Martin Kippenberger

For Martin Kippenberger, sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, music, poetry books, invitation cards, and posters were all equally valid forms of artistic expression. A member of the generation of German artists who reacted against the legacy of Joseph Beuys, Kippenberger challenged style, good taste, and social conventions. He galvanized Vienna by organizing the "First Viennese Cab Race," and in 1978 he created the Kippenberger Office in Berlin, offering his services to various clients. During the same period he became the manager of the bar SO 36, finding himself at the heart of a movement that repudiated the values of the "deadbeat" 1970s subculture. In the mid-1980s Kippenberger became increasingly involved in extravagant projects that pushed back conventional exhibition boundaries. Expanding his sphere of activities, he established himself as director of the Museum of Modern Art, Syros (MOMAS), which opened in 1993 with the mission statement that no work was to be shown in the building. His Disco Bombs series (1989) consists of nine mirrored disco balls combined with colorful wigs. Displayed on the floor, these "bombs," at once melancholic and inviting, reflect on fame, glamour, and the role of the artist. Kippenberger was artist, showman, impresario, critic, collector, and creator of exhibitions. His work was included in the Venice Biennale and Carnegie International, both in 1999.