Josephine Meckseper is a German-born artist, based in New York City.[1] Her large-scale installations and films have been exhibited in various international biennials and museum shows worldwide.

Josephine Meckseper
Born
Lilienthal, Lower Saxony, Germany
Known forinstallation, sculpture, painting, photography, film
AwardsJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship

Life and education

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Meckseper grew up in Worpswede, Germany, an artist community founded at the beginning of the 20th century, by a group of artists including Heinrich Vogeler (1872- 1942).[2] Vogeler was a diverse political artist and architect whose early work is situated within the Jugendstil movement, a German offspring of Art Nouveau. Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) and the writer and poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), both lived in Worpswede for parts of their life.

Meckseper studied at Berlin University of the Arts in Germany from 1986–1990, and completed her MFA at the California Institute of the Arts in 1992,[3] where she was influenced by artists Michael Asher and Charles Gaines, filmmaker Thom Andersen and literary critic and cultural theorist Sylvère Lotringer.[4]

Meckseper's father is the renowned German artist Friedrich Meckseper (1936-2019).[5]

Work

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Films

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Early Work: Meckseper’s first films time at CalArts coincided with the Gulf War and the Los Angeles riots, 1992; during this politically-charged period her first installations and films reflected upon the actions of the Situationist International who advocated experimentation with the construction of situations, namely setting up environments as alternatives to capitalist order.[6] Meckseper’s subsequent short films followed a similar principle and were filmed at Anti-capitalist and Anti-war protests in different parts of the world; as well as at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

Meckseper’s film PELLEA[S], 2018 adapts the Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande (1892), weaving together fictional scenarios and dramatic footage captured by the artist at the 2017 presidential inauguration and the landmark women’s march that followed. Conflating contemporary political realities to Arnold Schoenberg’s modernist sound poem of Pelléas et Mélisande, the city of Washington, D.C. and its architecture become a context and site of departure, giving voice to debates around notions of gender found in the original play. Meckseper expresses through cinema the dramatic narratives and relationships contained within the universe of her signature glass and mirror vitrines, and draws a direct correlation to the way early Modernism and the avant-garde developed into a form of political and aesthetic resistance to classism and capitalism.

FAT Magazine

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In 1994, Meckseper founded FAT Magazine, a conceptual magazine project distributed at newsstands and in supermarkets, but also exhibited in galleries and museums in the form of wallpaper. It was inspired by political theorist and radical publisher Jean-Paul Marat’s newspaper, published during the French Revolution called L'Ami du peuple and the avant-garde tradition of breaking down barriers between art and life.[7] Since 1994 Meckseper has published five issues:  Good and Evil (1994); Surrender (1995/1996); on Fire (1997); Overflow (1999); Objectification (2018).[8]

Vitrines

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Installation view, “Josephine Meckseper,” Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, 2013

Source:[9]

While Meckseper’s earliest vitrine works commented on contemporary consumer culture using the shop window as an example and focus point for civic unrest and protest, documented in her film works, her later steel and glass vitrines, allude to the political dimension of early modernist Bauhaus display architecture and design between World War I and II in Weimar Germany. Meckseper melds the aesthetic language of early modernism with her own objects and paintings and footage of historical and political undercurrents, taking on a similar function as Mies van der Rohe’s well-known designs and glass structures for art collections: art and art history are on display. Often contained within Meckseper’s displays are paintings that nod to 20th century European modernist art, such as Russian constructivism.[10]

Manhattan Oil Project

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In 2012, her public art project Manhattan Oil Project, commissioned by the Art Production Fund, was installed on the corner of 46th Street and 8th Avenue in New York City.[11] Consisting of two monumental kinetic sculptures modeled after mid-20th century oil pumps, these 25 feet tall sculptures were inspired by oil pumps that the artist discovered in Electra, a boarded-up town once famous for being the pump jack capital of Texas. Placed in a vacant lot next to Times Square, the fully motorized pump jacks recalled the ruins of ghost towns, forgotten monuments of America's decaying industrial past.[12]

In 2022, she received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.[13]

Selected Exhibitions

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Public collections

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  • Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore[35]
  • Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn[36]
  • Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles
  • FRAC Nord – Pas-de-Calais, Dunkerque[37]
  • Kunsthalle Bremen[38]
  • Kunstmuseum Stuttgart[39]
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York[40]
  • Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich[41]
  • Museum of Modern Art, New York[42]
  • Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem
  • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne[43]
  • Pérez Art Museum, Miami[44]
  • Princeton University Art Museum[45]
  • Rubell Family Collection, Miami[46]
  • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York[47]
  • Whitney Museum of American Art, New York[48]

