Vienna
Completed

The Death of the Audience Exhibition at Vienna's Secession: Exploring Artist & Audience Roles

This group show delves into avant-garde movements and contemporary art from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The acclaimed exhibition 'The Death of the Audience' at Vienna's historic Secession building investigated the dynamic interplay between creators and observers. It provided a critical look at the transformative period of modern art between 1960 and 1980. Drawing parallels with earlier avant-garde movements, the exhibition explored themes of audience emancipation versus alienation in contemporary artistic practice. Visitors discovered works by numerous artists examining the shifting roles of art engagement.

About The Death of the Audience at Secession in Vienna

Read curatorial context and practical visitor information for The Death of the Audience at Secession in Vienna

Exhibition summary

This group exhibition, held at the historic Secession building, examines the pivotal period of 1960-1980 and its parallels to earlier avant-garde movements. It questions the shifting roles of artists and audiences, exploring themes of emancipation versus alienation in contemporary art.

Curatorial context

Held at Vienna's Secession, a site historically significant for modern art, 'The Death of the Audience' delves into the transformative period between 1960 and 1980. The exhibition contrasts this era with earlier avant-garde movements, particularly around 1900, drawing parallels between the industrial revolution and the society of the spectacle. It interrogates the changing role of the artist and the audience, referencing Roland Barthes' 'The Death of the Author' to posit a 'death of the viewer' as a logical consequence of artistic evolution since 1968. The exhibition explores whether this shift leads to audience emancipation through interactive dynamics or to alienation and interpassivity, highlighting artists who discovered art as a critical, concrete, and everyday practice, resisting fixed roles. In parallel to the main exhibition, external projects by artists in various locations are referenced, including contributions from Rasheed Araeen in London, Carlo Quartucci and Carla Tato in Rome, Anna Halprin in California, Grzegorz Kowalski in Warsaw, Edward Krasiński's Studio in Warsaw, John Latham's Flat Time House in London, and The Július Koller Society in Bratislava. The exhibition aims to demonstrate the radical change that occurred between the modern art period and the postmodern revolutionary period, focusing on the transition from an artist-centric art world to one concerned with the spectator's experience and participation.

Admission and ticket notes

Visitors can access ticketing information via the provided link to the Secession's online shop. General museum opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Specific ticketing policies beyond directing to the online shop are not detailed on this page.

The Death of the Audience key exhibition facts

Review exhibition status, schedule, venue context, and attribution details for The Death of the Audience at Secession in Vienna

Venue
Secession
Current status
Completed
Exhibition schedule
Jul 3, 2009 – Aug 30, 2009
Artist line / attribution
Artists featured in the exhibition include Rasheed Araeen, Bernard Aubertin, Robert Breer, Cornelius Cardew, Josef Dabernig, Anna Halprin, Sanja Iveković, Yves Klein, Pierre Klossowski, Július Koller, Jiří Kovanda, Grzegorz Kowalski, Edward Krasiński, Nicola L., David Lamelas, John Latham, Piero Manzoni, David Medalla, Anna Molska, Gianni Pettena, Walter Pfeiffer, Emilio Prini, Carlo Quartucci and Carla Tato, Isidoro Valcárcel Medina, Franz Erhard Walther, and Franziska & Lois Weinberger, among others.
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