Installation: Julie Ault and Martin Beck Exhibition at Secession, Vienna

The exhibition 'Installation' by Julie Ault and Martin Beck explores the multifaceted aspects of their artistic practices, encompassing individual and collaborative works. It delves into questions of authorship and the possibilities of artistic action within a cohesive spatial arrangement.

The exhibition titled 'Installation' by Julie Ault and Martin Beck highlights the diverse facets of their artistic practices, which include both individual and collaborative projects. The artists' primary cultural fields and production methods—spanning artist, designer, curator, author, historian, and publisher—are articulated within the exhibition. 'Installation' primarily addresses questions of authorship and the potential for artistic action, relating these conventionally separate areas within a coherent space. The exhibition features displays, thematic fields, and artworks developed individually and/or collaboratively, conceived specifically for the main hall of the Secession. A central element of the exhibition is the vocabulary derived from Felix Gonzalez-Torres's photo series 'Untitled' (Natural History) (1990), using terms like Patriot, Historian, Rancher, Scientist, Soldier, Humanitarian, Author, Conservationist, Scholar, Explorer, and Statesman. These corresponding photographs are displayed on the permanent walls of the main hall. The inclusion of this work signifies the curatorial dimension of Ault and Beck's engagement and symbolizes the various forms of cultural participation. Furthermore, this references the recently published book 'Felix Gonzalez-Torres' (2006), edited by Ault. Martin Beck's 'StrucTube' reconstructs a modular exhibition system originally developed by George Nelson in 1948. This system, an early precursor to many portable exhibition units of the 1950s and 1960s, reflects the utopian ideal of the exhibition as a communicative format. Beck's reconstruction is presented as a standalone piece and also functions as the exhibition system utilized by Ault and Beck for their 'Installation.' The oversized wall work 'Information' visually chronicles the development of systemic measures for defining poverty in the United States since 1964 and how these reflect government policy, linked to the widening income gap between the wealthy and the rest of the American population over the past 25 years. This collaborative work by Ault and Beck analyzes social and economic conditions through artistic means, presented as a freestanding wall piece in the Secession. Corita Kent (1918–1986), a printmaker, activist, and art teacher, was known for her distinctive spiritual Pop Art and her engagement with the boundaries of a Catholic nun's role in the 1960s. While Serigraphs were her most enduring medium, she also organized large temporary exhibitions and events. Julie Ault, who has long engaged with Corita's work as a curator and author, has compiled a slide presentation for the Secession focusing on the ephemeral contexts of Corita's work, depicting the milieu in which Corita and her students created happenings and temporary exhibitions in the 1960s. This is shown as a double projection within 'Installation,' integrated with a custom-designed platform.

Visitors can purchase tickets via the provided link. The exhibition is located at the Secession, Vienna.