Review

This exhibition is a rendezvous with artefacts that visitors* to the Nordico Stadtmuseum have never encountered before and about which they know nothing or very little.

The exhibition chronicles protagonists* who were unwilling to settle for seemingly fixed boundaries and thus fought for progress, toppling clichés from their pedestals.

Feminism! A term that still scandalises many people, that is heatedly debated, ignored, suppressed, and defended – in a nutshell: a term that has the potential to polarise. Topical works of art and documentations of feminist actions and performances from the last eventy years raise questions of equality, gender stereotypes, and their social consequences.Topical works of art and documentations of feminist actions and performances from the last eventy years raise questions of equality, gender stereotypes, and their social consequences.

With this exhibition the city museum shows hidden things from its archives. Just like a kaleidoscope, it mirrors Linz in many different facets, and creates new interconnections between its exhibits. An open narrative offers exciting insights into the history of the city. All exhibits are part of the museum’s own collection, and stand for a time, or an event, that is somehow connected to Linz.

Casting a glance at roughly one hundred years of artistic creativity by courageous, emancipated women calls for the rewriting of local art history and establishes once and for all that women have not only been active in the local art scene ever since 1851 but that there was a lively exchange between the female art scene in Linz and its sister organisations in Vienna, Salzburg, Düsseldorf, Munich and Berlin.

In the first third of the 20th century Linz was undergoing a thorough transformation. The architectural demands of a rapidly growing city and its adaption to modern times had to be dealt with.

World War II ended more than 75 years ago. Unleashed by Adolf Hitler and his National Socialists, it was by far the bloodiest war in modern history. The number of its victims exceeded 60 million, with civilians accounting for more than half of that number. More than six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis, hundreds of thousands fell victim to racist and political persecution.

Is this art, or does it go into the bin? Graffiti and Street Art polarise. Vandalism and damage to property in the eyes of some, added value or even art for the city and its inhabitants for others.

Egon Hofmann’s oeuvre must be seen as part of the first stirrings of modern painting in Upper Austria. By adding “Linz” to his artist's signature, Hofmann emphasised his closeness to Linz, the city that remained the focus of his work all his life. Having grown up in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in a well-to-do family, all his social, professional and private relations tied him to Linz. He counterbalanced this by travelling extensively, also to distant regions of the globe. That he studied law was supposed to serve the needs of the family business, but what he found truly congenial to his talents was the academic training as a painter, which he obtained in Paris, Stuttgart, and Dresden. His artistic talents had been spotted early on in his life and were consistently cultivated. His mother, Agathe Hofmann-Schwabenau, was a well-known painter in her own right and influenced his development. Another passionate commitment in evidence early on was to the mountain world, which he explored in extensive tours and expeditions.

The Wirtshaus: a place of longing when the pew is too hard, work is tiresome or when food at home is not to one’s taste. A bolt hole when storms rage – metaphorically or quite literally. As an alternative “living room“ in quite concrete terms, the Wirtshaus offers its patrons a venue for a broad range of occasions, from baptism celebrations to funeral feasts.

Who was 1968? presents at the Nordico a post-1968 archive of new departures, all of which had a lasting impact on the cultural climate in Linz and in the entire country – departures whose protagonists were themselves to become renowned mainstream actors later on, whose ideas have been shaping this country to the present day. Pictures, documents, sound tracks and videos reveal the texture of personal relationships, aesthetic and political attitudes and social constellations that enabled the different “scenes” both in Austria and across Europe to stay in touch.

How much green does a city need? Where are the spots in Linz where it pays to hang out? What stories are associated with Linz’s parks? With a relatively high share of Linz’s total area claimed by greenery, the recreational potential this entails is both great and greatly diverse: people meet up for various kinds of athletic activities or for a chat. During the lunch break park benches are ideal for a snack or perhaps even for a short nap.

In the City Lab we will go in search of traces of Linz’s recent past, focus on its structure, its inhabitants* and lay the tracks for the city of tomorrow.