Anja Kirschner and David Panos Present Ultimate Substance: A Video Installation Exploring Ancient Greek Coinage

This exhibition by Anja Kirschner and David Panos presents a new video installation exploring the hypothesis that the introduction of coinage in ancient Greece sparked a profound shift in human understanding, leading to the development of Western philosophical, scientific, and dramatic traditions. The work is complemented by rock samples and a model of a Platonic solid.

Anja Kirschner and David Panos's new video installation, 'Ultimate Substance,' filmed in Greece over the past year, delves into the hypothesis that the advent of coinage in ancient Greece catalyzed a significant shift in consciousness, laying the groundwork for Western philosophical, scientific, and dramatic traditions. The exhibition is enhanced by the presence of rock samples and a model of a Platonic body, which together allude to the conceptual separation of manual labor and intellectual activity that emerged with the economy of value in antiquity. Their artistic practice critically engages with historical material, aiming not for reconstruction but for 'actualization' in Walter Benjamin's sense, opening up longer historical perspectives rather than directly depicting past events. The work was filmed in and around the Numismatic Museum in Athens and the Lavreotiki mining region, the source of the silver that fueled the Athenian economy and its classical city-state. The massive mining facilities, contrasted with the popular image of the Acropolis, are presented as an inverse view of antiquity, having been reopened in the 19th century and becoming the industrial heart of modern Greece before mining ceased again in the 1970s. As highlighted in a catalog essay by Richard Seaford, the rise of a monetary economy fostered individual independence and abstract thinking, leading to impersonal systems of power and the development of 'pure arithmetic, pure geometry, and the abstract rules of thought.' "Ultimate Substance" reflects these far-reaching historical processes and the exploitation of thousands of slaves in silver mining through a diverse array of elements, eschewing explicit dialogue for a potent staging and stylization that mirrors the formal development of ancient Greek philosophy, mathematics, and drama. The artists worked with dancers to stylize scenes in the mines, underscoring how historical developments can be read from material objects.

The page provides a link to purchase tickets via eventjet.at, suggesting that admission requires a ticket. Specific pricing or booking details beyond this are not provided on the exhibition page itself, but direct visitors to the ticketing portal. Entry is likely part of general museum admission, as no separate exhibition ticket information is detailed other than the booking link presented. Visitors are directed to official ticket details through the provided link for further information and purchase options.