Trevor Paglen. The Octopus
20 June – 30 August 2015
Opening: Friday, 19 June 2015, 7 pm

Together with American artist Trevor Paglen (born 1974 in Maryland, USA), the Frankfurter Kunstverein has developed a comprehensive exhibition entitled “The Octopus”, which deals with topics such as surveillance and political influence.  On view are intensely colorful photos of landscapes in the era of big data, image series of military places and secret surveillance techniques, video works along with extensive materials and documents from Paglen’s investigatory research practice. The sculpture Autonomy Cube, an open Wi-Fi hotspot, illustrates together with "Eagle-Eye Photo Contest: Landscapes of Surveillance," a photo competition created for the exhibition and open to the public, Paglen’s new artistic approach: he would like his work to trigger actions that have an influence on society and that reach out beyond the institutional spaces of art into the real world. The winning photographs of the contest will be presented in the exhibition. In the context of an extensive accompanying program of panel talks, expert presentations, excursions and guided tours, the topics of the exhibition will be discussed in a broader manner.
 
Trevor Paglen will receive the cultural prize of the German Photographic Association (DGPh) for his work at the Frankfurter Kunstverein on June 21, 2015.
 
“Trevor Paglen: The Octopus” takes place within the RAY 2015 Photography Projects Frankfurt Rhine/Main and is also a collaboration with the Cluster of Excellence "The Formation of Normative Orders" at the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main. The media partner is the Journal Frankfurt.

The Frankfurter Kunstverein was founded in 1829 and is one of the oldest and most respected Kunstvereine in Germany. The Frankfurter Kunstverein has been situated in the Steinernes Haus am Römerberg since 1962. Together with the Schirn Kunsthalle (opened in 1986) and the MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst (opened in 1991), both only a few blocks away, the Kunstverein forms an “art triangle” right in the heart of the city, between the cathedral and the Römer Rathaus.

FRANKFURTER KUNSTVEREIN
Steinernes Haus am Römerberg
Markt 44, 60311 Frankfurt am Main

http://www.fkv.de