DIE BLAUBERGER (1983-85)
A slide show and lecture by Brigitte Dunkel as part of the costume workshop
Fri 14 February, 6 p.m.

 

As part of the costume workshop, Brigitte Dunkel talks about DIE BLAUBERGER, an exhibition project from the early 1980s. Based on a four-part group of figures, she developed an expansive installation and performance. In the context of the costume workshop, Brigitte Dunkel's work is used to focus on the production of costumes and costuming as an artistic practice.

The costume workshop will be open again next Friday from 15:30 to 19:30. A children's costume workshop (for young people between the ages of 3 and 14) with Blanca Barbat will take place from 16:00 to 18:00.

In cooperation with M*Treff Alte Feuerwache, ROOTS & ROUTES Cologne e.V., Rutfront Fastelovendsbund e.V. and the artists, costume and mask designers Hilma Bäckström, Brigitte Dunkel, Sarah Ferreira dos Santos, Nora Hansen, Jil Lahr, Christina Neuss, Paula Noller and Corinne Riepert.

 

In simple language: The open costume workshop runs again this Friday between 15:30 and 19:30. You don't need to register and can simply drop in. Artists will lead the workshop and help with the design. On February 14 and 21 from 16:00 to 18:00, there will also be a costume workshop especially for children aged 3 to 14. Everyone can sew and build costumes and be creative. The aim is to develop new ideas for the carnival. The workshop aims to challenge typical carnival costumes. Creative and individual costumes will be created. The art scene and carnival have a long connection: For example, artists* have always organized costume parties and incorporated political themes into carnival by designing carnival floats. In the costume workshop, we want to work together to ensure that everyone in the room feels comfortable and that no one is hurt. That's why we make sure that no one is excluded. From 18:00, the Cologne artist Brigitte Dunkel will present the artistic work entitled DIE BLAUBERGER, which she developed in the early 1980s. This work of art consists of costumes and therefore fits in well with the theme of the costume workshop.

Brigitte Dunkel studied Fine Arts and Costume Design in Elisabeth Vary's class at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences from 1973 to 78. From 1977 to 1983 she was employed as a costume designer and costume design assistant at Schauspiel Köln, Schauspiel Bochum and Schillertheater Berlin and from 1984 onwards worked as a freelance costume designer on a wide range of collaborations in the areas of product placement and corporate fashion (company presentations, trade fair performances) for the agency Meiré & Meiré, Cologne, among others, or specialized large-format costumes (circus show) for Atelier Maria Lucas, Cologne, among others, as well as elaborate bridal outfits for private clients.

Since 1984, Dunkel's focus has been on the visual arts in the field of cross-media installation and performance. In this context, he repeatedly creates figures, outfits or textile objects, most recently for the installation TABLESCAPES 2023 at the Kunstverein Leverkusen. In the processual exhibition project Blue Binding Ribbon 2024 at the Temporary Gallery, Dunkel was represented with four outfits from different work contexts.

As part of the costume workshop, Brigitte Dunkel will talk about DIE BLAUBERGER, an exhibition project created in the early 1980s, which was integrated into the group exhibition Neue Stofflichkeit (New Materiality) at the Frauenmuseum Bonn in 1984 as an installation entitled VON DEN BLAUEN BERGEN KOMMEN WIR (FROM THE BLUE MOUNTAINS WE COME) and performed at the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf in 1985 as part of the performance night Purer Augenschein (Pure Appearance). Based on a four-part group of figures, DIE BLAUBERGER, an expansive installation and performance developed. The human body serves as a medium of change within the performance with the help of its clothing. Similar to the hand that guides the brush with the paint when painting, the performers' ability to move enables constant changes to the static installation. Rituals and life culture of the BLAUBERGER as a fictional group of figures are thematized in the course of the work.
In the context of the costume workshop, Brigitte Dunkel's approach is used to focus on the production of costumes and on costuming as an artistic practice.

