The exhibition at Schloss Tirol dismantles the myths of German and Italian fascism. Hitler’s and Mussolini’s unjust rule was significantly supported by artists who used images and narratives to further their agendas—even in South Tyrol, Tyrol, and Trentino. A few resisted, and their works were labeled as “degenerate” and ostracized.
The exhibition, "Myths of Dictatorships," marks a turning point for the region’s art and cultural history. Many chapters will need to be rewritten.
Following the concept that these "artworks"—mostly commissioned by the regimes—were withheld from public view after World War II, we chose a presentation style resembling the feel of a storage depot. Instead of neatly lit and aligned exhibits, the display includes scattered cold neon light, scratched concrete-colored walls, and archival hanging on gridded racks to create a magazine-like atmosphere.
The two presentation levels are conceptually reversed. On the front gridded racks, the “more important” explanatory texts are now displayed, while the images are shown behind the metal grid in a "random" grouped arrangement. To view the exhibits, visitors must look through the sliding grids, which are partially shadowed by the text panels. Here, the “information about” takes precedence, and the “commissioned art” has lost its function! Of the 12 themes, only the second-to-last—on “Degenerate Art”—is presented in a redemptive manner, that is, within a more conventional museum context.
