Kindertotenlieder - Sons On The Death Of Children

THE LOSS OF CHILDREN EXPLORED IN A CONTEMPORARY ART COMMISSION IN BRISTOL

Picture This and Opera North present an installation fusing visual art with classical music and literature

18 July 2006: Bristol-based artist Mariele Neudecker tackles the highly emotive and challenging theme of grief for children in an evocative film installation created in response to Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children). The commission is the latest in a series of innovative works by Neudecker in which she explores classical music and poetry through film and sculpture.

Kindertotenlieder will be at Colston Hall, Bristol from 11 August to 9 September 2006.

In Kindertotenlieder, Neudecker has broken new ground in her own artistic practice, by presenting films within a series of rooms. The viewer will be able to peep around doors to view a vast alpine landscape or discover the poignant image of a child playing in a meadow, within a door-knob.

Gustav Mahler's composition, written between 1901 - 1904, is set to the verse of German Romantic poet Friedrich Rückert's Kindertotenlieder and evokes powerful emotions of grief, loss and guilt. Mahler explained that in writing the cycle "I placed myself in the situation that a child of mine had died." Years later he added, "After I had really lost my daughter, I could not have written these songs." In this new piece Neudecker has drawn upon the metaphors of light and weather referred to in Rückert's verse to create an installation in response to the five songs.

Mariele Neudecker established her reputation through a series of signature 'tank works' drawing on Northern Romantic ideas. In recent years the artist has begun to explore moving image, music and text including the production of the critically acclaimed series of films to complement live performances of Schubert's song cycle Winterreise (A Winter's Journey, 2003).

Josephine Lanyon, Director, Picture This, said: "Neudecker's work sensitively explores a highly emotive subject matter. We are delighted that through this commission, she has taken her work in a new direction, combining sculptural form with film and classical music."

Graeme Howell, Director, Colston Hall, said: "This installation continues some of our previous explorations of film and music at the venue. Colston Hall provides an unusual but highly appropriate setting for this work, and brings new audiences to both the visual arts and classical music."

Commissioned by Opera North Projects and Picture This in partnership with Impressions Gallery, Bradford and Bonington Gallery, Nottingham.

END

For further information including images, please contact:
Anna Cusden, Kallaway,
020 7221 7883, anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk

Mariele Neudecker (born Germany, 1965) lives and works in Bristol. Internationally recognised for her landscapes within glass vitrines, Neudecker uses sculpture, film and photography to create tensions between historical representations of the sublime landscape and our perception, imagination and memory of experience. She has had solo exhibitions at IKON Gallery (Birmingham), Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin), Tate St. Ives and Tate Britain (London).

Picture This is a Bristol-based commissioning agency that produces moving image projects, exhibitions and events with an emphasis on research, experimentation and collaboration. The agency has a portfolio of partnerships that makes it possible to work with artists on innovative projects with extraordinary contexts. Picture This is currently undergoing a major redevelopment project to expand from agency to atelier. Picture This Creative Technology Atelier will be a 21st century flagship project to champion artistic excellence and innovation in the field of contemporary artists' film and video installation. www.picture-this.org.uk

Opera North was established in 1978 as the national touring company for the north of England and has built a national and international reputation for its innovative an risk-taking approach to opera, classical music and, increasingly, contemporary art. Opera North Projects was set up in 2001 to forge partnerships and artistic collaborations with contemporary writers, composers and visual artists. www.operanorth.co.uk

Colston Hall is the South West's largest concert venue, offering audiences across Bristol and beyond an exciting, eclectic repertoire - from world-class classical concerts, rock and pop to world music events and prestigious jazz acts. Last year alone over 200,000 people passed through the Hall's doors. Opened in 1890 Colston Hall has been burnt down twice, re-modelled and partially re-built yet remains one of the most important and significant cultural landmarks in Bristol.
www.colstonhall.org

Bristol is being increasingly recognised as major centre for visual arts activity in the UK. Its selection as host city for two major exhibitions of contemporary art in 2006, Beck's Futures and British Art Show 6, testifies to its role as a vital hub for visual culture in the UK and the South West. An ambitious roster of capital projects is transforming the city's art community.

Neudecker's Kindertotenlieder has been shown at Impressions Gallery, York in the autumn of 2005 and at Salts Mill in Bradford earlier this year. The exhibition tours to the Bonington Gallery, Nottingham.

Colston Hall
Colston Street
Bristol , BS1 5AR

Open Thursday 4 - 8 pm, Friday to Sunday 12 - 5pm, ADMISSION FREE

Event: Contemporary Art & Classical Music Conversation,
Screening and discussion, Thursday 7 September, 6pm