Thomas Struth Joining Old Masters
May 14th, 2009Today’s post is more of a mini-announcement –
We recently extended our Old Masters exhibition through October 3rd. Most of the works will remain on view, with the exception of the drawings in the Lower Gallery which will be going back home to Harvard. In their place we’re installing photographs by Thomas Struth, on view beginning June 24th. In the meantime, here’s why our director, Matthias Waschek, decided these works made sense within the context of this exhibition:
“The displacement of artworks can take place in the dimension of space and in that of time. We have chosen to “dis-”place Old Masters from the context of the Saint Louis Art Museum and Harvard Art Museum. But even before being acquired by these two collections, the paintings were within different contexts as well. The Pulitzer installation looks both towards the history of presentation in a pre-electrical world and towards a reconciliation of the old and the contemporary.
In my mind, Thomas Struth also confronts the old and the new. In contrast to the modernity of the visitors with their clothes, glasses and cameras, stands the “oldness” of the paintings. Seen optimistically, these works have an eternal value, and the reactions of the visitors transcend the time into which they were born. Seen pessimistically, the paintings look like dinosaurs or fossils, and the awe, curiosity, and sometimes the stressed expression on their faces show how little the visitors have in common with the world of the old masters.
Artworks need viewers. We hope that the the presentation of art at the Pulitzer invites the viewers to look afresh. Struth is an excellent fit for this exhibition, as he makes us view along with other modern viewers.”
We can’t officially announce which photos will be on view yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as we can!