The open costume workshop is a format of the Temporary Gallery. It takes place every Friday between 31.01. and 21.02. from 15:30 to 19:30. The workshop is a temporary space led by local artists where costumes can be artistically developed. Everyone is welcome here to design, sew, build, learn and exchange ideas. The Cologne Carnival can be prepared in a safe environment, and there is room for any questioning of the festival.

The costume workshop aims to encourage people to think about the practice of dressing up and the transformative potential of costuming beyond the boundaries of stereotypical carnival costumes. For these are now part of the fast fashion movement - the cheapest materials are poorly made so that they can hardly be worn for more than one season. In addition, the selection of affordable costumes is very limited and characterized by a norm-binary, sometimes sexist and racist world view. The scope of possibilities and free fantasies - who or what one would like to dress up as - often seem limited, manipulated by the influences of the omnipresent consumer society and at the same time also a question of the social environment. In terms of content, the format deals with the practices of dressing up in the context of customs and tradition, but also wants to break away from many practices and gain its own perspectives. In this way, carnival can be viewed in a new light and artistically shaped.

The Cologne art scene and the Cologne Carnival, as a place of political debate and satire based on the democratic right to freedom of expression, have always been closely intertwined in the past—artists designed carnival floats, backdrops for carnival shows and organized costume parties. The artists' festival Laange Ent (1920s), the activities of the Ahl Säu (founded in 1946), the Lumpenball at the Kölnischer Kunstverein and the carnival party DA BA DEE? at Temporary Gallery (2020) are just a fraction of the avant-garde impulses that used artistic means and strategies to help shape the Cologne festival, and not infrequently and not often enough, as it were, to question and thwart militaristic, patriarchal structures.

Program:
14 February, 4:30—7:30 p.m.
Open costume workshop

21 February, 5:00 p.m.
Nubbel building workshop with Hilma Bäckström and Jil Lahr
(Registration is requested at info@temporarygallery.org)

22 February
Joint participation in the ghost parade with interested costume workshop participants

28 February—Save the Date!
Cadavre Exquis carnival dinner
More information will follow soon!

We are still happy about material donations! These can be dropped off Mondays and Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 11 a.m. or picked up by arrangement within Cologne.

Everyone is welcome! The costume workshop is free of charge and accessible without registration (except for two workshops, see details). You can bring your own material or draw inspiration from our material pool.

Code of conduct at Temporary Gallery:
The costume workshop in the Temporary Gallery aims to create an accessible, low-injury and barrier-sensitive space as a basis for our togetherness. We do not tolerate any form of racism, sexism, ableism, anti-Semitism, queer and trans hostility, or any other discriminatory, violent behaviour. All event participants agree to our behavioural guidelines. All participants in our programme want to feel comfortable and safe in this space. Therefore, we do not tolerate assaultive, transgressive and/or discriminatory behaviour in any way and reserve the right to exclude people from the event if they violate our code of conduct (which will also be visible in the room). If you feel uncomfortable or witness any abusive behaviour, please contact Lisa Klosterkötter.

Information on the accessibility of the events:
Relaxed atmosphere: The event is designed to be relaxed. This means that everyone is welcome in the room and can stay there even if they are not actively working on something. The rooms can be left and re-entered at any time. Hot drinks and water are provided. A variety of seating furniture (chairs, beanbags, stools) is available.

Physical access: The exhibition rooms are steplessly accessible, unfortunately there is no barrier-free toilet available. The a&o Hostel, about 200 meters from the Temporary Gallery, offers barrier-free toilets.

Language access: The workshop leaders speak German and English. The team is open to providing practical instructions via translation programs in various other languages. We also try to use plain language as far as possible. Questions of understanding are always welcome. Unfortunately, interpretation into sign language cannot be offered.

Contact us: If you have any further needs or access requirements, e.g. pick-up service from a nearby bus stop, please contact us by e-mail at info@temporarygallery.org

Temporary Gallery, Mauritiuswall 35, 50676 Cologne
Further information at: https://www.temporarygallery.org/project/mobile-kueche/

 

 

Image:
DIE BLAUBERGER, Photo performance series (study for developements of outfits), 1983, Brigitte Dunkel
Photo: Eberhard Simon