A sonic journey through time, from Jazz to Soukous to Reggae Funk, and many more. This immersive experience invites its groovers to reflect on the complexities of race, identity, and artistic expression. Set in an academic space where Black presence is often unseen, DJ Kimbwzo challenges a rhythmical reflection on the influence and appropriation of Black music in white spaces throughout German history.
Pop music, jazz and blues, as well as 12-tone music all emerge in the Weimar Republic. Consequently, genre boundaries are blurred, as new recording techniques and radio are developed. New sounds echoe from every corner! With this sound installation, the artists embark on a recording journey and deal with the music of the 1920s. Melodies play in the virtual space – sometimes individually, sometimes as a duet – and build up to an exuberant cacophony of the twenties.
As a solo singer, Starešinič’s research deals with the soul of classical music, which starts with the simple, but difficult question: “What is the soul of classical music?” Presently, the question remains unanswered. However, there is no right or wrong answer. Therefore, the singer invites the exhibition visitors to share their thoughts in this virtual space. The results will be published at a later date. Please feel free to revisit this space.
The parallels between the 1920s and the 2020s led to the poetry series by Vogels. In response to and inspired by seminar discussions, she wrote three pieces at the beginning of 2024. The lyrical I describes her own experiences and thoughts regarding the political situation and its effects on her own personal life. The texts play with an ambiguity of time, which allows the readers to interpret the texts regarding both the 1920s and the 2020s.
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“But what on earth is whiteness that one should so desire it?” Then always, somehow, some way, silently but clearly, I am given to understand that whiteness is the ownership of the earth forever and ever, Amen!Inspired by these words by W.E.B. Du Bois (1920), this work deals with the appropriating, arrogant nature of the "white soul". In its aesthetics it takes up the period of the Weimar Republic and the instagrammable staging of a historical white society and its ideals.
Li and Woelffer went on a journey to research the media representation of Blackness in the cinema of the Weimar Republic. Because of limited available and accessible film material, they decided to also include documentary footage (also known as „Kulturfilm“) to resituate film in the Weimar Republic and offer a critique on the mediated influence of nationalism and racism. The result is a reworking of multi-genre footage of the time, narrated in a way that slowly cracks down the perception of the Weimar Republic. Working with the accessible archive material itself ended up being an important part of their project which is documented in an additional text.
With this stop-motion short film, Tulián and Bowden delve into the past and commemorate the role and function that art played in one of Germany's most challenging and complex episodes in history: The Weimar Republic. While society faced political and social changes, artists and intellectuals experimented with new forms of expression that came to an end with Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the beginning of Nazi dictatorship in 1933.
We regret to inform you that the music cannot be played due to copyright issues. Securing the appropriate rights is essential to respect the intellectual property of the artists involved. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter.
We regret to inform you that the film cannot be played due to copyright issues. Securing the appropriate rights is essential to respect the intellectual property of the artists involved. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter.
