How language invents the world

The linguistic and cultural landscape of Graubünden serves as the starting point for the exhibition "How language invents the world". The Bündner Kunstmuseum thus takes up a main theme of human culture and locates this regional characteristic in a global context. By focusing on a selection of works by national and international artists as well as historical artifacts from Graubünden, the importance of language and narrative in community and society is illuminated.

The exhibition is based on linguistic documents from Graubünden, such as the travel diary of the 18th century Lumbreiner Gion Casper Collenberg. Although the word "la mar" existed for the sea in Rhaeto-Romanic at the time, there were no expressions for low tide and high tide. In his diary, Collenberg refers to a natural phenomenon that is well known in the Grisons mountains. He describes a stream whose level rises when it rains and then falls again later. "It's the same with the sea," he writes. The exhibition "How language invents the world" sheds light on the power of language to create ideas, produce fictional narratives and thus direct our view of the world. The works of artists such as Not Vital, Erica Pedretti, Thomas Hirschhorn, Marcel Broodthaers, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Susan Hiller combine themes such as cultural identity, political narratives, migration and language change. The all-encompassing theme is considered within various turns of time and shows how language influences the way we think, act and understand the world.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated publication from Distanz Verlag with literary texts by Gianna Olinda Cadonau, Asa S. Hendry, Marina Skalova, Joachim B. Schmidt, Usama Al Shahmani, Vincenzo Todisco, Ivna Žic, an introduction by Stephan Kunz and an essay by Damian Jurt.

The exhibition shows works by Carl Andre, Arman, Hans Arp, Irma Blank, Marcel Broodthaers, Alois Carigiet, Christo, Gion Casper Collenberg, John Furnival, Gilbert & George, Eugen Gomringer, Ian Hamilton Finlay/David Ballantyne, Susan Hiller, Karla Hiraldo Voleau, Thomas Hirschhorn/Marcus Steinweg, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Vincent Huidobro, Bethan Huws, Marcel Janco, Pascal Lampert, Maude Léonard-Contant, Annette Kelm, Jan Kiefer, Barbara Kruger, Bruce Nauman, Seiichi Niikuni/Pierre Garnier, Meret Oppenheim, Hans Op de Beeck, Erica Pedretti, Augustas Serapinas, VALIE EXPORT, Francis Picabia, Julien Prévieux, Dieter Roth, Kurt Schwitters, Zineb Sedira, André Thomkins, Nora Turato, Tristan Tzara, Jacques de la Villeglé, Not Vital, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt/Robert Wolf-Rehfeldt

Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.