Gone and lost forever: destroyed places in the museum
Cultural life goes on – at least for those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated. “The Disappointed Tourist” is the name of the first comprehensive exhibition by the American artist Ellen Harvey in the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg and refers to her project, which has been ongoing since 2019, to present the viewer with over 200 pictures painted with acrylic on wooden panels so far. die have been destroyed worldwide and are no longer preserved in their original beauty or originality.
You can take a 360-degree tour of the museum here
Even participants who are often present in person, malt Harvey next to this exhibition wall and other pictures, die as suggestions from “disappointed tourists” asked for and received online.
Many look like black and white photographs. The viewer discovers images of destroyed nature such as melting icebergs or glaciers, crumbling, religious buildings destroyed by intolerance, racism and wars such as the famous Baal Temple in Palmyra, the ruins of the old summer palace in Beijing, churches, mosques or synagogues and monuments. Harvey even makes everyday losses through gentrification such as a personal favorite place, e.g. an old pub, the subject of her documentation and criticism.
The artist also deals with the different human perceptions of the same environment and points out in an original way: St. Bernhard Pass exists. The many mirrors of different sizes attached to the rear wall and mounted at different inclinations reflect the reality of the opposite landscape. Harvey also makes skilful use of traditional techniques in her various objects. So, as a young woman in the graffiti scene in New York, in the midst of the sprayed fences, walls or signs, she copied pictures of Caspar David Friedrich and other romantics using their technique in oval mini-formats and even got a beating in front of the New York police for how she is amused today told. A large number of photographs from this period in the exhibition document the dying of “illegal” works that can no longer be found.
Almost the entire length and height of one of the two exhibition rooms is taken up by its previous large-format work: the huge cartography of a satellite image of Florida. Here she deals with the rising sea level, which is putting large parts of Florida under water. Since Ellen Harvey is present and painting, the visitor also has the chance to ask the communicative artist about her many other works. Helga Mikosch
Until February 20th in the Museum der Moderne on Salzburg’s Mönchsberg, open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm, Wednesday 10 am to 8 pm
Ellen Harvey continues to receive suggestions for the Salzburg exhibition at disappointtourist.org