Films of the late German artist, actor, performance artist, and film and theatre director Christoph Schlingensief at Tate Modern, London (Friday 11 May – Saturday 26 May 2012)
Described by filmmaker Herbert Achternbusch as ‘filth for intellectuals’, the films of the late German artist, actor, performance artist, and film and theatre director Christoph Schlingensief (1960–2010) combine over-the-top B-movie aesthetics with a stringent critique of contemporary politics and colonialism. With nods to the New German Cinema and Viennese Actionism, Schlingensief tackled complex themes of nation, violence and Western materialism and used his films to mobilise debates on the spread of far-right political parties across Europe, the politics of fear after the events of 9/11, and the legacy of the Third Reich in post-war Germany.
Film-maker, director, artist and showman Christoph Schlingensief has been one of the major influences on contemporary German culture. Born in 1960 in the Rhineland, he first came to prominence with the film trilogy including “The German Chainsaw Massacre” (1990), and continued his ferocious social and political critique with “Terror 2000” and numerous fantastic installations, exhibitions, and open-air events such as the container action “Please love Austria!”. His limitless creative energy created countless unique theatre and opera productions for which he received numerous awards and recognition. Most notably he won posthumous the Golden Lion 2011 for representing Germany at the 54th Venice Biennale. Christoph Schlingensief died on 21 August 2010, having battled lung cancer with the courage, ferocity and drama that characterised his life.
Film Screenings at Tate Modern
Friday 11 May – Saturday 26 May
A selection of films by Christoph Schlingensief will be screened at Tate Modern, among them Via Intoleranza II. The films combine over-the-top B-movie aesthetics with a stringent critique of contemporary politics and colonialism. With nods to the New German Cinema and Viennese Actionism, Schlingensief tackled complex themes of nation, violence and Western materialism and used his films to mobilise debates on the spread of far-right political parties across Europe, the politics of fear after the events of 9/11, and the legacy of the Third Reich in post-war Germany.
Friday 11 May – Saturday 26 May 2012
Tate Modern, London, UK
www.tate.org.uk
The Opera Village, exhibition at the German Embassy
Viewings by appointment only via culture@lond.diplo.de
5 May – 15 June
As his work matured, it reached out to the world. On 8 February 2010, the cornerstone for the world’s first Opera Village was laid in Burkina Faso, Africa. His “Via Intolleranza II”, performed by artists from Europe and Burkina Faso, inaugurated this visionary project. By now the first three building stages are completed and life is bustling since the opening of the school in 2011. Thus, in the heart of western Africa, a unique environment of arts and continents is being created, a research laboratory where above all the young people of Burkina Faso can live out their joy in experimenting and their curiosity, and use their own energy in creative work. The exhibition is organised in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth.