GEZWITSCHER

Fluttering birds that appear harmlessly cute before they attack ... Who doesn't remember Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece The Birds? The film, which is still impressive today, shows the ambivalent fascination that feathered creatures exude – they are familiar yet mysterious, tame yet wild, beautiful but eerie. Whether in film, music, literature, painting, graphic art or photography, birds play an arguably greater role in the arts than any other animal. Their ability to fly evokes admiration and longing. By easily overcoming long distances, they escape human observation and lead mysterious double lives on different continents. Birds’ acoustic potential – from singing to speech imitation – is also impressive.

The exhibition CHIRPING. ART FROM A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW is dedicated to a range of encounters between birds and humans. It shows artistic perspectives from painting, graphics, sculpture, photography, video, music and performance in works that go far beyond a naturalistic depiction of the creatures. The exhibition deals with the human dream of flying, communication between humans and animals, the threat posed to birds by humankind, birdsong, hybrid beings and extinct species.

Marina Abramović | Ida Applebroog | Peter Bartoš | Anna Clyne & Yo-Yo Ma | Mark Dion | Gino de Dominicis | Valie Export | Matthias Garff | Annika Kahrs | Olga Karlíková | Eva Koťátková | Jochen Lempert | Diana Lelonek | Via Lewandowsky | Ana Mendieta | Karel Miler | Jan Mlčoch | Wolfgang Müller | Yoko Ono | Jan Ságl | Yehudit Sasportas | Julia Steiner

Curators: Pavlína Morganová | Petra Stegmann
In co-operation with Institute for Avian Research "Vogelwarte Helgoland"

With kind support
Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung
Sparkasse Wilhelmshaven
Deutsch-Tschechischer Zukunftsfonds
Oldenburgische Landschaft
Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur