“He carried the painting of a poor poet from the museum to the immigrants”
“A series of classical photo portraits of the homeless African American people in New York City of the 90s, in which the author, with great sensibility and as official portraits, immortalised people from the economic edge was a true surprise. A walk through the exhibition thus disclosed the most consistent of Ulay’s thematic emphases as is his testing of social codes’ borders and a ceaseless insight into various fringes.”
“The exhibition dynamically winds between artefacts, documentation of his transient works and media reactions. It is often futile to separate between the action and reactions, as all are components of numerous works. One of his most impactful actions is presented in the last room of the second floor - There is a Criminal Touch to Art (1976), when he carried out an “art theft” of Carl Spitzweg’s valuable painting at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The painting, The Poor Poet, which depicts a starving poet in his modest den, was then taken to an apartment of Turkish immigrant workers. The painting tells the story of an individual’s existential struggle, and that is why a worker’s apartment is a more logical home for it than a bourgeoisie museum. However, the action would not be successful without a fury of reactions from the media and getting that reaction is a skill that Ulay always knew how to use.” You can read more in Miha Colner’s article for the Dnevnik Newspaper (in Slovene).
Visitors to the City Art Gallery of Ljubljana only have time until Wednesday 8 February to visit Ulay’s I Other exhibition.