The video Don’t Be Afraid is a reflection on the story of Penelope and Odysseus by way of a simplified presentation of the fictional episode. The surface of the picture consists of a crochet fabric bearing the slogans “There’s still time” and “There’s no time left”. This video is solely made of two images: one with the unravelling of the surface and its caption, and the other of its spooling back. We cannot see the hand that is performing this action, so the overall effect is similar to an hourglass: once it has been turned over, it is subject only to the laws of gravity. Although Lajos Csontó is an artist of our times, he is nonetheless consistently fascinated with the ancient question of the force behind the image, its mystical power. His work is full of moments of access to traditions and traditional representation, as well as of breaking away from these in a process of simultaneous innovation. His works are thus haunted by the permanent imprint of cultural quotation marks around metaphorical content. To quote the artist: “Do not seek the answer.” It is sufficient if the visualized reality evokes a feeling of uncertainty in the viewer. With Don’t Be Afraid we face a reflection about how time affects our relation to the world and our capacity to make sense of it. Our limited agency before an ever changing world is like a hostage-taking by a time we have lost control over and which keeps us in a precarious state of being—in between having or not having time. Shouldn’t we stop looking at the passing of time and ask ourselves how much time there is left before the great disconnection?
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New Acquisitions – Rarely Seen Works 13. March, 2009 – 14. June
The Ludwig Museum possesses a relatively small yet internationally significant collection of over 400 contemporary artworks. As the museum’s permanent exhibition is only able to show a small portion of the collection, we make an effort to present a fresh selection from time to time.