Exhibition "Futura" in the Hamburger Kunsthalle: How do you make time tangible?

Enlarge image

Photo of an ice cave from 1963, shown in the exhibition »Futura«: The need to capture nature

Photo:

Photo archive Bogomir Ecker/ VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

»So what is time?«, the church teacher Augustine asked himself in the 4th century.

There is a physical answer to this question, but the Hamburger Kunsthalle is interpreting it more abstractly at the moment.

Augustine's reflections on the measurability of time inspire an exhibition there that tries to artistically implement temporality - that is, our understanding of the past, present and future.

A demanding undertaking.

The artist Bogomir Ecker curated the exhibition together with the art historian Brigitte Kölle,

in which a total of 30 international artists took part

The show takes its task of exploring the perception of time together with the visitors extremely seriously: even the exhibits themselves are presented on antiquarian tables, and the museum's inventory has been tried to ensure authenticity.

The idea of ​​transformation runs like a red thread through the works: Again and again it is about the changes that occur over the years or centuries, but which are sometimes hardly noticeable.

"The process character is important," says curator Ecker, he also means the heart of the exhibition: his stalactite machine.

With every falling drop it slowly forms stalagmites and stalactites, after 500 years these are said to have grown by 5 centimeters.

The 25-year-old installation was well hidden in the basement for a long time, but now it has become the starting point for the exhibition.

Since it will outlive its inventor, the responsibility for the experiment is always passed on.

Ecker says that he now only comes by occasionally.

"It's like a time capsule"

In order to make time more tangible, the exhibition also plays with the interaction of materials, using photography, film and sound montage, which challenge hearing and sight in equal measure - something new is constantly happening. Different states of matter also play a major role: on a screen in a small cinema, a block of ice can be observed melting, a series of photos shows gigantic glaciers, everything is reminiscent of the transience of ice. Whether it's the falling drops from Ecker's machine or the photos of melting glaciers - natural phenomena always interact with time.

Then again this seems to have stopped.

A large chest freezer is near the entrance.

"It's like a time capsule," says Ecker, laughing.

It contains objects that shouldn't actually be frozen, such as a chair, a remote control or a microphone.

It's true that you can't capture nature, but as humans we feel the need to do it anyway, says Ecker.

In addition to meteorites and a huge mammoth tooth, which comes from the private collection of a deceased geology professor, »Futura« also presents more reduced elements: A framed tally sheet hangs on one wall quite simply.

The theme of nature is included again and again

Curator Kölle chose »Newton's Cradle« by Ceal Floyer as her favorite sculpture, a small work with a big presence.

The famous shot-put pendulum is actually supposed to demonstrate energy transfer in the original, but here the balls hanging on threads are tangled together and are thus prevented from swinging.

The motif keeps coming back, a few steps further knotted double bass strings pick it up again.

What might this irritation mean?

Puzzling along is encouraged in this exhibition, as the arrangement of the exhibits is itself like a large series of experiments.

»Futura« does not claim to be self-contained, but would like to make a contribution, suggestions and entertainment to a broad topic.

At the same time, however, the show does not get too general: the fact that the theme of nature is repeatedly included, for example, does not blur the actual goal of presenting time in an artistic form.

Curator Kölle is right when she says: “You see the same thing so often in museums.

Futura is a special exhibition«.

Incidentally, Augustine came to the philosophical conclusion that temporality is only created by our spirit: remembering allows the past to emerge, looking at it the present and expecting the future.

A nice thought.

Hamburg's »Futura« at least proves that making time and its progression clear can also be successful.

»Futura«, until April 10th at the Hamburger Kunsthalle