ARCH OF HYSTERIA – Zwischen Wahnsinn und Ekstase

ARCH OF HYSTERIA – Between Madness and Ecstasy: The “great arch”, or “arc de cercle” (Arch of Hysteria), with its ambivalence between loss of control and mastery, is a seductive motif with a long tradition in the history of art and culture. It is found in depictions of dance and acrobatics, but it also describes physical or mental illness: the hyperextended (female) body expresses ecstatic rapture or else a psychotic disorder. In dance, by contrast, it stands for virtuoso bodily control and expressiveness. With “Arch of Hysteria” the Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, devotes an exhibition to this powerfully evocative motif and shows works of art of the past 100 years from the most diverse contexts, thus exploring the variety of expressive possibilities inherent in the pose – right up to its transformation into abstract yet nonetheless expressive and therefore unmistakable forms. Book and exhibition illuminate the roots of the motif in (art) history as well as its contemporary continuations in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and performance art. Among the protagonists are Denis Darzacq, Max Ernst, Georg Herold, Gustav Klimt, Alfred Kubin and Auguste Rodin, but also Alexandra Bircken, Louise Bourgeois, Ronit Porat, Barbis Ruder, Charlotte Rudolph, Valerie Schmidt and VALIE EXPORT; many of the works were created specially for the show and are reproduced here for the first time.

Exhibition:
Museum der Moderne Salzburg, 21/7/2023 – 14/1/2024