Start: 7pm
Welcome: Andreas Vogel, Director Department of Cultural Analysis and Mediation, Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK
Introduction: Bettina Richter, curator of the exhibition and poster collection, Museum für Gestaltung Zurich
with translation into sign language
Performance by Nora Werren, Alumni MA Dance ZHdK, with ZHdK-Students of BA Contemporary Dance
Young, white, straight, healthy, and attractive … Ever since the advent of the modern illustrated poster around 1900, the human body has been a popular subject. Its representation mostly follows the rules of the market, where advertising is dominated by stereotypes of a supposedly successful life. How do such images shape our perception of ourselves and the world? And are there effective counterstrategies? In the context of current debates on gender and race, as well as on body optimization and media self-staging, the exhibition questions the body images propagated by our visual culture. Posters from the museum collection meet up with artworks and everyday objects to prompt a multifaceted examination of the body in its cultural, social, and political dimensions.