Filmography

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  • 04.30.92 (1992)[6]
  • East German Rooms with a View (2001)[49]
  • Die Göttliche Linke [The Divine Left] (2003)[50]
  • Rest in Peace (2004)[51]
  • March on Washington to End the War on Iraq, 9/24/05 (2005)[48]
  • Untitled (Life After Bush Conference and One Year Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq Protest, New York, 3/20/04) (2005)[48]
  • March for Peace, Justice and Democracy, 04/29/06, New York City (2007)[6]
  • 0% Down (2008)[52]
  • Mall of America (2009)[6]
  • Shattered Screen (2009)[53]
  • Amalgamated (2010)[48]
  • DDYANLALSATSY (2010)[6]
  • Contaminator (2010)[54]
  • Pellea[s] (2018)[55]

References

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  1. ^ Meckseper, Josephine. Union List of Artist Names. Getty Research. Accessed September 2021.
  2. ^ Banks, Grace. "Artist Josephine Meckseper Creates A Post-Capitalist World With Her Mannequin Vitrines". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  3. ^ "Josephine Meckseper at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart - Artipedia - Arts News".
  4. ^ Szewczyk, Monika. Josephine Meckseper: American Still Life. Flash Art. No. 272. pp. 98–100.
  5. ^ Meckseper, Josephine (2019-06-26). "My father, the polymath, artist and adventurer, Friedrich Meckseper". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  6. ^ a b c d e Toro, Lauren Boyle, Solomon Chase, Marco Roso, Nick Scholl, David. "Josephine Meckseper | The Final Shop". DIS Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Josephine Meckseper |". Flash Art. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  8. ^ "Fat Magazine". fatmagazine.us. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  9. ^ "https://primo.getty.edu/primo-explore/fulldisplay/GETTY_ALMA21151474440001551/GRI". primo.getty.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  10. ^ Lotringer, Sylvère (2006). The Josephine Meckseper Catalogue No. 2. New York and Berlin: Sternberg Press. ISBN 978-1-933128-14-6.
  11. ^ "Josephine Meckseper Manhattan Oil Project". Art Production Fund.
  12. ^ "JOSEPHINE MECKSEPER: MANHATTAN OIL PROJECT". Art Production Fund. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  13. ^ "Guggenheim Announces 2022 Fellowship Recipients". ArtForum. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Signs and Objects. Pop Art from the Guggenheim Collection | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao". www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  15. ^ "Scenario for a Past Future: Exhibition by Josephine Meckseper". Lewis Center for the Arts. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  16. ^ "Moments Choisis by Josephine Meckseper". Guild Hall. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  17. ^ "Josephine Meckseper |". Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  18. ^ "Josephine Meckseper - Mostyn". mostyn.org. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  19. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". whitney.org. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  20. ^ ""Storylines"". Guggenheim.
  21. ^ "2X(I)ST — Neuer Aachener Kunstverein". www.neueraachenerkunstverein.de. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  22. ^ "Pop Departures - Announcements - e-flux". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  23. ^ "2014 台北雙年展/劇烈加速度 藝術在人類世". TAIPEI BIENNIAL 2014 台北雙年展. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  24. ^ "The Brancusi Effect". Kunsthalle Wien. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  25. ^ "Past Exhibitions". www.brandeis.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  26. ^ "Platform: Josephine Meckseper". Parrish Art Museum. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  27. ^ "JOSEPHINE MECKSEPER: MANHATTAN OIL PROJECT". Art Production Fund. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  28. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". The FLAG Art Foundation. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  29. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". whitney.org. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  30. ^ "Kunsthalle Münster - Programme - Josephine Meckseper". www.kunsthallemuenster.de. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  31. ^ "New Photography 2008". MoMA.
  32. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  33. ^ "Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst". gak-bremen.de. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  34. ^ "Josephine Meckseper - Announcements - e-flux". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  35. ^ "BMA Presents On Paper: Drawings from the Benesch Collection | Baltimore Museum of Art". BMA Presents On Paper: Drawings from the Benesch Collection | Baltimore Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  36. ^ "Brooklyn Museum". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  37. ^ Hauts-de-France, Frac Grand Large- (2024-01-15). "Frac Grand Large – Hauts-de-France". Navigart.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  38. ^ "Werk - Untitled (Target)". onlinekatalog.kunsthalle-bremen.de. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  39. ^ "Selling Out | Sammlung Online - Kunstmuseum Stuttgart". sammlung.kunstmuseum-stuttgart.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  40. ^ "Results for "Josephine Meckseper"". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  41. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  42. ^ "Josephine Meckseper, Museum of Modern Art".
  43. ^ "Artists | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  44. ^ Wilkes, Rob (2013-12-19). "Multi-cultural Miami museum gets up and running with some Americana..." We Heart. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  45. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". artmuseum.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  46. ^ "NO MAN'S LAND: Women Artists from the Rubell Family Collection". rubellmuseum.org. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  47. ^ "Josephine Meckseper". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  48. ^ a b c d "Josephine Meckseper". whitney.org. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  49. ^ "Living With More Art at Reinhard Hauff Stuttgart - Artmap.com". artmap.com. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  50. ^ Christofori, Ralf (2005-07-31). "Politkünstlerin Josephine Meckseper: Die göttliche Linke". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  51. ^ Amado, Miguel (2007-04-07). ""Just Kick It Till It Breaks"". Artforum. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  52. ^ "Josephine Meckseper - Artist - Andrea Rosen Gallery". m.andrearosengallery.com. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  53. ^ "Josephine Meckseper and Lisa Anne Auerbach - Announcements - e-flux". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  54. ^ https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Josephine-Meckseper--Contaminator--2010/F57830591ECA486F. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  55. ^ "Josephine Meckseper | 10 March - 30 April 2020". Timothy Taylor. Retrieved 2024-03-20.

