In the beginning was the cookie machine. It even existed before the Big Bang. And what we call the universe was created as a by-product of biscuit making. This surprising answer to one of the biggest questions of all questions can be found in Michael Pfitzner’s “Why”. A comic that the artist developed as a diploma thesis at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. And for which there was the Academy Prize from the scholarship fund, as one of a total of nine prizes. “Why”, a surreal trip, slightly reminiscent of Moebius, through the yawning abysses of everyday life with many pop culture references, lies in the current diploma exhibition out of. Pfitzner had a total of 150 copies printed. And he is looking for a publisher for more copies.
Zooming in on banal everyday life, combined with fleeing into a fantastic, maybe parallel world: these are possibly two convergent options that can be used to react to the madness in the world out there. And that’s why you can also find them in other of the 59 graduate students.
In any case, Stefan Holzmair describes his ceramics and glass works, for which he received a debutant grant, as the “dark side of a speculative future of escapist parallel worlds”. They look like surreal contraptions, alien hybrid creatures, and would fit well in Pfitzner’s comic. Strange creatures can also be found at Ayaka Terajima. However, her containers are made from recycled clay and are inspired by the Japanese pottery tradition.
Alien hybrid creatures: Stefan Holzmair received a debutant grant for his work.
(Photo: Academy of Fine Arts)
Veronika Günther, Tornike Abuladze and Milan Bettermann are very close to everyday life. Günther has drawn many small, beautiful, everyday scenarios that sometimes resemble caricatures. And every day for many months. Abuladze has reconstructed 365 cell phone lock screens from dark glass. Each has a date written on it in white on black. A conceptual work reminiscent of On Kawara’s “Date Paintings”. And Bettermann photographed his friends in their apartments. But before that he completely redesigned everything, making installations out of the rooms, so to speak, in which the portrayed now act like actors.
In her paintings, Niloufar Shirani brings together the “Conference of the Vogel Academy” and the harsh political reality in Iran.
(Photo: Academy of Fine Arts)
At least indirectly, it gets political with Justin Urbach. He was inspired by so-called “wafers” to create a science fiction-like film and object installation. Wafers are silicon plates, you could also say: the “gold of the future”, which is currently the subject of fierce competition between China and Taiwan. Uphill battles are likely to continue for protesters in Iran, some of whom can be seen symbolically in Niloufar Shirani’s paintings. Shirani associates these with the mystical poetry of the “Conference of Birds” and with the hoopoe as a symbol of hope. It’s about conflict, communication, in relation to the dark reality that you can’t really get out of in the end.
Diploma 2023, until Feb. 14, Academy of Fine Arts, Akademiestr. 2-4, www.adbk.de