Artist Tour with Franz Kapfer 

Prior to producing his works, Franz Kapfer often delves into long periods of research, which are not only based on historiography in literature, but are also always fed by his own experience. He travels to different places, visits architecture(s) and tries to discover new contexts through encounters and impressions. This event aims to focus on this process of development of his works. Moreover, we will discuss Kapfer’s intervention at the Styrian Armory, based on the presentation of works in the Styrian Armory collection presentation.

Kapfer has placed colorful cutting templates throughout the four floors of the Styrian Armory, which depict examples and interpretations of different types of weapons held in the Styrian Armory collection. The ten templates for Kapfer’s atlases also exhibited here are arranged according to the logic of the collection. Atlases are figures, whose origins can be found in Greek mythology and which have been used time and again in art and architecture throughout the ages. As male figures, they replace columns on buildings and thus provide concrete support for the entire structure.

It is precisely this image and the associated glorified connotations of power, masculinity and strength that military and paramilitary forces and their commanders make use of, thus ascribing themselves a similar supporting role within society. In this work, Kapfer draws specifically on the atlases of Tula that he visited in Mexico.

As part of this conversational tour, Kapfer will talk about his trips to places such as Mexico, Israel and Ukraine, and will describe the background of the works on display from his own perspective.