Propaganda visited by modern art
An exhibition in Munich deals with the different interpretations of the term "propaganda" and other euphemisms to describe it, from "strategic communication" to "political management."
Gender wars
The exhibition breaks with stereotypical representations of femininity. The Cuban-American artist Coco Fusco radically criticizes the widespread interpretation of feminism which promotes emancipation through an ambitious career and power. Her installation "A Room of One's Own: Women and Power in the New America," refers to pictures of the torture and abuse inflicted on Abu Ghraib prisoners.
Everything is staged
The works of the US painter John Miller from his series "Everything Is Said" were inspired by reality TV shows such as the satire dating game show, "Flavor of Love." His works expose the fluid relation between reality, or "authentic" emotions, and self-dramatization, which also strongly characterizes the digital era.
Nebulous perspectives
Originally from London, the artist Bradley Davies lives and works in Frankfurt. This humorous work dealing with media convergence shows a plywood cut-out of the media mogul Rupert Murdoch. It is part of the satirical paper "Suntimes," a title that combines two names of publications owned by Murdoch, "The Sun" and "The Times."
Dark realist views of the United States
The US artist Sandow Birk combines grotesque elements with documentary content in his paintings tainted with dark social realism. His works are reminiscent of Dutch genre paintings. They mainly deal with the contemporary cultural and political landscape of the United States.
Memories and memorials
New York artist Aura Rosenberg realized that there weren't any existing souvenirs depicting the Berlin Victory Column. Rosenberg's work "The Missing Souvenir" features rows of the monument in the form of plastic memorabilia. The cheap and kitsch replica of the historic memorial reflects on how the term "homeland" is still problematic in Germany.
The light at the end of the tunnel?
British conceptual artist John Smith is the author of over 50 video works that have received many awards. This still is from a black-and-white video called "White Hole," dealing with the effect of propaganda in the former Eastern Bloc.