metal heart III schwarzwald

Metal Heart III : Schwarzwald "

groupshow at the Energiehuis in Dordrecht Holland.
organised by Metal Heart and Noordkaap.
Curated by Arno Coenen and Katja Diallo

Artists: Abner Preis (USA), Alexander Krone (Denmark), CHAOMETRIC, Arno Coenen, Dragan Striskovic (Croatia), Gwen Stok, Hans van Bentem, IRIS, Martyn F. Overweel, Luuk Bode, Marinus de Ruiter, Martin C. de Waal and Michael Markwick (USA)

Schwarzwald is a collaborative artwork in the form of a dark forest. It represents primal human urges through painting, sculpture, video, photography, collage, performance, storytelling, opera, electro and heavy metal.

In European culture and art the forest is an emotionally charged subject; it can stand for fear, danger, strength and beauty at the same time. Author Elias Canetti connected the symbolic idealization of the forest to the rise of national socialism. In the feature film Antichrist (2009) by Lars Von Trier the main character regards the forest, and consequently nature, as a destructive force.

Its striking how in times of crisis people are attracted to symbols of nature; in 1930s Germany the forest was widely used as a simple, universal symbol to appeal to all people. Currently in The Netherlands the sea (or water) is used as a symbol to connect the nation, not only in pop music and popular films, but also in the campaigns of successful populist political parties.

By appropriating symbols for propaganda these symbols become unambiguous in their meaning, with the unwanted effect of becoming suspect. The artists in the Schwarzwald exhibition demonstrate that a symbol, in this case the forest, can be used in many contradictory ways and by doing so they deflate the symbol of its univocal appearance.

The international artists contributing to Schwarzwald are fascinated by the European perspective on the forest. However, they tend to expose the forest as a creative source and an unpredictable, polymorphic phenomenon. They refer to denounced art forms like heavy metal, True Norwegian Black Metal, gothic art, tattoo art, Wagnerian opera, Eastern European folk art, decoration, woodcutting, kitsch, camp, fairytales and childrens stories.

The nature of the works incorporated in Schwarzwald is not a moralising one. It rather is in line with horror cinema; the effect is alternately frightening and humorous, with the intent to put the senses to a test. Schwarzwald takes the shape of a festival; the emphasis lies on the opening weekend, in which Noordkaap collaborates with Popcentrale Dordrecht and cultural centre Energiehuis. After the weekend there will be incidental events alongside the exhibition.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• metal
• heart
• III
• schwarzwald
• pal

[mcupanddjdown]

great show!

[abnergarson]

great video