Riding around Vienna

June 25, Tanzquartier Wien

The close relation between cinema and the city is one of the basic pillars of Modernity. Showing cities-in-films is more than the mere representation of a given, immobile state. While photography fixes an image, this image is left open at its edges; film, by contrast, provides "a manifesto of competing ideas about the nature of the city" (Siegfried Mattl). Taking up an invitation from the Tanzquartier project radikal lokal, the Film Museum will present three artistic reflections on "cinematic Vienna". As basic material, these newly commissioned works by Viennese artists Joerg Burger, Anja Salomonowitz, Michaela Grill and Martin Siewert will use anonymous, seemingly "worthless" films from the museum’s collection (one of which, the 1906 Fahrt durch Wien / Riding around Vienna, has given the show its title). The new works will be presented in the form of installations. As a complement to these, the Film Museum will offer various "interventions" (live music, lectures, discussions) throughout the day.