ART-PRESENTATION: Olaf Nicolai-Chant d’Amour
Olaf Nicolai has been developing his own unique form of Conceptual Art for the past 20 years. Based on the philosophical influence of his East German education, his work questions the aporias or contradictions of romantic and Marxist aesthetics. Whatever the form or medium adopted, the artist strives to provoke situations that engage a critical dialogue with the context in which they are born.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Kunsthalle Bielefeld Achive
Olaf Nicolai’s works are rooted in traditional Conceptual Art, but also have echoes of Romanticism. Using conceptual approaches and various media Nicolai always questions the usual ways of observing the everyday world.In terms of content Olaf Nicolai’s exhibition “Chant d‘Amour” addresses Kunsthalle Bielefeld’s architecture by Philip Johnson. On presentation is Olaf Nicolai’s 12-minute film “Rodakis” (2008) about the history of a house that was built by Alekos Rodakis and that haunted the history of Greek modernism. Alexandros Rodakis, a simple farmer, lived in the 19th Century in Messagros on Aegina Island. He build his house around 1880, the house is a masterpiece of folk architecture and wisdom, was built on the eastern side of a hill with a panoramic view at the Village and the Old City, using materials from the natural surroundings. The house, a masterpiece of folk architecture and wisdom, was built on the eastern side of a hill with a panoramic view at the Village and the Old City, using materials from the natural surroundings. The incomparable plasticity of the space’s design and shaping makes visitors feel immediately comfortably and cosily. The diagonal heads in the corners of the rooftop of the terrace and the four statuettes on the façade (a pig, a clock, a snake and a pigeon) symbolize Fortune, Time, Evil and Peace. Every wall, every corner has its own importance. The house’s small yard, as if magical you would think, with stone benches and stairs leading to the upper room welcomes you cheerily. The semi-circular limestone frames of all the openings of the house protrude from the walls’ surface, exhibiting a unique element of folk architecture, and are ornamented with embossed branches. Even the exterior “oven house” and the winepress bear engraved ornaments (capitals) at the porous limestone, a sheer evidence of the intensity of Rodakis’ ornamental temper. The wall of the winepress reads the following, engraved on the fresh coat: “Better if Man was a cold stone than now that he possesses mediation, he has Norms and discretion, I learnt to live (?)/ OH 1891 AH”. The first to be interested in Rodakis’ House was the German archaeologist Furtwengler; he studied and sent pictures of it to Munich. In Greece, it was made popular from the Greek Dimitris Pikionis. The house is private property and today is relinquished to time’s ruthless ravage. The limy yards and the vineyard have given their place to weeds. The rooftops are dilapidated, the auxiliary constructions already wrecked. Nevertheless, the house maintains its charm and can be still saved. There have been discussions between the Local Authorities and the owners, so that the house is bought, maintained and rehabilitated; yet, no agreement was reached. The Greek State is totally indifferent. Also in 2013 Olaf Nicolai designed a textile curtain for the lecture hall at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, “Chant d‘Amour” in the Kunsthalle Bielefeld runs parallel with two other Nicolai shows; one at the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen (and the other at the Kunsthalle Vienna. Together, the three exhibitions develop a comprehensive overview of Nicolai’s multi-faceted oeuvre, while reflecting his interdisciplinary concepts of the past twenty years. Nicolai has developed a unique theme and new works for the exhibitionss at each institution. In “There Is No Place Before Arrival” at the Kunsthalle Vienna Nicolai shifts the focus to the central theme of his artistic work: the “method”. For the LOK in St. Gallen the artist will create a desert symbolizing growth and progress.
Info: Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Artur-Ladebeck-Straße 5, Bielefeld, Duration: 16/6-9/9/18, Days & Hours: Tue, Thu-Fri & Sun 11:00-18:00, Wed 11:00-21:00, Sat 10:00-18:00, www.kunsthalle-bielefeld.de
