energy! mild! kunstmuseum wolfsburg exhibition explores the political dimension of sunshine artwork

A fascinating spectrum of light art at kunstmuseum wolfsburg

from now until july 10, 2022, kunstmuseum wolfsburg presents power! light!, an exhibition that brings together roughly eighty light art works by sixty-five internationally renowned artists including monica bonvicini, olafur eliasson, joseph beuys, christian boltanski, cerith wyn evans and more. unlike the light art exhibitions realized so far, power! light! does not gather a comprehensive overview of all possible artworks in which electric light is used in any way. instead, it concentrates on those works that make political, social, ecological, or manipulative statements.

based on selected works from the museum’s collection, the show brings together a fascinating spectrum of works of light art, presented in the large, darkened hall of approximately 1,500 sqm. some of the (socio-)political areas it addresses on a conceptual level are: utopia/dystopia; ecology/biology; economy; violence/power; control/surveillance; advertising/manipulation; enlightenment/ obscurity; border/exclusion; public space, and more.

installation view ‘power! light!’, kunstmuseum wolfsburg, march 12, – july 10, 2022

all installation photos by marek kruszewski

header image: lori hersberger, sunset 164, 2006, neon systems, black float glass, 164 x 300 x 1.8 cm (neon), 164 x 300 x ca. 400 cm (installation dimensions), © lori hersberger studio, courtesy lori hersberger studio, zurich, photo: hans-georg gaul, berlin

AN EXHIBITION EXAMINING THE POLITICAL SIDE OF LIGHT ART

‘light is as natural to us as the air we breathe,’ reads the power! light!’ exhibition text. ‘in its electrically generated form, we use it without giving it much thought, switching light bulbs, LEDs, fluorescent tubes, or spotlights on and off as we need them. despite its absolute ordinariness, light is one of the most fascinating phenomena known to science and intellectual history…our entire contemporary civilization is inconceivable without electric light; and yet, despite technical advancements and undeniable benefits, light is also associated with light pollution, species extinction, and energy waste. on the one hand, light makes cultural events possible, offers social space and protection, can stage people, objects, or consumer articles and thus lend them meaning. on the other hand, power is exercised with the targeted use of electric light: it can be used to monitor, manipulate, exclude, or even destroy.’

some of the works in the kunstmuseum wolfsburg exhibition address the extent to which we are all trained and manipulated by advertising, such as monica bonvicini’s neon sign ‘NOT FOR YOU’ (2006). others rise questions regarding romanticism, happiness, and utopias, like lori hersberger’s ‘sunset 164’ (2006), in which colorful neon arches feign an eternal sunset—a state that is neither day nor night and quickly ends in the beauty of mere superficial appearance. meanwhile, warren neidich’s spectacular ‘pizzagate neon’ installation spotlights the politically motivated fake news scandal in the run-up to the 2016 american presidential election surrounding hillary clinton’s alleged involvement in a child porn ring. power! light! is on view until july 10, 2022, and is accompanied by a comprehensive bilingual publication with texts by renowned authors from the fields of art history, philosophy, theology, and biology.

installation view of the exhibition, featuring alfredo jaar’s ‘kultur = kapital’ (2016) in the background

installation view ‘power! light!’, kunstmuseum wolfsburg, march 12, – july 10, 2022 | lori hersberger, zombie voyager no.1 (sunset 368), 2022, neon systems, black float glass, kunstmuseum wolfsburg, donation of telos stiftung, wädenswil, © lori hersberger studio, zurich