Katharina Cibulka Explained

Katharina Cibulka
Birth Place:Innsbruck, Austria
Notable Works:"SOLANGE" installations

Katharina Cibulka (born 1975) is an Austrian feminist artist, filmmaker and photographer whose work addresses gender-based inequity and power structures through public art projects such as her series of installations "SOLANGE" (German for "as long as"). For her SOLANGE installations, Cibulka covers scaffolding at construction sites with monumental cross-stitch messages in bright pink tulle on white mesh fabric, following the pattern "As long as ... I will be a feminist." At least 27 SOLANGE installations[1] have appeared in at least 21 cities, in countries including Austria, Slovenia, Morocco, Germany, and the United States. In 2021, Cibulka received the Tyrolean Prize for Contemporary Art from the State of Tyrol.

Education

Katharina Cibulka was born in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1975.

Cibulka has studied at the New York Film Academy (1999), the School for Artistic Photography in Vienna, founded by Friedl Kubelka, (2000–01), and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (2004–10). In 2010 Cibulka received her diploma in performance art from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, after submitting the video Getting my name up there.[2] [3]

Video works

Cibulka's video Getting my name up there is based on two films made in New York, interviewing five musicians ten years apart. The film focuses on their personal development and the changes in their goals. Another video, "Do not leave any traces", documented the words before and after they were painted on a wall of the exhibition room.[4]

Cibulka had solo shows at the Ursula Blickle Video Lounge of the Kunsthalle Wien in 2006, and at Andechs Galleries in Innsbruck in 2011.[4]

Installations

Cibulka began developing the "SOLANGE" series in 2016.[2] She intentionally chose to place a traditional female practice – cross-stitch – into a traditionally male setting – a construction site.[5] On the protective covering of the scaffolding at construction sites, Cibulka writes monumental messages in cross-stitch using pink tulle on white mesh. Messages follow the pattern "As long as ... I will be a feminist."[6] The messages chosen for her works are often developed through discussion with local communities.

"As long as the art market is a boys’ club, I will be a feminist." appeared at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 2018.[7] The Academy, Cibulka's alma mater, is the only university in Europe or the United States that has achieved an equal gender ratio in its staff and students. The message challenged the imbalance towards male artists in the international art market[2] [8] as identified by the Guerrilla Girls and others.[9] Other messages have appeared in at least 21 cities,[10] including the twin cities of Innsbruck, Austria and Freiburg, Germany;[10] [11] Landek, Austria;[8] Tuchlauben, Golden Quarter, Vienna;[2] Ljubljana, Slovenia and Rabat, Morocco.[12]

On 4 May 2021, the message "As long as the hope we spread is stronger than the fear we face, I will be a feminist" in Ljubljana, the capitol of Slovenia, was partially destroyed by vandals. The work had been installed at Cukrarna, a former sugar refinery turned art gallery. It was part of a larger exhibition of sixteen artists, "When Gesture Becomes Event", which opened on 30 April 2021.[13] After the destruction the words "Hope... fear... we face" remained.[14] The City Art Gallery of Ljubljana requested that the damaged work continue to be displayed "as a mirror to all of us, reminding us where we’re heading as a society and how much fear is still present among us".[15]

Cibulka's first installation in the United States, part of the SOLANGE series, covers the north-facing façade of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.[6] [16] It carries the message (in English) "As long as generations change but our struggles stay the same, I will be a feminist."[17] [18] Cibulka followed Miss Chelove as one of several women artists who were chosen to present monumental works in the National Museum of Women in the Arts' Lookout series of installations while the museum is being renovated.[19]

Cibulka serves on the board of the Tyrolean Artists' Association (Tiroler Künstlerschaft).[20]

Exhibitions

Works by Cibulka have been included in exhibitions and film festivals such as the Neue Galerie, Innsbruck;[21] Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna;[22] [23] St. Claude Gallery, New Orleans[24] Glucksman Gallery, Cork;[25] Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast;[26] Kunstverein, Bonn;[27] and Künstlerhaus, Vienna.[28]

Awards

Awards received include:

Notes and References

  1. News: Ruf . Jessica . A New Art Installation Is Draped Over the National Museum of Women in the Arts . 19 November 2022 . Washingtonian . 24 October 2022.
  2. News: Smith . Beverly Hall . Looking at the Masters: Katharina Cibulka . 18 November 2022 . The Talbot Spy . 16 November 2022.
  3. Web site: TIROLER KÜNSTLER*SCHAFT 2016-18. 277 . Tyrolean Artists Association . 18 November 2022.
  4. News: Katharina Cibulka, bildende Kunst . 18 November 2022 . ORF . 27 April 2017 . de.
  5. News: Berntsen . Tina . Feministische Intervention im öffentlichen Raum: SOLANGE-Projekt . 18 November 2022 . Wir Frauen . 30 November 2020 . de.
  6. News: Katharina Cibulka Presents First US Mural Installation on National Museum of Women in the Arts' Building Façade . 18 November 2022 . East City Art . 8 November 2022.
  7. News: Protesting Art Market 'Boys' Club', Artist Takes Over Vienna's Academy With Feminist Message . 18 November 2022 . Frieze . 23 July 2018 . en.
  8. News: Brown . Kate . This Artist Plastered the Facade of Austria's Most Prestigious Art School With a 56-Foot Feminist Manifesto . 19 November 2022 . Artnet News . 23 July 2018.
  9. News: Shaw . Anny . As Galleries Double Down on All-Women Shows, Will Market's Gender Gap Narrow? . 19 November 2022 . Artsy . 1 February 2017 . en.
  10. News: "Solange…"- Kunstprojekt auf der Goethe-Fassade . 18 November 2022 . www.gg-fr.de . 20 September 2021 . de.
  11. News: "SOLANGE"-Projekt in Freiburg: "Solange Gott einen Bart hat, bin ich Feminist" . 18 November 2022 . MeinBezirk . 26 August 2021 . de.
  12. News: Haider . Arwa . This New Moroccan Biennale Takes a Pioneering Stance on Gender . 19 November 2022 . ELEPHANT . 26 November 2019.
  13. News: Ennemoser . Magdalena . Werk von Tiroler Künstlerin Katharina Cibulka in Ljubljana zerstört Tiroler Tageszeitung Online . 18 November 2022 . Tiroler Tageszeitung Online . 6 May 2021 . de.
  14. Web site: SOLANGE . Archive of Destruction . 18 November 2022.
  15. News: The art work on the façade of the Cukrarna Palace was destroyed last night . 18 November 2022 . Mestna galerija . 4 May 2021 . en.
  16. News: Katharina Cibulka presents first U.S. mural installation on National Museum of Women in the Arts' building façade . 18 November 2022 . National Museum of Women in the Arts . 28 September 2022.
  17. News: Feminist public art installation in DC at NMWA . 18 November 2022 . Art Daily . 2022.
  18. News: Shambroom . Hannah . In Conversation with Katharina Cibulka: Artistic Practice . 19 November 2022 . Broad Strokes Blog . National Museum of Women in the Arts . 2 November 2022.
  19. News: National Museum of Women in the Arts reveals new installation on building façade . 18 November 2022 . National Museum of Women in the Arts . 24 October 2022.
  20. Web site: Zu Gast beim Verein "Tiroler Künstlerschaft" . Innsbruck Informiert . 18 November 2022 . de.
  21. News: Räume und Zeitläufe . 19 November 2022 . DER STANDARD . 15 April 2011 . de-AT.
  22. News: Noll . Petra . Katharina Cibulka Fotogalerie Wien Wien . 19 November 2022 . undo.net . 10 April 2012 . it.
  23. Web site: SOLO III – KATHARINA CIBULKA . FOTOGALERIE WIEN . 19 November 2022.
  24. Web site: The 2014 Art Exchange . Center Austria, University of New Orleans . 19 November 2022.
  25. News: Laws . Exhibition Review – Ireland Roundup, Art Monthly, March 2018. . 19 November 2022 . Joanne Laws . 21 February 2018 . en.
  26. News: Leach . Cristín . Art review: Outposts . 19 November 2022 . The Sunday Times . 4 March 2018 . en.
  27. News: Kliemann . Thomas . Bonner Kunstverein zeigt junge tschechische Kunst . 19 November 2022 . General-Anzeiger Bonn . 26 June 2010 . de.
  28. News: Pan . Lara . When Gesture Becomes Event at Künstlerhaus Wien . 19 November 2022 . Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art . 31 March 2021 . en.
  29. News: Tiroler Kunst-Preis geht an Katharina Cibulka . 18 November 2022 . Salzburger Nachrichten . 31 May 2021 . de.
  30. Web site: Hilde Zach Art Scholarships . City of Innsbruck . 18 November 2022 . en.