Virtuosity

 
On Skill and Disruption

 

9 May 13

 

Annika Larsson, *999 Pieces*, 2013. © the artist
Annika Larsson, *999 Pieces*, 2013. © the artist

 

Virtuosity, a signifier for outstanding artistic skill, simultaneously implies mastery and transgression. Famously embodied by the "Devil's Violinist" Niccolò Paganini's ability to blend fear with delight, this ambiguous notion blurs the boundaries between opposing forces, and where required, between good and evil. At KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Augustin Maurs hosts a program drawing on this intersection of skill and value.

A workshop open to musicians and performing artists investigates virtuosic strategies and behaviors on a theoretical and practical level. The workshop will be followed by a short presentation and talks with Augustin Maurs and the visual artists Sladja Blazan, Annika Larsson, Tisha Mukarji, Olaf Nicolai and Ana Teixeira Pinto about examples on the verge of skill and disruption.

Virtuosity: On Skill and Disruption in cooperation with Virtuosity: A Concert at the Berlin Philharmonie*, 30.4.13.