away games

here’s to eyjafjallajökull. having initially decided to keep one of our number (and, indeed, all of her work) at moscow airport, the deviant cloud of volcanic ash spouted by the scourge of all newsreaders eventually parted long enough to allow her to return. against all odds, the away games exhibition took place on time and in full. after eight months of geographic separation, the institut was finally back to full strength and bursting with boundless energy: we hunted ants, unhinged doors, took faulty staplers back to whence they came and got aggressive with woodchip paper. as the clock struck eight the doors of our elegant leopoldpark shop opened to both the home faithful and away fans. the first half went quietly, music and bubbles merely lapped walls and glasses and the touchpaper remained unlit. two-and-a-half hours later the scene had changed: though unhired, the ballroom was conquered in a triumph of rhythm over prudence, and all rooms became crammed with buzzing guests.

each night ended with us lugging sleeping bags and bed rolls from the boot of what would have otherwise been our outside bedroom back into the exhibition/living space. a journey back in the opposite direction awaited us each morning. one such morning, as we tanked up on grease and caffeine to counter the backwash of the night before, the sun shone down on us and we sprouted ideas. a fresh-baked concept for our contribution to the “begehungen” art festival took root: pray silence for 28 bread machines and a classroom. inspired by chemnitz when “everyone’s asleep but a voice breaks through”.

for the time being there was no time to sleep. we danced instead, our motto “the worse the better”. as the neighbours remained in the comfort of their living rooms, male dance partners primarily came in the form of badminton racquets. this proved a wise choice, as badminton racquets are not easily offended.
the next morning saw our moscow correspondent return to Russia, but before we had a chance to let our heads drop we received excellent news. the chaps at dockville festival are not only happy to have received our application, but are pleased to give us a green, turquoise and blue light for our outdoor installation “a little rain softens a large storm ”. reason enough to pop another bottle and keep dreaming of that low-loader...
hamburg, we are ready.

das könnte ziemlich haarig werden
als pdf: download
© elke jänicke

away games

an exhibition featuring works by

:: nina schmidt :: saskia göldner ::
:: elke jänicke :: lysann németh ::

the institut für wahre kunst will be guesting in leipzig from the 23rd to the 30th of april 2010.

our first two attempts failed: we picked up the broken pieces of the olive branches we had brought with us, and as we left we were even forced to hop and skip over ungraciously extended legs. now, at last, welcoming arms are being opened – it’s a case of “third time lucky” in leipzig. for one spring week, our temporary abode will be a small shop in the district of connewitz. we will be taking our work out into the wide open spaces and playing badminton with local features. KEIN HEIMSPIEL (our translator says “call it ‘away games’”, what do you think?) is a story of odysseys between murmansk and hamburg, great white hopes with a squint, unheatable rooms and icebreakers.

fr :: 23.04.10 :: 20.00
VERNISSAGE
for your vinyl pleasure: ts strocken

sa :: 24.04.10 :: 20.00
BADMINTON
with tinned tunes out of the window

mi :: 28.04.10 :: 20.00
CORRIDOR FILM
"russia 88", 2009

24.—30.04.10 :: 14.00—20.00

leopoldstraße 3 / corner of
wolfgang-heinze-straße
04277 leipzig

moscow calling

the fourth quarter sits watching the entire bit of baba yaga in which jack frost only occasionally – or not at all – awakes from his vodka-fuelled slumber. her reaction: “i’m not too keen”. our foreign correspondent is currently undercover, her magnifying glass focussed on the legendary artistic leanings of mr. and mrs. oligarchov. she has, however, found time to whip out her pencil, and notes the following: the russians put the cart before the horse. first glamour, then fame. got no glitz? got no game.

collisions and reconciliation

no. we have not fallen out.
yes, if you visit the site of a certain hamburg gallery, you will see us mentioned as “nina schmidt und das institut für wahre kunst” in their 2010 schedule. but this does not mean we have sold our souls to pop music.

on the contrary. we recently accepted an invitation to a gallery in leipzig, and set about turning our exhibition ideas into a concept worthy of presentation. though ‘twas the season to put more wood on the fire and stoke up the flame, we were received coolly and sent frostily on our way. the ideas put forward by both sides on poverty, war, concept art and a target audience were incompatible, and we only managed to agree on one thing: it wasn’t going to work.

the temperature was much more agreeable on the day in late November when three-quarters of us met up in weimar. we were all looking forward to a trip to the neues museum – not least because “durch den grünen gürtel” by nina schmidt was on display as part of a group exhibition celebrating 90 years of bauhaus. there is plenty to see there – and a few things to question. even before we had collected our jackets from the cloakroom, the museum was plunged into darkness: the neues museum has recently switched to daily hibernation from 4 p.m. onwards... shh, keep your voice down.

dr. vera birkenbihl-nasemann, renowned job application and rhetoric trainer, is already waiting for us. her brief is to strengthen our inner presence and help us overcome our fear of application situations, and she will also be giving us tips on how to sharpen up our repartee and bolster our internal defence skills. we’ll also be filming scenes with her for the institut’s first short film. the price is right!

a new year, a new game.
there’s always next time, leipzig.