Alfred Kubin – “Silent Sensations“

Fifty years ago – on April 20, 1959 – Alfred Kubin died at the age of 82 in Zwickledt near Wernstein (Upper Austria). Right here in the district of Schärding the internationally renowned artist spent most of his lifetime. In keeping with the slogan “Alfred Kubin – Art.Space.Dream.2009” the lower valley of the river Inn honours the painter and writer with a whole year of special events and a cycle of extraordinary video art installations. 2009 is the year of Alfred Kubin… and not only friends of the arts will get their money’s worth.

 

His early work is considered as nightmarish-fantastic, his first success as objectionable. At the beginning of the twentieth century Alfred Kubin caused a stir with his shocking pen drawings of frightening images and visions of sexual obsession. After his marriage and relocation from Munich to Zwickledt (1906), where he resided in a small, secluded country house above the river Inn, the tormenting visions ceased and by and by the nightmarish aspects of his work gave way to “dreamlike-realistic” motifs. That was followed by periods of creative blocks, journeys and experimental phases with different painting techniques, but it was primarily his pen and ink drawings that made Kubin famous and coined his work. Besides working on book illustrations he wrote his famous novel “The Other Side” within eight weeks in a creative frenzy and also illustrated the book himself. For decades he went on working as a book illustrator, Kubin’s works were recognized in numerous exhibitions, and he published lithographs and essays. Countless distinctions and awards – among them the Grand Austrian State Prize for Literature, Music and Visual Art – are evidence of his esteem and popularity.

 

Seven extraordinary video art installations situated in four different places – Neuhaus and Neuburg (Bavaria, Germany), Wernstein and Schärding (Upper Austria) - constitute the core of the “Year of Kubin”. Furthermore there is an outstation in Linz, the provincial capital of Upper Austria and current European Capital of Culture, where Alfred Kubin was declared honorary citizen in 1947.

 

Director Andreas Gruber calls his installations “Verwandlung schauen” (Beholding Transformation), putting special emphasis on experiencing the outstanding route of several stations. Alfred Kubin’s imagery and powerful visual language can be witnessed as “Silent Sensations” providing new points of view and ways of perception. With great technical expertise and expenditure these installations are embedded in their natural environment. Alfred Kubin’s dream and nightmare sequences are thus placed in the ambiance in which they originated and the reality of nature is completed, altered and manipulated by varying film projections on ancient stonework or big flat screens. Among other things the alley arch of the “Wassertor” (watergate) in Schärding and even the flowing waters of the river Inn become a kind of projection screen providing “wonders of nature” that will not only elate lovers of the arts.

 

An Alfred Kubin art and nature path with display boards guides the visitor to the four localities of the lower valley of the Inn where the installations are placed. On the itinerary you will find the “Wassertor” (watergate), the gazebo in the “Schlosspark” (palace garden) and the museum archway on Schlossgasse in Schärding, the pond of Kubin’s country house in Zwickledt, the “Mariensäule” (Marian column) by the river Inn in Wernstein, the courtyard of Neuburg Castle and the forest with big boulders behind Vornbach Abbey (Neuhaus). In the city centre of Linz a shop façade hinting at a shabby, closed down sex shop will cause quite a stir. Only those who peep through the covered shop window will find out what is hidden behind it…

 

While the video art installations can only be experienced temporarily from the end of May until mid-September, the Kubin path will remain open to hikers, cyclists and joggers. Outdoor video projections strongly depend on lighting conditions. At dusk the projections have their most impressive effects. After visiting the art and nature path you may want to follow Alfred Kubin’s culinary traces: among other specialities you can enjoy catfish from the river Inn with root vegetables and potatoes from the Sauwald region with hot butter, Kubin’s favourite, but he was also very fond of eggy bread with plums and cinnamon. These and more delicacies can still be found on the menus of most restaurants of the Innviertel region.

 

Numerous top-class events – exhibitions, readings, workshops – complete the festivities in Schärding and the lower valley of the river Inn. You need not be an art expert to be attracted by the versatile range of performances.