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| Art
for Cockroaches
>>>
Deutsche Version <<<
Open for
visitors since January 16th 2003.
Currently no exhibitions.
monochrom
invites artists to design a gallery-space for cockroaches. Each
design is exhibited for a month and then replaced. The audience
-- consisting of 40 individuals -- are fed fresh fruit daily (preferably
apples or bananas) and are cared for. You can come and visit the
audience, every Thursday, when monochrom has its weekly meeting
at Museumsquartier/Vienna. monochrom guarantees the well-being
of visitors.
“I think it’s about time to herald the era of a new
awareness in the
human-cockroach-relationship.” (Don Pollock) |
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| Live coverage
from inside the gallery
(a new picture every 3 minutes). We would like to remind you
again that the nature of the audience is such that they prefer
to be in the dark. Therefore it is rather likely that the audience
will refrain from showing themseves to the cameras during daytime
and prefer to rest behind the pieces of art.
Currently no live stream.
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| The
gallery visitors/art critics: In
the introduction to his book "The Cockroach Vol.1" P.B.Cornwell's
opening sentence is: "The Cockroach is probably the most
obnoxious insect known to man." This is obviously the statement
of a man who has spent too much time studying those few species
of Blattodea which have so much in common with mankind that they
have chosen to live with us. There are nearly 4,000 species of
Cockroaches (Dictyoptera, Blattodea) in the world, of which only
25 to 30 (or less than 1%) have any pest status, the rest are
innocent members of the Earth's fauna, some of which are clean
living, non-aggressive and slow moving, and as such make great
pets. The largest known Cockroaches in the world are (largest
wingspan up to 18 cm) Megaloblatta longipennis, largest body,
Macropanesthia rhinocerus from Australia weighing in at up to
50 grams. The smallest known is Attaphilla fungicola which lives
in the nests of Leaf Cutter ants of the genus Atta in North America
and feeds on the fungus they farm, it is about 4 mm long. Cockroaches
have been on the Earth for at least 250 million years and it is
possible that in the late carboniferous cockroaches out numbered
(in terms of number of individuals) all other flying insects.
Most Cockroaches are tropical in habitat and Britain has only
3 native species, which is less than the number of introduced
species. Many Cockroaches are diurnal, though most are nocturnal.
Many are forest floor species though some are cave dwellers, some
are semi-aquatic, some burrowing, some wood boring, and some even
make their homes in the nests of social insects (Attaphila fungicola
in the nests of various Attine ants).
Cockroaches are related to Termites (Isoptera) which some authorities
believe arose 70 to 50 million years ago as an offshoot (or possibly
2 offshoots) of the Cockroach lineage of the time. Two pieces
of evidence supporting this are:- 1) the fact that Termites are
Eusocial insects and some species of Cockroach are primitively
subsocial, and 2) the gut microflora of the primitive wood eating
Cockroaches (such as Cryptocercus punctulatus) are very similar
to that of the Termites. Modern Cockroaches are more similar to
their ancient fossil ancestors than any other extant (still living)
insect.
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Archive:
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Exhibition
#18 was running from June 26th through July 29nd, 2004:
Tommy Schmidt (FRG): “Commodity Shortage: Mobility”
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Exhibition
#17 was running from June 9th through June 26th, 2004:
Oliver Hangl (AUT): “Cockroach Bluebox” // About
the artist: Oliver Hangl, born 1968 in Grieskirchen, Austria.
Studies: theatre-theory, Italian at University Vienna. Currently
lives and works in Vienna.
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Exhibition
#16 was running from
April 22nd through June 9th, 2004: Letizia Werth (AUT):
“Crater” // About the artist: born 1974 in Bozen, Italy,
the artist explores themes such as: memory, space, everyday
life. // About the work: dust is the materialisation of time,
it is volatile and yet manifest. Dust is disgusting and everywhere.
Dust is non-material – we don’t use it, we dispose of it.
Dust is like cockroaches. |
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Exhibition
#11 was running from November 10th through December 11th
2003:
Markus Hofbauer (AUT): Cocktail
Robots on Mars // About the artist : Markus Hofbauer,
born in 1980, studying botany at the university of Vienna,
amateur photographer, musician (?) and many more; did wear
dreadlocks and a turban once. |
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Exhibition
#10 was running October 23rd through November 10th 2003:
Gold Extra (AUT): "The errant because
otherwise constantly resting regiment of comedic Punchiorettes
of Zecantros" presents “Freedom Or Liver
Loaf” // About the work: What may art for
cockroaches mean? Do you really have to confront the roaches
with themselves? With their blattopterian sociopathies?
We like to conceive of art as a means of social intervention:
the roaches are confronted with the radical option of eating
or going free. A cockroach-gallery solid as a liver-loaf.
