Thomas Kapielski / Benötigt Wasser den Freischwimmer? / Künstlerhaus Bremen, Germany

This is a very special episode. We met up with the German artist, writer and musician Thomas Kapielski (born 1951 in Berlin). In this video, Thomas Kapielski guides us through his current exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bremen, “Benötigt Wasser den Freischwimmer?”. It’s in German language and because the walkthrough is almost a work of art in itself, there’s no subtitles. The exhibition brings together parts of Kapielskis oeuvre of the past years. Excerpt from the text of Stefanie Böttcher (Curator at Künstlerhaus Bremen): “Be it rituals, turns of phrase or omnipresent utility goods nothing escapes Thomas Kapielski’s keen eye. With humour and wit, this artist scrutinizes the things that surround us. The result is that extremely banal everday items appear grotesque. Thomas Kapielski laconically caricatures the tricks and absurdities of language in text and images, with eloquence and a meticulous line. In doing so also blithely ignores the borders between the genres. This gives rise to photographs, objects, collages and paintings with clever texts full of irony. The unplumbed depths of semantics, or Benötigt Wasser den Freischwimmer?”. Thomas Kapielski studied geography, musicology, philology, philosophy and theology. The exhibition is on display until the 4th May, 2008. Künstlerhaus Bremen, March 18, 2008.
PS: Coming soon: Thomas Kapielski’s new book “Mischwald”, Frankfurt/Main 2009 (published at Suhrkamp Verlag).

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.


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