Josephine Meckseper / Migros Museum, Zürich

German artist Josephine Meckseper’s photography, videos and installations deal with the interaction between politics and glamour. In her current exhibition at the Migros Museum for contemporary art in Zürich, Switzerland, the visitor is confronted with chrome rims, oil rigs, car advertising, political statements and shop displays.

In this conversation with Sabine Trieloff, the director of the Migros Museum and curator of the exhibition, Heike Munder, talks about the political background of Josephine Meckseper’s work, the concept and the key works of the exhibition.

A centerpiece of Josephine Meckseper’s show at the Migros Museum is the installation Ten High (2007). It consists of numerous silver shop display dummies on a mirror smooth platform holding in their hands objects such as signs, bearing anti-war slogans like “No War in Iran”, “Thank a Vet” or the notorious recession signal “Going Out of Business / Sale”, a whisky bottle or a bible and other classical American “icons”. Another one is her video 0% Down. Here, Josephine Meckseper mixes promotional films for cars with an Industrial Noise Song by Boyd Rice with the text line “Do you want – total war!”.

Josephine Meckseper was born in Lilienthal (Germany) in 1964. She lives and works in New York. Works by Josephine Meckseper were last to be seen amongst others in the exhibition New Photography: Josephine Meckseper and Mikhael Subotzky, MoMA (2008), exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (solo exhibition, 2007) or in the Whitney Biennial (2006).

Josephine Meckseper at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich / Switzerland. Opening, February 20 2009. The exhibition runs until the 3rd May, 2009.

Links:
Josephine Meckseper at Frieze Magazine, The New York Times, Lipstick Traces, Artkrush, Artnet.

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

Posted in: art, interview, VernissageTV, Zürich