In recent decades, glaciers have become the symbol of rapid global warming par excellence – and as such, they are once again finding their way into contemporary art. The book and exhibition are a cooperation with the Austrian Alpine Club Museum∙Archive, the exhibition was sponsored by the BMKÖS, Section IV Art and Culture. Contemporary works by Elisabeth Eiter, Nino Malfatti, Jessie L. Pitt, Hannah Philomena Scheiber, Gitti Schneider, Christian Stock and Nicole Weniger will also be on display from June 1. Further works by contemporary artists will be added over the coming months.
The Ötztal glaciers form one of the largest contiguous ice surfaces in the Eastern Alps. They have been observed, feared, drawn and interpreted by people for over 400 years. A watercolor of the Vernagtferner from 1601 is the oldest depiction of a glacier ever.
The basis for the exhibition “Ötztal Glacier. Disasters, Climate Change, Art” is the anthology of the same name, to which Andrea Fischer, Franz Josef Gstrein, Franz Jäger, Sybille Moser-Ernst, Gernot and Ilse Patzelt, as well as the editors Veronika Raich and Edith Hessenberger have contributed. The book and exhibition focus on the view of the imposing Alpine ice giants, which acts as a kind of mirror image of our society through the ages: While the crashing, threatening advance of the glaciers was once processed by the rural population in the form of outrageous legends, from the 19th century onwards, icefalls and glacial lakes attracted explorers, mountain enthusiasts and travelers to the high mountains in droves.
In recent decades, glaciers have become the symbol of rapid global warming par excellence – and as such they are once again finding their way into contemporary art. The book and exhibition are a cooperation with the Austrian Alpine Club Museum∙Archive, the exhibition was sponsored by the BMKÖS, Section IV Art and Culture.
Contemporary works by Elisabeth Eiter, Nino Malfatti, Jessie L. Pitt, Hannah Philomena Scheiber, Gitti Schneider, Christian Stock and Nicole Weniger will also be on display from June 1. Further works by contemporary artists will be added over the coming months.