ARTISTHelnwein

Fascinated by the unlikely merging of the holy and the horrifying is Irish-Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein, whose series of hyperrealist paintings Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi), Epiphany II (Adoration of the Shepherds), Epiphany III ( Presentation at the Temple), undertaken between 1996 and 1998, collapsed conventional choreography associated with the Christian narratives in traditional old master paintings with the historical set design of German Nazism. Epiphany I uncomfortably restages the unmistakable postures of Medieval and Renaissance depictions of the Madonna and Child in the anachronistic context of late 1930s or early 1940s Germany.

Fascinated by the unlikely merging of the holy and the horrifying is Irish-Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein, whose series of hyperrealist paintings Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi), Epiphany II (Adoration of the Shepherds), Epiphany III ( Presentation at the Temple), undertaken between 1996 and 1998, collapsed conventional choreography associated with the Christian narratives in traditional old master paintings with the historical set design of German Nazism. Epiphany I uncomfortably restaging unmistakable postures of Medieval and Renaissance depictions of the Madonna and Child in the anachronistic context of lateof late 1930s or serly 1940s Germany.

Gottfried Helnwein is one of the most important artists alive today. As Kenneth Baker has noted, the artist’s works not only “mirrors of dark times but counterthrusts to the aggressive reach of so much contemporary culture” (Baker, n.d.). The artist himself is fully aware of the political function of art and its importance in the age of the spectacle.

..Kronzeuge ist Gottfried Helnwein: Für den Künstler war der bis 1992 in der Hofburg amtierende Waldheim „ein guter Bundespräsident, den hat der Herrgott geschickt. Denn bis jetzt mussten bloß die Deutschen ihre Vergangenheit bewältigen. Und Österreich, das immer glaubte, sich besonders elegant als erstes Opfer fortschwindeln zu können, wurde durch diesen Bundespräsidenten ertappt.“ Denn die allermeisten „Volksgenossen“ waren auch in Hitlers Heimat Opportunisten und Karrieristen gewesen.

Galeries nationales du Grand Palais Paris - 16 septembre 2006 - 15 janvier 2007 Museum of Modern Art Montreal - March 8, 2007 - June 24, 2007 It All Starts Again with a Mouse: Disney Recycled by Contemporary Art - Pop Art made Mickey and Donald into icons, and artists continue to be inspired by Disney’s legacy today. This section shows some thirty works based on Disney characters, created by a diverse group of modern and contemporary artists that includes Gary Baseman, Christian Boltanski, Gottfried Helnwein, Bertrand Lavier, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Peter Saul and Andy Warhol.

Henry A. Giroux turns the conventional wisdom on terrorism upside down, demonstrating the violence perpetuated by the United States itself, both overseas and woven into the very fabric of society at home. Giroux examines the effects of officially sanctioned torture, militarized police, austerity politics and the ongoing degradation of the education system - and how these impact young people in the US most of all.