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Prof. Ulrich Puritz
Christian Hasucha works primarily with space. For him, it is simultaneously a stage, a source of materials, an object of analysis, a theme, a field of action, and an "image." The viewer is "in the picture". This image allows them to see, hear, feel, do, and think. He must move, stand, and position themselves within it. In any case, he must realize it. He completes the work in his own way through observation and reflection.
Christian Hasucha usually addresses space as a social phenomenon and a segment of overarching socio-cultural, aesthetic, and philosophical contexts. The interventions (implants) create poetic ruptures amidst familiar, unspectacular, everyday situations and make visible what is present in secret, what the dull, everyday gaze tends to overlook. In this respect, they challenge conventions of perception and everyday patterns of behavior, broadening our perspective.
His poetry confronts the viewer in a dry, austere, matter-of-fact way. It excludes expressiveness and pathos, conveying the clarity of the concept. Despite this clarity, the latter does not generate clear messages that can be "read" and consumed like a news item. It leads into open fields of reflection that remain incomplete, which is why I describe it as poetry.
Hasucha works conceptually (he follows an analytical approach) and contextually (context-oriented; space is read, interpreted, and "unlocked" as an aesthetic configuration and in its various uses as a "text"). Part of his concept is that his art goes "to the viewer," not relying on galleries as a form of public discourse, but rather addressing everyday spaces with artistic means in surprising ways, exploring their underlying "foundations."
The works are site- and time-bound ("in situ"). Documentation is necessary to ensure their continued effectiveness. Through text, drawing, and photography, they acquire a second form of existence, independent of context and time. This is how they also find their way onto the internet, which is why they can be discussed via this medium - as in the last seminar session. The choice of the internet as a public platform points to the concept of a "democratization of art," which is not confined to prestigious publications but is accessible to everyone - just as it is at its physical presentation location. This type of documentation is the extension of the artistic idea through media and is part of the artistic concept. This allows them to be expressed through media.
Artists who work with spatial context, either temporarily or exclusively (a loose, incomplete list that needs to be expanded):
Joseph Beuys, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke, Jochen Gerz, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Thomas Hirschhorn, Tadashi Kawamata, Sophie Calle, Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread, Timm Ulrichs, Andy Goldsworthy, Roman Signer, Lois Weinberger, Tobias Rehberger, Daniel Buren, Richard Wentworth, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Rebecca Horn, Donald Judd...
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