3—5 p.m.
performative release of the digital book about the performance art of katze und krieg
from 7 p.m. onwards
finissage with several contributions
With performance and artist talk by katze und krieg
With contributions by Jan Hoeft and Aneta Rostkowska
With live call from New York with Rack-Lo/Lo Lifes
With music selection by Camilo Pachón
With the invitation to dance barefoot on the red carpet
And of course with drinks for everyone!
The goal of the book released on Saturday is to give a deeper insight into the practice of the performance duo katze und krieg. The publication is divided into four chapters highlighting different aspects of their work. Each chapter starts with a contribution by one expert, reflecting on the theme of the chapter. Scholar and curator Georgy Mamedov writes about katze und krieg’s art as an engagement with the structures of late capitalism from within. Sociologist Joanna Kusiak underlines the playfulness of the duo that empowers us to produce different kind of spaces with one’s body and one’s self. Art historian Ann-Kathrin Gunzel focuses on the participatory aspect of katze und krieg’s work, the fact that an encounter with other humans remains an essential part of their work. Gender expert Paula Villa illuminates the attempts to create and re-create ones identity. Each text is followed by descriptions of performances of katze und krieg written by the artists themselves. The publication is being distributed in an unusual way: The readers of the book are invited to secretly place bookmarks inside various art publications in different bookshops and libraries. Each of the bookmarks contains a QR code leading to a digital chapter of the book matching the character of the publication in which the bookmark was placed. We believe that this subversive distribution mode matches very well the character of the work of katze und krieg.
We invite you to come at 3 pm to TG, celebrate the release, get to know the catalogue and help us to distribute the book in a collective performance.
In the evening at 7 pm we will host a conversation with the duo moderated by Aneta Rostkowska. Afterwards we will present two contributions related to other exhibitions at our space. Aneta Rostkowska will present the semi-fictitious collection of the CCA Wawel Castle, an art centre she runs in Cracow since 10 years together with Jakub Woynarowski. Jan Hoeft will present an artwork he made for the collection.
Afterwards around 9 pm we will connect via Zoom with Rack-Lo from Lo Lifes, a Brooklyn-based subculture that originated in the 80s and is centered around Polo Ralph Lauren apparel and other fashion brands. Rack-Lo is widely recognized as one of the founders of the Lo Lifes. According to the other founder of the group, Thirstin Howl the 3rd, "the clothes were made for the upper-class preppy kids from Yale and Harvard, and you know some kids from the ghetto just took it, remixed it, and we made it our own".
The next highlight of the evening will be a music selection prepared by Camilo Pachón, is a multidisciplinary Colombian artist who explores the ritual, political, spiritual and transformative dimensions of the mask as an ever-present cultural artefact. His work is socially engaged and encompasses a wide range of media and formats, from photography and film to performance and installation. His spirits cover albums and concerts by bands such as FRENTE CUMBIERO, one of the most important groups in the Latin American cumbia scene. Music is a transversal element in Camilo's work, his journey into the depths of the mask is always associated with the sounds that surround him and the embodiment of the healing power of dance.
We invite you to join us for a relaxed evening at the CCA Temporary Gallery, hopefully ending with a nice dance party 🙂