You can either eat it and savour the moldy serendipity of
the golden cage in which you choose to stay, or you can
abdicate and escape into the wild freedom of the Electric
Avenue. |
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Exhibition
#9 was running September 18th through October 23rd 2003:
Johannes Ullmaier (GER): Aloha
from Bagdad // About the artist: Johannes Ullmaier,
born in 1968, teaches at the university of Mainz, co-editor
of Testcard magazine. // About the work: With one single
tank the depredation of the Iraqi National Museum might
have been prevented. But the occupying forces had better
things to do. Accordingly, an outcry brayed through the
European cultural press, where collectors without scruples
supposedly American were suspected to be the
instigators of the crime. Though a majority of
the missing pieces reappeared some weeks afterwards, 45
pieces still remain unfound, in 19 cases, our worst suspicions
have come true. Art lovers from South America were the ones
manipulating the theft. And now after enough oil had
been poured on the troubled water they present their
booty to the world.
“Of course, such a show of looted treasures is problematic”,
the curator Johannes Ullmaier admitted, “not only
with regard to ethics, because of the pilfering, but also
aesthetically, insofar as the collector’s passion,
generally discreetly hidden, is a vivid part of this piece
of art in the iconisation, scuttling, and even nibbling
of one’s possessions, which isn’t especially
palatable.
So I gave way to the cockroaches’ wish of exhibiting
their booty in
spite of all my reservations: not because I couldn’t
think
of anything else to do, but because, in my opinion, art
must have the
right to be controversial to have an impact. Plus, where
else could we
behold these former treasures? It’s either here and
like this or not at
all. I prefer here and like this.”
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Exhibition
#8 was running August 14th through September 18th 2003:
Die Schwestern Brüll (The Roar Sisters)
(AUT): „Summer Residence, All- inclusive Club,
A Summer Academy of Revolution for Young Feminist Cockroaches“
// About the artist: The Roar Sisters fight on many fronts
as scientists, DJs, theoreticians, glamour girls, singer-songwriters,
fashion designers, radiopersons, lovers, painters. Always
passionate, always Roar. |
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Exhibition
#7 was running July 17th through August 14th 2003:
Richard Wientzek (GER): “Panorama
Delight” // About the artist: Richard Wientzek,
born in 1970 in Breitengüssbach,
Bavaria, visual artist, singer and designer. Various exhibitions
and
performances. // About the work: “When I was a teenager
I earned some money by painting ski-maps, now I’ve got enough
money to paint panoramas for cockroaches. They’ll even get
toy-trains ‘cause fun is only fair.”
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Exhibition
#6 was running June 12th through July 17th 2003:
"niij°" (INT): "nitendo
apocalyps" // About the artists: The operating group
is currently under construction, because it is (in)determined
by immigration and migration. Michael Zeltner may be called its
core. The group is concerned with all media, the modern as well
as the well-known school. // About the work: “The installation
with the inconceivability of innate Super Mario nightmare/dream-worlds,
which we (barbarously) force onto cockroaches here.
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Exhibition
#5 was running May 15th through June 12th 2003:
Karin Frank (AUT): “opterra”
(installation; wood, fimo and textile) // About the artist: Karin
Frank, born in 1972, freelance artist. “Karin Frank's theme
is mainly people relating emotionally to others and to him/herself
in a complicated way.” (Götz Bury, IG Bildende Kunst).
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Exhibition
#4 was running April 17th through May 15th 2003:
Minou Modarressy-Mahboobi (IRAN): “Run
to Me” (Installation on love and lust or reproduction
and relationship chaos) // About the artist: Minou Modaressy-Mahboobi,
born in 1970 as the multicultural product of a Persian-Austrian
love. Passionate artist on various levels; architecture, painting,
sculpturing, ceramics, textiles, poetry. |
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Exhibition
#3 was running March 13th through April 17th 2003:
Günther Friesinger (EU): “It’s
always the real thing homage to the 0.5 liter-can”
(Acrylic and PU-foam on hard mansonite, installation of 0.5 liter-cans)
// About the artist: “To describe Günther Friesinger,
born in 1973, isn’t easy. But there’s one thing you
may say, he seems to be rather on the go. Soon as you think you
know him, he is just about to surprise you with totally different
aspects, working as an artist, composer, media theoretician, philosopher
and radioperson.” (Karin Cerato, Ponty) |
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Exhibition
#2 was running February 17th through March 13th 2003:
Bettina Tunakan (AUT): “The future
is more extreme than you think” // About the artist:
Bettina Tunakan, born in 1967, is a stylist, amateur graphic artist
(analogue), painter (naïve). Running the art/fashion- project
B.f.g.A. (bureau for non-violent anarchism). Dogperson, vegan. |
Press
coverage:
Web-Standard
Austria, January 20th 2003
Pressetext Austria, January
20th 2003
Kronen Zeitung, January
22nd 2003 (in
this article the roaches are a fantastic "10 centimeters"
big)
Profil Magazine, January 27th 2003
Euro<26 Magazine, Spring 2003
"Checkit" on ATV, May 20th 2003, 20:45
ORF FM4 Radio, August 28th 2003
Pyrate Press, September 2003
Boing
Boing, November 8th 2003
ORF Ö1
Radio "Leporello", January 23rd 2004 (MP3)
Falter Issue 24/04 (Zoo),
June 16th 2004
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