RE: BACHELOR MACHINES

25. Mai - 22. Juni 2018

In his 1975 exhibition “Bachelor Machines” Harald Szeemann visualised several literary erotic machines of the 19th and 20th century with conceptually related material in a cacophonous attempt to grapple with a “macabre and timeless myth”.

The collective project Re: Bachelor Machines draws upon this famous attempt and positions it in the present moment, addressing topics such as the impact of digitalisation on contemporary eroticism, the refusal of procreation, overcoming of gender binaries in preparation for a possible posthuman condition. Szeemann's curatorial model of the autocratically acting exhibition author is contrasted with a curatorial understanding based on collaborative work. This collective curatorial project Re: Bachelor Machines develops through the historical lineage of the concept and Szeemann’s 1975 exhibition, surveying the energy and questioning the timelessness of the myth while reflecting on Szeemann’s curatorial methodology. Newly digitalised archival material of Harald Szeemann’s extensive archive will be made visible within the exhibition and juxtaposed with contemporary positions.

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Contributors:
Panos Aprahamian
Students in Art History and Curating AUB Beirut
Mit Borras
Cibelle Cavalli Bastos
Maxxima Foxy
Florentina Holzinger
Viktoria Modesta
Tyyne Claudia Pollmann
Hjördis Behncken & Thomas Spieler
Hannes Wiedemann

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Organised by MA Cultures of the Curatorial :
Daniela Duca, Lætitia Gorsy, Anja Henckel, Ksenia Jakobson, Ingrid Kraus, Major Virág, Sarie Nijboer, Gabriela Seith, Gunnar Ceccotti, Vin Centsch-ier, Ting Tsou, Julian Volz, Marlena VW von Wedel

Photos: Roman Häbler