A Glass Darkly
group exhibition with work by Vermeir & Heiremans
Opening: Saturday, 27.09.2014 / 17:00
Exhibition: 28.09. – 23.11.2014
Location: Stroom Den Haag, Hogewal 1-9, The Hague
A Glass Darkly
This group exhibition looks to examine a historical vision in the light of the present moment. 2014 marks exactly 100 years since the German visionary writer Paul Scheerbart (1863-1915) wrote the book Glasarchitektur (Glass Architecture). According to Scheerbart, only living inside glass architecture could elevate society by allowing contemplation of the infinite and the spatial, liberating humanity from the brick culture that tied it to the Earth.
Scheerbart’s writing exemplifies the modernist ideals of transparency and universality as projections for a progressive “new culture”. How do these ideals stand up today? Whilst considering the aesthetics of transparency, the artists and artistic duos participating in A Glass Darkly contemplate the profundity of what living under such conditions means for the human subject.
The exhibition seeks to understand this subject from numerous perspectives, looking at everything from private and public life, technological freedoms, ownership and rights, and legislative and financial accountability. Most significantly perhaps, the exhibition asks: might an awareness of this apparatus prompt us once more to think about the possibilities for another “new culture”?
Participating artists:
Iman Issa, Imogen Stidworthy, Vermeir & Heiremans, Metahaven, Natascha Sadr Haghighian (in collaboration with Rashad Becker) and Noam Toran
A Glass Darkly is conceived by Nav Haq following an invitation from Stroom Den Haag to develop an exhibition in response to the organisation’s own research into the writings of Paul Scheerbart.
More information:
www.stroom.nl
Location:
Stroom Den Haag, Hogewal 1-9, 2514 HA Den Haag, the Netherlands
Open:
Wednesday – Sunday / 12:00 – 17:00