Further reading

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  • Decter, Joshua. Josephine Meckseper. Nantes: Frac des Pays de la Loire, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2020
  • Ammirati, Domenick, and Piper Marshall. Josephine Meckseper: 10 Minutes After. London: Timothy Taylor Gallery, 2016.
  • Frey, James. Josephine Meckseper. Paris: Gagosian Gallery, 2016.
  • Lucklow, Dirk, and Snoeck Verlag, ed. Viehof Collection: International Contemporary Art. Koln: Snoeck Verlag, 2016.
  • Meckseper, Josephine, and Francesco Bonami. Josephine Meckseper. New York: FLAG Art Foundation, 2011.
  • Saadawi, Ghalya, ed. Sharjah Biennial 10: Plot for a Biennial. Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: Sharjah Art Foundation, 2011.
  • Bonami, Francesco, and Gary Carrion-Muriyari, eds. 2010, Whitney Biennial (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY). New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010.
  • Hooper, Rachel, Sylvère Lotringer, and Heike Munder. Josephine Meckseper. Zurich: JRP|Ringier, 2009.
  • Matt, Gerald, Cathérine Hug and Thomas Mießgang, eds. 1989. Ende der Geschichte oder Beginn der Zukunft (Kunsthalle Wien and Villa Schöningen). Nuernberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst, 2009.
  • Amira Gad, Juan A. Gaitán, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Monika Szewczyk, eds. Morality. Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, 2009.
  • Müller, Vanessa Joan, ed. Béton Brut, Dance in My Experience (Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf). Schwarzach am Main: Benedict Press, 2009.
  • Bloemink, Barbara, et. al, Prospect.1 New Orleans. Brooklyn: Picturebox, 2008.
  • Steinbrügge, Bettina, René Zechlin, and Sabine Schaschl-Cooper, eds. Cooling Out - On the Paradox of Feminism. Zürich: JRP|Ringier, 2008.
  • Weibel, Peter, Common Affairs: Steirischer Herbst 2008. Graz: Edition Camera Austria, 2008.
  • Jansen, Gregor, Thomas Thiel, eds. Vertrautes Terrain - Aktuelle Positionen in & über Deutschland. ZKM / Museum für Neue Kunst, Karlsruhe, 2008.
  • Brand, Roy, ed. Bare Life. Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem, 2007.
  • Enwezor, Okwui, Christian Hoeller, and Marion Ackermann, eds. Josephine Meckseper. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2007.
  • Hooper, Rachel. “Satire and a Cynical Smile: Josephine Meckseper.” Brave New Worlds, edited by Doryun Chung and Yasmil Raymond, Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2007.
  • Merali, Shaheen, ed. New York – States of Mind. London: Saqi, 2007.
  • Ribeiro, Antonio Pinto. An Atlas of Events. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2007.
  • Dailey, Meghan and Norman Rosenthal, USA Today: New American Art from The Saatchi  Gallery. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2006.
  • Day For Night (Whitney Biennial 2006). New York: Henry N. Abrams, Inc., 2006.
  • Enwezor, Okwui, ed. The Unhomely: Phantom Scenes in Global Society (2nd International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville). Seville: Fundación BIACS, 2006.
  • Trial Balloons. Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon, MUSAC, Leon, 2006.
  • Expérience de la durée (Biennale d’art contemporain de Lyon 2005). Paris: Paris Musées, 2005.
  • Holert, Tom and Heike Munder, eds. The Future Has a Silver Lining: Genealogies of Glamour (Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich), 2004.
  • Kelsey, John, and Andrew Ross. The Josephine Meckseper Catalogue. New York: Lukas & Sternberg, 2004.