Vİron Erol Vert

Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s Die Kniende was exhibited in the 1920s at the Galerie der Lebenden in the Kronprinzenpalais, before the national socialists labelled the androgynous woman as »degenerate« because she didn’t correspond to their Nordic-Germanic body ideals. One of the casts of the larger than life-sized sculpture was almost completely destroyed in World War II, another is exhibited today in New York’s MoMA. During the second half of the 20th century Die Kniende was an important inspiration for many artists – including Joseph Beuys who stressed the importance of this artworks for his own concept of the Soziale Plastik. In a standard sanitary container in the Gorki garden, Viron Erol Vert interlaces the historical context of Die Kniende with a reflection on the commercialization of art.