Visions of excess

The director of Prague's Rudolfinum Gallery, Petr Nedoma, has described it as "the most ambitious project we have been involved in during the 17 years of our existence." And for many others, it's this season's most eagerly awaited and controversial exhibition.

With more than 140 works on display and a total of five museums and galleries involved, there is no doubting the size and scope of "Decadence NOW!," which opened Sept. 30, even if a central message remains elusive.

Curator Otto M. Urban, the creator of the critically acclaimed exhbition "In Morbid Colors: Art and the Idea of Decadence in the Bohemian Lands 1880-1914" which ran at Prague's Obecní dům in 2006-07, insists the exhibition speak for itself. Among the mélange are pieces by internationally renowned artists like Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons and Joel-Peter Witkin.

The concept is the result of Urban's two decades of exploring the abstract theme of decadence in art dating from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as the present day. Decadence NOW! is structured in five parts, each corresponding with domains in which decadence is expressed: Pain, Sex, Pop, Madness and Death.

"The current trend of sexual and pornographic themes and the huge number of such pieces sometimes makes it hard to distinguish between the good and the bad," Urban said. "In choosing works, we paid a lot of attention to artistic quality and the mastery of artistic techniques."

Organizers advise against bringing children under the age of 15 to see the exhibition, and it is not difficult to see why: The majority of pieces on display are rather graphic and often disturbing. The theme of decadence, interpreted here as a decline in morals, is likely to elicit strong reactions.

"The word [decadence] itself is a bit of a misnomer, and many will misinterpret this to be a sensationalist event, which it is not," American photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, who has works on display both at the Rudolfinum and at the Brno House of Arts, told The Prague Post. "I think this exhibition is much more about the struggle of conscience between the good and the evil."

Individual exhibits range from glossy color photographs, installation pieces and hard-to-categorize items such as Israeli artist Boaz Arad's piece Hitler Rug, a modern take on the bearskin rug featuring the late German dictator reproduced in silicone, complete with side-part haircut and moustache.

"They are exciting in the sense that they bring about protective reflexes, strained attention signalizing the need to put things in order," Nedoma said. "The exhibition can also be understood as a switched-on, loud alarm."

The main display is at Galerie Rudolfinum. Just across the street, the Museum of Decorative Arts is hosting the exhibition "Room No. 13." In addition, the DOX Center for Contemporary Arts is showing works by artists Gilbert & George, and galleries in Plzeň and Brno are showing works by individual artists. Accompanying events include film screenings, readings and experimental stage performances.

The displays shock, alter perceptions and, at the very least, provoke - if not answer - questions.

"Decadence is the vomit of human existence. The artists who are on display are in redemptive mode," Witkin said. "We can better ourselves through showing what is decadent. And I think that's what makes it contemporary."

Sarah Borufka can be reached at
sborufka@praguepost.com