The annual art commission for Haus der Kunst's Middle Hall for 2014/15 is "The Present Moment," a work designed for the space by Albanian artist Anri Sala (b. 1974).
For the third edition of the annual commission DER ÖFFENTLICHKEIT ― VON DEN FREUNDEN HAUS DER KUNST Anri Sala has designed a multi-channel sound and video installation. With this work, he continues his exploration of musical compositions in the existing architecture of exhibition spaces, most recently demonstrated in the French Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2013. For his installation in Haus der Kunst's central Middle Hall, he devotes his attention to the genre of chamber music, an intimate format that – for the artist – stands in dynamic contrast to the public nature of the work presented in the expansive spaces of Haus der Kunst.
Sala's installation revolves around the question of the immediate present in an art form bound to concepts of temporality and transience. What does it mean to consider the "now" in music? Does sound allow the present to be experienced? Can a composition's temporality be reduced to the "here and now" of its presence? How can such questions be made tangible to an audience?
DER ÖFFENTLICHKEIT — VON DEN FREUNDEN HAUS DER KUNST is commissioned by Haus der Kunst, realized with generous funding by the Friends of Haus der Kunst.
