--- type: exposition title: Talking Heads language: en url: "https://www.belvedere.at/en/talking-heads" --- # Talking Heads ## Contemporary Dialogues with F.X. Messerschmidt ![Talking Heads](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/header_cropped_1920x480_fp/public/jart-images/_532413303736.jpg.webp?itok=RRzui3yW) **Duration:** 8 March 2019 - 18 August 2019 Fury, fear, lust – depictions of psychological extremes still exert a fascination on artists and viewers today. But in our “facial society,” what remains a valid form of (self-)portrait beyond the realm of Facebook and selfies? Using Messerschmidt’s famous Character Heads as a springboard, the exhibition at the Orangery takes a head on look at the human face. In addition to a selection of *Character Heads* the exhibition features about fifty works by Anna Artaker, Miriam Cahn, Douglas Gordon, Maria Lassnig, Mara Mattuschka, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Lutz Mommartz, Bruce Nauman, Tony Oursler, and Arnulf Rainer. Curated by Axel Köhne. \#BelvedereTalkingHeads ### [Lower Belvedere](https://www.belvedere.at/en/visit/lower-belvedere) **Opening hours:** Monday to Sunday, 10 am - 6 pm **Address:** Lower Belvedere, 1030 Vienna ([Getting there]()) [Tickets](https://www.belvedere.at/en/tickets?location%5B0%5D=3) ##### In cooperation with - Kurier - [Logo Uniqa](https://www.uniqa.at/) ## Impressions - ![Talking Heads — Exhibition View "Talking Heads" — Photo: Sandro Zanzinger © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_549866417274.jpg.webp?itok=_kuHGpwR) - ![Talking Heads — Exhibition View "Talking Heads" — Photo: Sandro Zanzinger © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_549866417273.jpg.webp?itok=72z0_O_-) - ![Talking Heads — Exhibition view "Talking Heads" — Photo: Johannes Stoll, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_549866413939.jpg.webp?itok=XPH1o_G5) - ![Talking Heads — Exhibition view "Talking Heads" — Photo: Johannes Stoll, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_549866413937.jpg.webp?itok=LYS49YD9) - ![Talking Heads — Exhibition view "Talking Heads" — Photo: Johannes Stoll, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_549866413933.jpg.webp?itok=Ejk-Dvtn) ## The Exhibition ![Talking Heads — Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, The Troubled Man, 1775–1777 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413303733.jpg.webp?itok=FwEGr00n) *A Dismal and Sinister Man* – such work titles encapsulate the uniqueness of Messerschmidt’s so-called Character Heads. This eighteenth-century Austrian sculptor created a series of bizarre, sometimes bewildering busts, sixteen of which are in the Belvedere’s collection. The exhibition juxtaposes several of these with contemporary artworks that address extreme emotional states. What did artists want to show with their “headwork” based on their own or other people’s heads? It is about the distortion, transformation, and movement of heads and faces and their depiction. The Belvedere’s exhibition asks questions based around categories such as the psyche, perception, and (self-)reflection – whether this is in Lutz Mommartz’s filmic portrayal of an artist like Joseph Beuys or in the way Maria Lassnig perceived herself in her paintings. While Miriam Cahn often references violent current events in her faces, Anna Artaker’s work explores the archaic impression of the death mask. This multimedia exhibition focuses not on the individual face but rather on how it is “processed,” and on the head as a (vital) body part. Videos by Douglas Gordon, Bruce Nauman, and Tony Oursler are presented besides photographs by Arnulf Rainer, who engaged directly with Messerschmidt’s heads. ## Exhibited Artworks - ![Talking Heads — Arnulf Rainer, Smooth Visage Full of Rage, 1975-1976 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413303737.jpg.webp?itok=NqO1y2u8) - ![Talking Heads — Arnulf Rainer, Stones under the Lip, 1975-1976 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413303736.jpg.webp?itok=_-s27c9F) - ![Talking Heads — Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, The Simpleton, 1777/1783 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413303735.jpg.webp?itok=rAt6Ra-x) - ![Talking Heads — Douglas Gordon, The Making of Monster, 1996 — Courtesy: Studio lost but found, Berlin © Studio lost but found / Douglas Gordon / Bildrecht, Vienna, 2019](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_549866406392.jpg.webp?itok=Y7FJLxbl) - ![Talking Heads — Miriam Cahn, frau + mann oder umgekehrt, 13.12.1995, 1995 — Courtesy of the artist and Meyer Riegger, Berlin/Karlsruhe](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_532413303739.jpg.webp?itok=krA_DmZm) - ![Talking Heads — Mara Mattuschka, Messerschmidt 2, 2018 — Gottwald Desalla, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2019, Photo: Armin Plankensteiner](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_549866406398.jpg.webp?itok=ciu2a9fZ) - ![Talking Heads — Bruce Nauman, Studies for Holograms, a - e, 1970 — private collection Berlin © Bruce Nauman/ Bildrecht Vienna, 2019](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_549866406411.jpg.webp?itok=KJKkoAo6) - ![Talking Heads — Bruce Nauman, Frankfurt Portfolio, 1990 — © Bruce Nauman/ Bildrecht Vienna, 2019](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/full_content_width_no_crop/public/jart-images/_549866406395.jpg.webp?itok=kLCGpfCZ) ## Videos