Circus as a parallel universe, Kunsthalle Wien, May 4 – September 2, 2012
The circus has always seemed as if from another world, a dreamlike place of strange characters and exotic animals that travel in caravans from city to city and live mysterious lives. There seems to be something wondrous and supernatural, yet also sad and lonely in the life of a circus star. The mythology of the circus has served as an inspiration for many artists, including the British pop art classic Sir Peter Blake, as well as Italian film director Federico Fellini, whose movie The Road (La Strada, 1954) is devoted to the life of travelling circus artists, their vulnerability, loneliness and forlorn sense of alienation.
A number of Blake's and Fellini's works will be shown at the Kunsthalle in Vienna, along with oeuvres by other artists such as Bruce Nauman,Charlie Chaplin and Ugo Rondinone - all looking at the world of the circus outside of the big top and drawing on its figures, forms, and metaphors.
Museumsplatz 1