ANONYMOUS
What happens in an exhibition when the artists remain unnamed? When the curator remains anonymous as well? When the artworks themselves raise the question of authorship, completely reject it, or liberate themselves from it? The initiators of the exhibition have declared: “Anonymous exhibitions are necessary so that art may take up the path paved by dematerialist predecessors, that idea will take precedence over form. Critical thinking is a prerequisite here…” Anonymous art encompasses infinite possibilities. It yearns for a walk in the park in the dark.
You can wear a golf hat and motorcycle boots at the same time. No one will be famous in the future. Whoever claims authorship is not the author.
CATALOG
With its presentation of the project "Anonymous", the Schirn investigates current exhibition practices and their economy of data and names.
Under the programmatic title "Anonymous: In the Future No One Will Be Famous", the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt presents an exhibition with works by 11 international artists who - like the curator - will remain unnamed. In their Notes toward a Manifesto, the initiators of the exhibition proclaim: "Anonymous artists wish to wriggle the status quo into a status incognitus. Their aim is to remove the increasing barbarization of thought via short circuits and fast lanes created by the marketing of artists as brands whose works have become masterpieces in ignorance of philosophy."
Unlike other manifestations of anonymity in the current contemporary art scene - where artists take on pseudonyms - this exhibition is unique in gathering a group of artists who have put themselves undercover for a certain period of time (vaguely stated as "until the expiration date has been reached").