Publications

The catalog is published on the occasion of the exhibition RIDICULOUSLY YOURS! Art, Awkwardness and Enthusiasm at Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, HALLE FÜR KUNST Styria and Neue Galerie Graz. The exhibition was initiated and conceived by Jörg Heiser and Cristina Ricupero.

THE HUMOR OF CATASTROPHE, FIASCOS, AND SHAME

In modernism, and especially in the classical avant-gardes of the early 20th century, there is a very specific dialectic at work: on the one hand, there are bold innovations, radical negation, and aesthetic dogmas. On the other, there is also an infectious kind of laughter. “Enthusiastic awkwardness” or clumsiness was the basis of many artproductions and still is today. The humor of catastrophe and bad taste, Dadaism, camp, trash culture (B- and Z-movies), science fiction, and horror are some of the many ­facets that will be presented in the exhibition project Ridiculously Yours?! Art, Awkwardness and Enthusiasm at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn.