"urbanTension" is a series of large scale pictures presented in different sites in public space accompanied by a series of one-page artistic contributions in the Austrian daily newspaper "Der Standard".
The large scale pictures (10m x 10m) were being presented on specific locations in Frankfurt, Brussels, Vienna and Rome. Five artists were invited to participate in this large scale picture-exhibition series: Ricardo Basbaum (Brazil), Mircea Cantor (Rumania/France), Minerva Cuevas (Mexico), Jens Haaning (Denmark) and Erik van Lieshout (Netherlands); team of curators: Chris Dercon, Rita Kersting, Hans-Ulrich Obrist and Max Hollein.
Urban space reveals social conditions by its specific conditions such us its architectural vocabulary, by the forms of transportation and mobility which it allows, by images and texts. Urban Space mirrors the relations of life and power. The "Tension" in terms of an aggressive atmosphere seems to escalate with the increasing privatisation of public space where official supervision, private statements, controlling mechanisms and unpredictable parameters clash together. Regarding the increasing overflow of visual information "urbanTension" raises the question how visual arts deals with this subject if presented in urban space.
"urbanTension" is a museum in progress project in cooperation with the initiative "Kunst gegen Gewalt", Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Austrian Cultural Forum Rome. Media partners: INFOSCREEN, Werbeplakat SORAVIA.
