Confrontation with the Past: “The Cultural Capital of the Fuhrer” and “Political Sculpture”
Politische Skulptur
Copyright: Ernst Barlach Lizenzverwaltung Ratzeburg
The history of Linz and Upper Austria will appear in a new light beginning on September 17. Two major exhibitions, “The Cultural Capital of the Fuhrer” and “Political Sculpture,” clearly manifest the intensive process of coming to terms with the time of National Socialism that is being carried out under the aegis of Linz09.
During the few years that the Nazi held sway, Linz was transformed from a small town to an industrial metropolis. These changes in the city that Hitler had adopted as his hometown were implemented not only in the social sphere and the economic sector but in cultural life too. “The Cultural Capital of the Fuhrer” in Schlossmuseum Linz displays blueprints and images that illustrate Hitler’s thoroughly megalomaniacal, irrational architectural projects and cultural policymaking initiatives, most of which never amounted to anything. The exhibition also gives an account of cultural-political everyday life between 1938 and 1945, scrutinizing both continuities and abrupt changes in course.“Political Sculpture,” the accompanying exhibition in Landesgalerie Linz, puts the quotidian consequences of this cultural policymaking agenda into concrete terms by exhibiting the work of four sculptors: Ernst Barlach, Ludwig Kasper, Josef Thorak and Fritz Wotruba. Original pieces of sculpture and historical documents deliver a clear picture of the different ways these works were perceived before, during and after National Socialism.
“The Cultural Capital of the Fuhrer,”
September 17, 2008 – March 22, 2009
Tuesday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM; Saturday, Sunday & Holidays, 10 AM to 5 PM; Closed Mondays
Schlossmuseum Linz, Tummelplatz 10, 4010 Linz
Political Sculpture
September 17 – November 16, 2008
Tuesday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM; Saturday & Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM
Landesgalerie Linz, Museumstr. 14, 4010 Linz
