeds the level of what is generally acceptable, and it provocatively demolishes the most sensitive taboos. Decadence is also firmly connected to the clear stance of outsider individualism. ...

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One of the most important productions of the Israeli Opera's 25th anniversary season will be the world premiere of the commissioned opera The Child Dreams, based on a most poetic and lyric play by the late Hanoch Levin, undoubtedly, one of Israel's greatest playwrights, composed by young and internationally acknowledges Israeli composer Gil Shohat, directed by Omri Nitzan and designed by renowned international visual artist Gottfried Helnwein. This play turned opera describes a journey of escape towards the unknown, people immigrating to a new land in order to run away from a threatening past and find a comforting future as death and despair intertwine with a hope for a better future. David Stern, the Israeli Opera's music director, will conduct this new opera featuring closed to 20 Israeli opera singers on the stage. ...

Renowned Austrian-born artist, Gottfried Helnwein has committed himself and his art to reminding the world of the Holocaust. His exhibit, Ninth November Night, consists of 20 large panels of children's portraits displayed in commemoration of Kristallnacht. "Ninth November Night" was originally displayed in 1988 in Cologne, Germany. Days into the exhibit, the paintings were vandalized by neo-Nazis.
This exhibit will have its American premiere in Philadelphia in November, 2008 ...

Helnwein: Die Probleme begannen, als er anfing seine Selbstinszenierungen zu glauben. Ich denke, er verlor die Distanz und begann sich selbst zu verehren. Aus dem Spiel wurde Sucht und Obsession. Er war überwältigt von seinem eigenen Ruhm, und der scheinbar grenzenlosen Power über die er verfügte. Es gab nichts was er nicht haben konnte, wenn er nur wollte. Wenn er das Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York besuchen wollte, wurde es für ihn nach Mitternacht aufgesperrt, die Lichter gingen an, das Personal tanzte an, Michael erschien eine Stunde zu spät, sah sich ein paar Bilder an, weinte vor Ergriffenheit und verschwand wieder. ...

Eindrucksvolle Bilder aus seinem Buch "Faces" sind von Helnwein zu sehen: Er streicht hier "virile Fantasien" aus der Perspektive des Modells hevor: So inszeniert er in drei Fotos Keith Richards im Prozess des Zigaretten-Anzündens, daneben blickt Michael Jackson traurig und unzugänglich in die Kamera. Effektvolle Betrachtungsweisen ergeben sich durch die Hängung, die einerseits H.C. Artmann und Clint Eastwood einander gegenüberstellt oder der krasse Widerspruch zwischen einem fröhlichen Elton John und dem von seiner Nazi-Verstrickung gezeichneten Bildhauer und Architekten Arno Breker. ...

Gottfried Helnwein, Chuck Close, Marie Jo Lafontaine, Jannis Kounnellis, Helmuth Newton, Erwin Wurm, John Coplans, Elke Krystufek. ...

June 7, 2009, 12:00 im Cinenova Arthouse- Center
Herbrandstr. 31 in 50825 Cologne Ehrenfeld ...

Some 100 works now displayed in a permanent exhibition trace the historical progression from Impressionism to Modernism. The artists range from the French masters Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne, to Pablo Picasso. Important works by Abstract Expressionists Mark Rothko and Sam Francis lead to the second half of the 20th century presenting Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Gottfried Helnwein and others. ...

Premiere:
SO 10.05. | 14.00 | Pinakothek der Moderne, Ernst von Siemens-Auditorium
MI 13.5. um 17:00 Gasteig Vortragsaal ...

Gottfried Helnwein is an artist of clear statements, uninhibited and idiosyncratic. He confronts us with the dark sides of human nature. Silently but mercilessly he uses the fate of the innocent child to bring before our eyes the human capacity for suffering, making the beholder a passive, and indeed active, accomplice to injury and abuse. Helnwein is one of the world’s best-known and at the same time most controversial German-speaking artists of the post-war period. Helnwein is an artist who thinks in political terms, analyzing present and historical world events and revealing, there too, the structures of power and violence. All his life he has addressed the issue of the cruel mechanisms of the Nazi period. His pictures are an ongoing appeal against collective amnesia, deliberate or otherwise. ...

One man show ...

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Further prize winners this year were Sir Bob Geldof (music), Maximilian Schell (life’s work), former president of Germany Prof. Dr. Roman Herzog (tolerance), Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxemburg (charity), Veronica Ferres (film), Sir David Frost (media), former prime minister of Italy Romano Prodi and former president of Poland Aleksander Kwasinewski (Europe).
Dr. Antje Vollmer, former speaker of parliament, gave the laudation for Gottfried Helnwein .
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DENVER, CO.- The Denver Art Museum (DAM) today announced a major reinstallation of its Modern & Contemporary Art galleries with an eye toward the human form. Focus: The Figure includes works from the DAM’s collection that have never been seen before, as well as known visitor favorites. The installation presents a dialogue on art and politics with many works offering insight into universal social issues. The rotation, which officially opens on August 23, was curated by Christoph Heinrich, DAM’s Polly and Mark Addison curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, who joined the Museum in 2007. ...

The Armory Show – Modern is a new section dedicated to international dealers specializing in historically significant Modern and contemporary art. This new program is being held on Pier 92 concurrent with The Armory Show, The International Fair of New Art on Pier 94. With one admission ticket, visitors to The Armory Show on March 5 - 8 will now have access not only to the newest developments in the art world, but also to the masterpieces that heralded them. ...

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Modernism Inc, San Francisco, Barry Friedman, New York ...