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the Ruin:
Stair/Stare
23 september – 16 december 2007
Artist: Johannes Schwartz
In cooperation with Experimental Jetset and Herman Verkerk
Part ruin, part interior, Johannes Schwartz' exhibition 'Stair/Stare' bridges two of the main themes that Marres, Centre of Contemporary Culture in Maastricht has been exploring during its past seasons: the theme of the ruin (as expressed in recent exhibitions such as 'Raw, among the ruins’ and ‘L’Art pour tous!’), and the theme of the interior; a theme that will continue to play an important role in upcoming exhibitions at Marres.
'Stair/Stare' is centred around a series of photographs, entitled ‘Treppen’, that Schwartz – winner of the Cobra Art price 2007 - made in Egypt in 2006; photographs of dilapidated stairs, of unfinished stairs, of steps leading nowhere. It seems clear that the images presented here – in all it’s reference to Piranesi - explore the physical as well as the psychological realm and in which the interior itself plays an important part. In Freudian dream analysis, domestic elements such as stairs, doors and attics carry a range of disturbing, often sexual meanings. In Jung's 'Man and his Symbols' (1964), the image of the stair makes a few appearances, often as an archetype for illumination, or exploration of the unconsciousness (for example in the picture of Rembrandt's 'Philosopher with an Open Book', from 1633).
Surrealism was one of the first art movements to recognize the symbolic meanings embedded in the modern interior. A clear expression of this recognition can be found in Louis Aragon's manifesto 'Project de réforme des habitations', from 1920 (shown in the exhibition text).
In addition to presenting these photographs, Schwartz has asked a couple of befriended artists to contribute to 'Stair/Stare'. Amsterdam graphic designers Experimental Jetset has created the minimalist construction, that acts as a context for Schwartz’ photographs, while simultaneously functioning as an intervention underlining the interior of Marres. At the same time, Herman Verkerk (of Amsterdam architecture studio EventArchitectuur) constructed an installation, partly made out of Lego, in the stairwell of Marres.
This is not the first time Schwartz joins forces with both Herman Verkerk and Experimental Jetset. With Verkerk he collaborated as well for his show at Foam (Amsterdam) under the title ‘Boys ‘97’ and at P//////AKT (Amsterdam) named ‘Principle Junk’, while several of his publications are realized together with Experimental Jetset. One of these undertakings was a project for Marres. In 2005, 'High Rise' was published, featuring photographs of the abandoned Dutch pavilion by MVRDV, made for the World Fair in Hanover. In these photographs, Schwartz tried to explore the relationship between modernity and ruins, contemplating at the same time on the durability of cultural production. Containing an essay by Patrick Healy, 'High Rise' appeared as part of an ongoing series of publications created with Experimental Jetset. Earlier volumes in the same series included 'High Noon' (2003), 'High Nature' (2004) and 'High Light' (2005).
'High Rise' was commissioned by Marres, on the occasion of 'Now and Again', an exhibition that took place in October 2005 at Pastoe, Utrecht. This publication is available at Marres. At the same time a new essay, coinciding with this exhibition, is published, again by Patrick Healy, titled ‘Stairs’, but this time designed by Maureen Mooren as part of the series of essays published by Marres.
For this exhibition a limited edition of a series of photographs by Johannes Schwartz will be on sale at Marres.
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