The founding of the Neue Galerie – Sammlung Ludwig in Aachen 50 years ago, the predecessor institution of the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, is in a turbulent time. The 1970s were all about change. On the one hand, the end of the post-war economic boom, oil crises, political affairs, the RAF and the coming to terms with the Nazi past are keeping people on their toes, while on the other there is an unprecedented consumer and entertainment industry. While some amuse themselves in their spare time, others take to the streets to protest: against forgetting, the Vietnam War, armament and nuclear power – and for more democracy, women’s rights and social equity. The artists of the time comment on and shape the social upheavals, including the still quite young video art. Their enemy is, in particular, the new mass medium of television, against which they are creating an alternative program – and this is also part of the complexity of this story – sometimes in cooperation with the public broadcasters.
Artists of the exhibition: Klaus vom Bruch, Marcel Odenbach, Ulrike Rosenbach, Telewissen, and Ulay/Abramović.
Curated by Holger Otten.
Curatorial assistance: Dominik Bönisch.
